Criminology and Law (Honours)

In this Criminology and Law (Honours) from The Open University you’ll explore issues such as the role and place of law in modern society, processes of criminalisation, violence, anti-social behaviour, and inequality, as well as global threats from cyber-crime, terrorism and human rights violations, and their implications for justice.

You’ll gain the ability to critically assess everyday understandings of crime and criminal justice, the social, political, economic, historical and ethical dimensions of law, and gain knowledge of the key institutions which make up criminal justice and legal systems.

Key features of the course

– Get to grips with the complex issues behind today’s crime, law and justice headlines
– Understand, interpret and apply concepts about crime and law to ‘real world’ problems
– Learn the ‘tools of the trade’ for criminology and law
– Have an opportunity to gain practical experience by providing members of the public with legal advice in a virtual law clinic.
Skills for career development

As well as the specific knowledge gained from studying this OU degree, you’ll develop many transferable and work-related skills that are highly valued by employers. These include: analytical and problem-solving skills; IT skills; search, retrieval and interpretative skills; self-reflection skills; responding to feedback skills, and personal and career development skills.

You will also develop subject-specific skills, such as critically scrutinising and reassessing everyday understandings of crime, law and criminal justice, as well as in-depth knowledge of key concepts in law and criminology, and the key institutions which make up criminal justice and legal systems.

You will study two of the foundation subjects for an English Qualifying Law Degree, and develop legal research skills as well as skills of comprehension, analysis and presentation. Independently plan, study and manage a sequence of work to an agreed timetable which includes the meeting of deadlines.

Career relevance

This degree opens up a diverse range of career paths, including:

– advice work
– community development
– the crown prosecution service
– housing services
– human resources
– local and central government
– mental health support and drug rehabilitation
– the police, prison and probation services
– refugee and victim support
– social research and policy analysis
– social and youth work.