Criminology and Psychology (Professional Placement Year)

Gain a deep understanding of the psychological, sociological and biological causes of criminal behaviour, as well as crime prevention, intervention, and criminal rehabilitation.

Our Psychology and Criminology degree develops your critical thinking skills, research abilities, and an understanding of the complexities of criminal behaviour. You'll develop skills that you can take into a range of careers, including:

In your Criminology modules, we explore crime and disorder, such as green crime, maritime crime and crime on social media. You’ll also examine criminal justice and crime prevention. In your study of Psychology, you’ll learn the core perspectives of psychology, along with research methods, data collection and analysis.

After graduating, you'll be able to pursue a career in which understanding the mind and criminal behaviour is essential. For example, you could enter law enforcement, criminal justice or social work. Our accreditation from the British Psychological Society means you can also study Psychology at a higher level in preparation a career as a psychologist.

Combined Honour Awards At Bath Spa University many of our undergraduate programmes can be combined, so you don’t have to limit yourself to one subject. If you choose to study a combined award then in Year One you’ll start by studying both subjects in equal depth. From Year Two you can choose whether to continue with equal numbers of modules from each subject, or whether you want to select additional modules in one or the other. Upon successful completion of the programme you will graduate with a joint degree.

More about the Professional Placement Year A Professional Placement Year (PPY), traditionally known as a sandwich year, is where you undertake a period of work with an external organisation for between 9-13 months. The placement occurs between your second and final years of undergraduate study. You can engage in multiple placements to make up the total time and are required to source the placement(s) yourself, with support from the Careers team.