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What makes the criminal mind tick? How do police and lawyers seek to understand the social and psychological causes of crime? How does the legal system provide justice for victims while balancing punishment and rehabilitation for offenders?
Criminology and Law explores the answers to these questions, examining criminal behaviour from a range of legal, social, policing and social justice viewpoints.
You'll develop the legal skills you need for a professional career in the legal sector, including employability, legal writing, courtroom experience and mooting. We’ll give you an overview of the processes through which criminal behaviour is addressed – from profiling and arrest, to sentencing and rehabilitation – as well as exploring important related aspects, such as family law and comparative law.
You’ll work with a range of theories and methodologies used to understand and respond to criminal behaviour, as well as gaining an understanding of the causes and consequences of crime, looking at serious and violent crime in particular.
And you’ll have the chance to examine different types of criminal groups, such as football hooligans and crime gangs, as well as different social perceptions of crime.
Professional work placements will provide you with insights into the range of professional careers available.
You'll have the chance to specialise in your preferred area of criminology and law through a year-long professional project module with an employer and your dissertation in your final year.
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You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
During your first year, you'll study four core modules.
Explore and examine the origins of criminology, some of its historical debates, concepts, literature and research.
You'll look at the core perspectives and theories related to crime and criminality.
Find out about the history and development of criminology as an academic discipline.
Explore criminological understandings and situations of violence in society.
We'll cover the types, characteristics, and forms of violence and violent acts within society.
You'll distinguish between individual acts to organised actions of groups and states, all whilst unpacking the ambiguous content and perception of violence.
You'll give due consideration to the frequently neglected victims of violence.
The module framework includes criminology, sociology, psychology, law, cultural studies, political science and sociobiology.
Develop the critical and research skills you need to study and practise law. You’ll focus on academic research skills, statutory and case law interpretation skills, legal writing and draft skills, courtroom skills, and mooting skills.
You'll get an introduction to the case study format, legal method and the specific legal application of knowledge and general transferable skills under the Joint Statement as required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board for a Qualifying Law Degree.
Learn about the operation and principles of England and Wales' legal system.
You'll explore institutions including the Crown and Parliament, central government, devolved institutions and the judiciary and principles of the constitution.
You'll look at how legislation is passed, government accountability, separation of powers, the rule of law and judicial review, plus any content specified by the SRA and BSB for QLDs.
You'll develop an awareness of the issues surrounding constitutional and administrative law, evaluate their operation within society, and appreciate the social, economic and political contexts, underlying policy issues and their impact.
This module covers the Constitutional and Administrative Law elements of Public Law as a Foundation of Legal Knowledge required by the SRA and BSB for a QLD under the Joint Statement, and relevant aspects of the SRA Statement of Legal Knowledge for "11. Constitutional law and EU law (including Human Rights).
During your second year, you'll study four core modules.
Understand why we view criminals and crime in certain ways, due to cultural factors and the media.
Think critically about crime, crime control and its media coverage.
We'll look at contemporary criminological theories, exploring how crime is constructed and defined by subcultures, the nation-state, the criminal justice system and corporations.
We'll also explore how these theories help us interpret media depictions of crime and crime control.
You'll analyse how mainstream media and social media shape our collective (mis)understanding of a range of crime and crime control.
Explore the theory of desistance and the concept of rehabilitation within the practice of the criminal justice system, particularly in relation to the prison system and probation delivery.
You’ll be given an overview of offender management in prisons and the community in England and Wales, as well as the opportunities to critically examine the management, treatment and control of individuals processed through the system and the pressures it faces.
You’ll draw up on a range of lived experience perspectives to support your learning, alongside a recognition of wider policy and political climates through case study examples.
You’ll study the main principles of English criminal law and analyse their practical application.
You’ll study subject areas including elements of offences, modes of liability, defences, admissibility and weight of evidence, special measures and cross examination.
You’ll participate in seminars and workshops where you’ll be introduced to new legal topics to develop your understanding of complex concepts and practical skills relevant to the legal profession.
You’ll develop your transferrable skills and will learn to carry out independent tasks and research needed for a career in the law.
You’ll consider how legal principles can be applied to both actual and hypothetical facts and enhance the relevant employability skills you’ll need in the legal profession.
You’ll participate in workshops which will involve a combination of presentations, discussions, case studies, simulations, and group activities.
During your final year, depending on the pathway you choose, you'll study two core module and will be required to choose two optional modules.
You'll spend time working with an employer during the year, completing a project in the field of law, legal practice, or an allied area.
This will involve negotiating a project that meets the needs of both your employer or placement provider and Leeds Trinity University.
You'll then reflect on what you've learned from the experience.
The project you undertake should help you explore career pathways in politics so you can make informed and purposeful decisions about your future.
You'll develop and negotiate learning outcomes and assessment modes that allow you to apply theoretical understanding and practical work-based development to a chosen context.
You’ll define a research project of your choice in consultation with an appointed member of staff, formulate a proposal then complete a dissertation.
You’ll work independently where you’ll undertake research and draft the dissertation.
Benefit from individual supervision with face-to-face meetings and participate in workshops to develop your skills and enhance your knowledge of the legal profession.
You'll have a flexible range of opportunities to enhance your professional skills and graduate opportunities as this module will be tailored to each student's development.
You'll apply the theoretical understanding you've been developing throughout your degree to a chosen professional context. This could include a work-based project or skills development approach where you will identify and address specific gaps in your portfolio of graduate-level skills.
Your final year dissertation project is the culmination of your studies.
It's an independent project guided by the support of your supervisor.
It can either be a theoretical-based piece of work, investigating a particular issue within social sciences, or you can take on a piece of primary research.
It should bring together knowledge and understanding from other modules to create a research project that could generate new knowledge, or develops our understanding of the topic.
The proposal for the research project undertaken in SOC 6044 will have been developed and assessed within SOC 5042 Contemporary Research 2.
You'll learn the main legal principles and issues of employment law.
We'll look at case law and changes in law and policy.
The content is tailored to topics of current interest so we can cover significant contemporary issues relating to employment law.
We'll explore contemporary issues relating to family law, including case law and changes in law and policy.
The content of the module, which is not specified by either the SRA or BSB, will therefore be tailored to topics of current interest.
You'll develop an awareness of the issues surrounding family law, you'll evaluate its operation within society, and appreciate the social, economic and political contexts and underlying policy issues relating to its operation, and their impact.
You'll get an introduction to human rights law, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and anti-discrimination legislation.
You'll consider issues of social justice and discrimination in the light of comparative law and critical legal theory.
We'll explore human rights through key theories and texts, and encourage you to apply and test your findings on current debates about justice and equality.
You’ll cover the key principles of corporate law in England and Wales and be introduced to the concept of the company as a separate legal entity.
Subjects you’ll consider include limited liability, the corporate veil, a company’s constitution, and the role of directors who manage a company on a day-to-day basis, as well as the shareholders who have invested in the business.
You’ll be introduced to the internal processes and procedures that need to be followed within a company, together with associated reporting requirements and liaison with Companies House.
You’ll be encouraged to think critically about issues such as minority protection, majority rule, and the separation of ownership and control in order to enable hem to apply these concepts to problem-based scenarios.
You’ll acquire an in depth understanding of key principles and issues in legal technology.
You’ll capture significant contemporary issues in legal technology in law and practice drawing on case law, regulations, and changes in law and policy.
Explore current issues to ensure both currency and interest, drawing on themes linked with law in the context of the digital revolution, the disruption of artificial intelligence and blockchain in law.
Develop an awareness of the issues surrounding practical and ethical implications in connection with legal technology.
You’ll evaluate legal technology’s operation within society, appreciate the social, economic and political contexts and underlying policy issues relating to its operation and their impact.
Critically explore concepts, debates, literature and research on justice, punishment and human rights.
You'll consider whether the criminal justice system balances these three elements.
In the first semester, you'll explore the history of punishment. You'll assess the importance of protecting human rights within punishment and look at the work of philosophers including John Locke, Jeremy Bentham and Michel Foucault.
In the second semester, you'll critically analyse the philosophies of punishment -
deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and retribution - underpinning the criminal justice system.
We'll explore how much criminological theory can help us understand criminality and harm in the 21st century.
We've already seen dramatic transformations with protests and uprisings, climate change, a global financial crisis and the birth of social media and the dark web.
You'll critically assess which theories can help us understand and respond to the negative consequences of these changes, and why we are willing to inflict harm on others and ourselves.
You'll develop an in-depth understand of 21st century policing issues such as cybercrime and terrorism.
We'll explore the role of intelligence agencies and how effective they are at fighting security issues in Britain.
You'll get a critical awareness of the role of police and agencies such as the National Crime Agency and British Security Service (MI5).
You'll analyse political and cultural texts covering historical, critical and contextual approaches to gender.
You'll examine the way gender is performed, consumed and contested.
We'll look at issues concerning power, gender and identity, examining debates on the social construction of gender.
Get a critical introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Genocide Studies.
You'll explore case studies relating to historical and contemporary instances of genocide, and interrogate the memorialisation of genocide.
You'll evaluate international legal mechanisms of genocide prevention.
We may address themes including the relationship of genocide to cognate categories in international legal discourse such as crimes against humanity and ‘ethnic cleansing’, sociological, criminological and social-psychological approaches to perpetration, the aftermath of genocide and the emerging concept of ecocide.
Explore how police, partner agencies and government bodies combat transnational and corporate crime that transcend regional, national and international boundaries.
You'll discover how law enforcement and government bodies have to work together to prevent and detect these often clandestine crimes.
We'll explore the exchange of weapons, drugs and stolen property, and the exploitation of people through human trafficking and modern day slavery.
Scrutinise the infiltration of governments and businesses through fraud, corruption and money laundering.
We'll also look at how technology and the internet facilitate transnational crimes.
Develop a critical understanding of the definitions, explanations and responses related to youth justice and crime.
Understand how to critically appreciate the impact of ethic, gendered, political and cultural inequality and difference in the experience of youth justice and crime control.
Explore issues pertinent to social justice and injustice with regards to children and young people’s lives, through a variety of contemporary theoretical and policy related lenses.
Explore the lives and experiences of criminalised women, often a marginalised and unheard demographic of the criminal justice system.
With a growing body of work, underpinned by feminist thought, aiming to recognise the gendered experiences and challenges of criminalised women, you’ll unpick and offer a space to develop critical thought and challenge the patriarchal and neo-liberal agendas within society.
You’ll discuss the intersecting layers of system failure, marginalisation and stigma which saturate women’s experiences, alongside the gendered stereotypes the women face. You’ll consider what can influence both women’s offending and desistance from crime, drawing upon research, policy and practice.
Experience matters. That's why we embed professional work placements within the majority of our standard undergraduate degrees.
Careers and Placements will work with you to find a placement or help you to arrange your own, whether that's in Leeds, another part of the UK or even abroad. You will be able to take part in a series of workshops, events and live ‘employer challenges’ to boost your confidence and prepare you for your placement.
During your placement, you could have an opportunity to gain degree-relevant work experience, build your knowledge of career sectors and secure valuable employer references and industry contacts. This experience will help you to shape your career decisions and find the right path for you.
Leeds is one of the UK’s major centres for legal services, making it an ideal setting for placement and graduate opportunities. We have links to local youth justice, policing, and penal justice placements.
To find out how we can help you make your career ambitions a reality, visit:
A variety of assessment methods are used, matched to the learning outcomes for your programme, allowing you to apply and demonstrate the full range of knowledge and skills that you have developed.
For more details on specific assessment methods for this course contact hello@leedstrinity.ac.uk
Your time on campus, learning through in-person teaching, is at the heart of your academic experience and the way we deliver our programmes. This is supported and further enhanced by additional engagement activities and opportunities provided online and through digital teaching materials. This blended approach seeks to ensure a positive learning and teaching student experience.
Your programme of study has been carefully designed around a three-phase model of delivery:
Preparation, Live and Post teaching and learning and the digital materials used will vary by course, but will be designed to help you structure your learning, take a full and active part in your course, and apply and test your developing knowledge and skills.
At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.
Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:
We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.
We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:
To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.
We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:
Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement.
Information about the large range of qualifications we accept, including A-Levels, BTECs and T Levels, can be found on our entry requirements page. If you need additional advice or are taking qualifications that are not covered in the information supplied, please contact our Admissions Office.
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| UCAS tariff | 104-136 |
| GCSE requirements | GCSE English language at grade C or 4 or higher is required |
Tuition fees cost £9,535 a year for this course in 2025/2026. Students who enrolled in 2024/2025 will also be charged £9,535 for academic year 2025/2026.
Tuition fees for part-time study are charged a pro-rata amount of the full-time equivalent.
Depending on government policy, tuition fees may change in future years.
Tuition fees for 2026/2027 entry will be set in summer 2025.
Living costs, e.g. accommodation, travel, food, will also need to be taken into consideration.
Leeds Trinity offers a range of bursaries and scholarships to help support students while you study.
Visit our webpage for international students.
Part-time study is not available for international students on a Student Route Visa.
We advise students that there may be additional course costs in addition to annual tuition fees:
For full-time undergraduate courses, you apply through UCAS. That's the University and Colleges Admissions Service.
On your application form, you'll need to know our institution code - it's L24 - and the course code. If you click through to the UCAS website using the button below, it'll take you to the right place with all the information you need.
You'll need to write a personal statement - we've prepared a guide to help you.
Applications are now open for courses starting in September 2025. The UCAS application deadline for courses starting in September 2025 is 29 January 2025.
There's lots more information about the application process on the UCAS website, or you can get in touch with our admissions team who will be happy to help:
Providing you with the opportunity to develop the professional skills and experience you need to launch your career is at the heart of everything we do at Leeds Trinity University.
You’ll graduate with a solid grounding in criminology and law, which will prepare you for a range of careers in youth justice, the Criminal Justice System and local government. You’ll also have the chance to develop a set of transferable skills to prepare you for the further study needed to become a barrister’s clerk.
After you graduate, Careers and Placements will help you as you pursue your chosen career through our mentoring scheme, support with CV and interview preparation and access to graduate employability events.
To find out how we can help you make your career ambitions a reality, visit:
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