Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology)

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology)

This Course at a Glance

• Get on the fast track to a career that helps prevent crime
• Learn about offender profiling, prison categories, and how to measure crime
• Understand how the media affects public perceptions of crime and criminality
• Helps you access university without A Levels
• Studied online, at home
• No exams

About your Diploma

If you’re the type of person who figures out who the criminal is before the on-screen or in-book detectives do, this online criminology course can have you putting your investigative skills into action in a crime-fighting career.

No matter if you’d prefer to be chasing down criminals or looking at the bigger picture of crimes to spot trends and patterns in behaviour, this course provides the perfect platform to get started.

Through this Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology), you will begin to comprehend the severe impact that deviant behaviour can have on victims, their families, the criminals themselves, and society at large. Plus, the many methods that are in place to understand why crime happens and how to stop it.

You will build your knowledge through modules that explore:

• Perspectives in Psychology
• Crime and Society
• Aspects of Situational Crime
• Impact of Forensic Psychology in Criminal Investigations

And so much more. Being a nationally recognised equivalent to A Levels, this course will also enable you to apply to university to take the next step towards a career that’s related to the prevention of crimes.

Getting Started

learndirectis a leading UK distance learning provider, with a host of online courses that unlock higher-level learning opportunities and help you access gated careers. This Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology) is a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification that is regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA).

Apply To University Within A Year

You can complete this course over 24 months, however, the flexibility of online learning makes it entirely possible to finish the course much sooner. In fact, the majority of our learners obtain their qualification within 9 months, so you can be on the way to university within a year!

Keep On Track To Success

To help you stay on track throughout your studies, you’ll be provided with an Individual Learning Plan that outlines the submission deadlines for your assignments.

*Please note, each university sets its own entry requirements. For this reason, we always advise you to check with your chosen institution that this qualification will be accepted before you enrol.

Modules

Module 1: Academic Writing Skills

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Be able to structure a written response
• Be able to develop a structured response to a plan
• Be able to present the response appropriately for audience and purpose
• Understand how to apply academic writing principles to own work

Module 2: Reading and Note Making

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand a range of reading strategies
• Understand the use of language in terms of the purpose and context of a range of texts
• Be able to use methods for developing notes from a range of sources

Module 3: Perspectives in Psychology

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand different psychological perspectives
• Understand the differences between alternative psychological perspectives
• Understand the application of psychological perspectives to contemporary issues in psychology

Module 4: Crime and Society

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand crime and deviance
• Understand crime statistics
• Understand theoretical explanations of crime
• Understand social and cultural patterns of crime and criminality

Module 5: Biopsychology: Behaviour and the Brain

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand the concept of localisation of function
• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of methods of investigating the relationship between the brain and behaviour
• Understand the interaction between the brain and behaviour

Module 6: Social Interaction

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand theories of Social Influence

Module 7: Crime and the Media

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand the influence of news media on the public perceptions of crime and criminality
• Understand the influence of film and television on the public perceptions of crime and criminality
• Understand the link between social media and the public perceptions of crime and criminality
• Understand the links between crime and media using criminological research

Module 8: Biopsychology: Behaviour and Drugs

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand the links between crime and media using criminological research
• Understand the action of drugs on synaptic transmission
• Understand how psychoactive drugs change behaviour
• Understand the role of serotonin antagonists and reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of disorders

Module 9: Theoretical Approaches to Criminology

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand theories of crime
• Analyse the similarities and differences between theories of crime
• Evaluate the usefulness of theories of crime
• Understand the importance of biological, psychological and sociological influences on crime

Module 10: Aspects of Situational Crime

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand how the developments in environmental methods of crime control can contribute to crime prevention
• Understand how crime prevention methods can be incorporated to reduce risk to the victim and reward for the perpetrator
• Understand environmental methods of crime control in relation to routine activity theory

Module 11: Impact of Forensic Psychology in Criminal Investigations

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand the roles of the Forensic Psychologist
• Understand how psychologists have contributed to jury behaviour and eyewitness memory
• Understand offender profiling
• Be able to apply an offender profiling technique

Module 12: Psychological Profiling

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand the main principles of psychological profiling
• Understand the application and effectiveness of psychological theories in profiling the criminal

Module 13: Writing a Criminology Essay

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Be able to plan an essay about a topic from the field of Criminology Studies
• Be able to write an essay about a topic from the field of Criminology Studies

Module 14: Human Rights

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand the development of human rights
• Understand the Rights protected by the Human Right Act 1998
• Know the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998

Module 15: Current Issues in Criminology

Upon successful completion of this module, you will:

• Understand and apply key concepts in criminology to two topic areas
• Compare and contrast different approaches to crime issues
• Evaluate the usefulness of different theories of crime for understanding to two topic areas

Entry Requirements

To study an Access to HE Diploma you must be resident in the UK and have a UK postcode.

You must hold Level 2 qualifications in both English and Maths, or be working towards them alongside studying your Access to Higher Education Diploma.

University Entry Criteria

It must be reiterated that each university will set its own admission criteria. So, you must check with your desired institution if your Access to HE Diploma and other qualifications will be accepted. In many cases, to get started at university you will need: - A certain number of credits passed with a merit or a distinction grade - A face-to-face interview at the university - Literacy and numeracy assessments provided by the university - Course-related work placements or work experience - GCSE Grade C/4 or above in Maths and English (or equivalent Level 2 such as Functional Skills/Key Skills, etc.) It is your responsibility to check that your Access to HE Diploma will be accepted as part of these entry requirements for your chosen degree. learndirect will not be held accountable if completing this Access to Higher Education Diploma doesn’t secure you a position with a higher education institution.

Minimum age restriction

Access to HE Diplomas are designed to support students to progress to university who have substantial experience of life outside of formal education which they have gained since completing compulsory schooling.

Average completion timeframe

The average time it takes our learners to complete the course is 9-12 months.

Assessment requirements

A range of assessment methodologies are used, including: academic poster, academic report, case study analysis, essay, journal article, portfolio, presentation (video and audio recording), academic writing skills tasks

Exams required

There are no exams included in the assessment of the course.

Is Membership Required?

No membership is required to enrol on this course.

Additional requirements

Learners must be actively studying for a minimum of six months before results can be ratified and certificates ordered. The six month period does not start until you have passed unit 2 of your course and you must be submitting assignments regularly (in line with the deadlines in your Individual Learning Plan) to meet this six month requirement. Certificates can only be issued once your course is paid for in full.

Certification Timeframe

You can expect to receive your certificate 12-16 weeks from your final assignment being marked and graded, depending on the time of year. You will be provided with regular updates throughout the certification process so that you are fully informed of your individual timeframes.

Course Fees

All course fees, inclusive of all payment plans including our Premium Credit Limited option, must be settled before certification can be ordered.

*You will have access to the course for 24 months.

The assessment process of our criminology home study courses consists of the following:

Assignments

This online criminology course is made up of a range of units, with an assignment being issued at the end of each. You will submit your work to your tutor for marking and tailored feedback.

Credits

You must acquire 60 credits in total in order to achieve the Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology). The credits are split into the following two categories:

• Graded– 45 credits come from graded units, which focus on the academic subject
• Ungraded– 15 credits come from ungraded units, such as writing and study skills

As part of your distance learning criminology course, you will also receive help as well as guidance on your university application and the research you need to do to get the most out of your diploma.

Skills & Education Group Access

On successful completion of the Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology), you will receive a Skills & Education Group Access, QAA recognised, Access to Higher Education Diploma at Level 3 (QAA aim code: 40014654). As part of your programme, you will also receive help as well as guidance on your university application and the research you need to do to get the most out of your diploma.

An access validating agency with a strong social purpose to recognise achievement, particularly for those who have benefited least from their previous educational experiences, Skills and Education Group Access supports the needs of learners, providers, businesses and communities by enabling progression into higher education.

With this Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology), you will have an ideal foundation knowledge of human behaviour and motivation in relation to crime, ahead of degree-level study of criminology.

This could be in degrees such as a:

• Criminology BA
• Criminology and Forensic Studies BA
• Criminology and Policing BSc
• Criminology with Applied Psychology BSc
• Sociology and Criminology BA

All of these can lead you to a range of fascinating criminology jobs that require your investigative skills to unearth the motivations behind crimes, prevent them, and keep people safe from harm.

With the relevant degree, you could become a:

• Criminologist
• Crime Scene Investigator
• Community Development Worker
• Probation Officer
• Social Worker
• Prison Officer and more!

Further Qualifications and Prospects

As criminology is a form of sociology that also covers psychology, biology, anthropology, and philosophy, you can study a number of related degrees too.

These include degrees in:

• Anthropology
• Economics
• Forensic Science
• Law
• Psychology
• Social Policy
• Sociology

So, in studying this Access to Higher Education Diploma (Criminology) you can open the door to a host of fascinating and important careers.

Frequently Asked Questions