BSc (Hons)

Criminology including Foundation Year

The Foundation Year in Criminology forms part of an integrated four-year degree programme and is designed for students who do not currently meet the admissions criteria for direct entry onto a full Criminology degree.

How to apply Apply through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us

Key Course Details

  • UCAS Code

    M80F

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £5,760*

  • International students

    £17,200*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
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Prepare for a career in Criminology while building the academic skills needed to succeed at university.

Designed for

If you're interested in law and justice but don’t yet meet the entry requirements for a Criminology degree, this foundation year the perfect stepping stone into higher education.

Career paths

  • Law enforcement   
  • Education and youth work   
  • Prison or probation service   
  • Social work   
  • Victim advocacy 

Skills taught

  • Collaboration
  • Time management
  • Researching
  • Critical Thinking
  • IT Skills

Course Highlights

Gain a strong academic foundation

Develop a range of essential skills such as IT skills and critical thinking that will prepare you for your degree.

Taught by experts

You will be supported by passionate academics who are leaders in their field of study.

Outstanding facilities

USW is one of the few universities in the world to have an integrated immersive learning facility – the Hydra Simulation Centre.

Interactive learning

Our degrees will give the opportunity to learn in technology-enhanced and innovative ways, including crime scene simulations and working on real world investigations.

Module Overview

Prepare for university study by developing academic skills and exploring real-world issues linked to crime and justice. Through teamwork, reflection and applied learning, you’ll build confidence and understanding across the foundation year.

Starting your University Journey  
Develop academic, personal and professional skills for university study. You’ll reflect on your progress, build confidence, and create an evidence-based portfolio to support your future learning.  

Crime, Media and Culture  
Focusing on crime and justice in society, this module examines how media, identity and public opinion shape understanding and policy. You’ll engage with key debates and propose evidence-informed reforms.

Inside the Investigation: Understanding Crime and Policing Practice
An introduction to criminal investigations in England and Wales, exploring investigative processes, ethical decision-making and professional practice. You’ll apply investigative thinking to realistic scenarios across different types of crime.

The Impact Challenge: Shaping Real World Solutions
The Impact Challenge is a Foundation Year project module where students work in teams to tackle real-world issues, developing solutions through research, curiosity, teamwork, and responsible problem-solving.

For details of the modules you will study after successful completion of the Foundation Year, please see the main course page.

Course Highlights

How you'll learn

You will learn through active, real-world learning experiences that encourage curiosity, collaboration and independent thinking. Teaching helps you understand how learning works at university, while building academic confidence, critical thinking and self-reflection. You’ll work independently and with others through discussions, practical activities and guided reflection, supported by digital tools. Regular feedback helps you recognise progress and plan next steps, supporting wellbeing, resilience and a strong sense of belonging as you prepare for a higher level of study. 

How you'll be assessed

You’ll be assessed in different ways, including short tasks, coursework, presentations, and group work. Early assessments are designed to support your learning and help you understand what is expected at university. Most assessments are coursework-based and help you develop key skills such as research, academic writing, teamwork, and communication. You’ll also reflect on your progress and use university systems and digital tools. Clear, timely feedback will help you understand how to improve and support your next steps.

Placements and work experience

Students who progress onto the full Criminology degree program will complete 70 hours of hands-on experience in a placement designed to match your career goals and interests. This bespoke placement is tailored just for you, with details worked out through conversations with the University’s placement officer, you, and the host organisation. This is designed to help you bridge the gap between study and employment through practical support in areas such as interview skills, CV development, and recognising the transferrable skills you will bring to the workplace.

Facilities

You will be taught at our Pontypridd site, which has modern learning spaces and a vibrant and welcoming community. Facilities include our Moot Court, Hydra Simulation Centre and our Crime Scene Training Facility. All are designed to bring your course to life, giving you the opportunity to apply your skills in real-time and be assessed in practical environments.

Student Stories

Criminology alumni, Euan, poses for a profile shot in front of red backdrop
Building a career in youth justice

Euan Thomas

Criminology graduate

person holding ipad in front of hydra simulation centre
Turning my childhood passion into a career

Amelia Bisby

Criminology student

Professional Policing graduate, Saffron, poses for a profile picture whilst wearing her South Wales police uniform
Following my lifelong ambition to become a police officer

Saffron

Policing graduate

Professional Policing graduate, Andre, poses for a profile picture whilst wearing his South Wales police uniform
From lecture hall to the front line – Andre’s path into Policing

Andre

Policing graduate

Professional Policing graduate, Layla, poses for a profile picture whilst wearing their South Wales police uniform
I’m ready for my policing career thanks to USW

Layla

Policing graduate

Police officer wearing a high-vis and walkie talkie
Gaining professional confidence through policing

Morgan Phillips

Policing student

A group of police officers sat with their helmets resting on their knees
Preparing to serve in the police force

Ceian Williams

Policing student

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

Our graduates go on to do great things. Many enjoy successful careers in the criminal justice and youth justice systems. We have graduates working for Youth Justice Services, the Probation Service, Victim Support, the Police Force, Prison Service and other areas related to the justice system such as Women’s Aid, drug and housing agencies and Pupil Referral Units.

Careers support

You’ll have access to advice from our careers and employability service throughout your studies and when you graduate. This includes one-to-one appointments with faculty career advisers either in person or virtually through video call or email. We also have online resources to help explore career options and ensure you present yourself well to employers. These include psychometric tests, career assessments, a CV builder, an interview simulator, and application help. We also have over 2,000 registered employers targeting business graduates, so we’ll sign you up to receive weekly email alerts for jobs that match your interests too.

Industry partners

Many of our teaching staff have come from industry and make it a priority to maintain their industry contacts for the benefit of our students. We draw on these relationships to provide guest lectures, work placements and industry tools for your learning.  

We have partnerships with local police forces and youth justice teams as well as the probation service, the Department for Work and Pensions, prisons, the National Crime Agency and youth justice charities. 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

48 UCAS Points (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

  • A Level: DD to exclude General Studies
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass or BTEC Diploma Pass Pass
  • Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points

Additional requirements include:

The University normally requires a minimum 3 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances.

International applications welcomed:

We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.

English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.

If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

 

We're here to help

Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.

 

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Fee

£5,760

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£17,200

per year*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Bursaries Cost of Living Support

University Quality Assurance

At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.

If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.

THE COLD CASE UNIT HAS ALLOWED ME TO APPLY CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO SOMETHING THAT IS RELEVANT TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND MY DEGREE IN CRIMINOLOGY.

Rachel Drennan

Criminology graduate

How to apply

All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).

Advanced entry

If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.

Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.

International admissions

International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
 

Life at USW

Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.

A student sat smiling and talking to friends off camera in Treforest Student's Union
Student Life
The University's Ty Crawshays building at Treforest, Pontypridd.
Pontypridd Campus, Treforest
A double room at our Pontypridd accommodation featuring a large window.
Accommodation

Next Steps

How to apply
Apply Through UCAS
Book an Open Day
Chat to Us