This qualification is equivalent to one A Level. 

An understanding of criminology is relevant to many job roles within the criminal justice sector, social and probation work and sociology and psychology. WJEC Level 3 Applied Certificate in Criminology is a qualification with elements of psychology, law and sociology that complements studies in humanities.

This is an Applied General qualification. This means it is designed primarily to support students who wish to progress to university. It has been designed to offer exciting and interesting experiences that focus learning for 16-19 year-old learners and adult learners through applied learning, via the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in purposeful contexts linked to the criminal justice system. 

 

Course Content 

Mandatory Units

• Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime - Internally Assessed (90 GLH)
• Unit 2: Criminological Theories - Externally Assessed (90 GLH)
• Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom - Internally Assessed (90 GLH)
• Unit 4: Crime and Punishment Mandatory - Externally Assessed (90 GLH)

The first mandatory unit will enable students to demonstrate an understanding of different types of crime, influences on perceptions of crime and why some crimes are unreported.

The second mandatory unit will help students to gain an understanding of why people commit crime, drawing on what they have learned in Unit 1.

The third mandatory unit will provide an understanding of the criminal justice system from the moment a crime has been identified to the verdict. Learners will develop the understanding and skills needed to examine information in order to review the justice of verdicts in criminal cases.

In the final mandatory unit, learners will apply their understanding of the awareness of criminality, criminological theories and the process of bringing an accused to court in order to evaluate the effectiveness of social control to deliver criminal justice policy.

Each unit within the qualification has an applied purpose which acts as a focus for the learning in the unit. The applied purpose demands learning related to authentic case studies. It also requires learners to consider how the use and application of their learning impacts on themselves, other individuals, employers, society and the environment.

The applied purpose will also allow learners to learn in such a way that they develop:

• skills required for independent learning and development
• a range of generic and transferable skills
• the ability to solve problems
• the skills of project based research, development and presentation
• the fundamental ability to work alongside other professionals, in a professional environment
• the ability to apply learning in vocational contexts

Promotional Video

 

Assessment

The WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology is assessed using a combination of internal and external assessment. 

• Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime - Internally Assessed
• Unit 2: Criminological Theories - Externally Assessed
• Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom - Internally Assessed
• Unit 4: Crime and Punishment Mandatory - Externally Assessed

Internally assessed units will be course work based and externally assessed units will be exam based.

Details of the external assessment are as follows:

• 90-minute examination with a total of 75 marks across three questions on each paper
• short and extended answer questions, based on stimulus material and applied contexts
• each question will have an applied problem-solving scenario
• each paper will assess all learning outcomes and assessment criteria will be sampled in each series
• learners are allowed two resit opportunities; the highest grade will contribute towards the overall grade for the qualification
• graded on a scale of A to E.

Details of the internal assessment are as follows:

The following principles apply to the assessment of each internally assessed unit:

• Units are assessed through summative controlled assessment (available electronically).
• Controls for assessment of each internally assessed unit are provided in a model assignment.
• Each internally assessed unit must be assessed independently. Learners may produce a piece of evidence that contributes to the assessment criteria for more than one unit. This is acceptable provided it can be clearly attributed to a specified assessment criterion and has been produced under the appropriate controlled conditions for each unit.
• All grades are awarded based on the number of marks attained in each assessment.

 

Progression

By studying Level 3 Criminology students will be able to apply for a host of different Universities and courses, below are just some examples available; 

• Anglia Ruskin University - Criminology and policing
• University of Bath - Criminology
• De Montfort University - Criminology with psychology
• University of Essex - Journalism and criminology
• University of Kent - Criminal justice and criminology
• University of Liverpool - Social policy and criminology

A criminology graduate with critical thinking, analytical and communications skills, is very attractive to employers both inside and outside the criminal justice sector.

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Civil service administrator
• Community development worker
• Crime scene investigator
• Detective
• Police officer
• Prison officer
• Probation officer
• Social worker
• Youth worker

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Adult guidance worker
• Border Force officer
• Charity officer
• Counsellor
• Housing manager/officer
• Local government officer
• Solicitor

Major employers include:

• central and local government
• the police
• prison and probation services
• the court services
• security services
• non-profit-making organisations, including the NHS and charities that work with young offenders or victims of crime.

Opportunities exist in the private sector, for example in private security and in law practices.

It's also possible to work in a range of social welfare posts, such as mental health support and drug rehabilitation, housing (as housing officers or in outreach support roles), as homelessness officers, and in refugee and victim support/counselling.

Other areas of work include criminal intelligence, social work, counselling, teaching and research.

 

Entry Requirements

In order to attend Meopham Sixth Form the minimum entry requirement is 5 level 4 GCSEs, including English and Maths.

A GCSE/ Level 2 in Criminology is not required and students will not be at a disadvantage if they do not hold a previous criminology qualification.