Psychology & Criminology

Ready to explore the mysteries of the mind? Curious about why crime happens and want to delve into the inner workings of crime and criminal justice? Interested in the theories, processes and relationships that influence attitudes, beliefs and behaviour relating to healthcare? With Buckinghamshire New University, you’ll be able to select from a variety of modules and pathways to tailor the course to suit your interests and passions.

Course areas

+ Criminology

+ Criminology & Forensics

+ Criminology & Law

+ Health & Social Science

+ Psychology

+ Counselling Psychology

+ Forensic Psychology

+ Sport & Exercise Psychology

+ Psychology & Criminology

With input from industry employers, our courses help you develop the skills you need for a range of exciting careers in the public, private and voluntary sectors. We pride ourselves on teaching practical skills wherever and whenever we can, meaning you’ll leave us feeling confident and prepared for your future.

At BNU we introduce you to various specialisms and offer you the flexibility to choose the pathway which leads to your chosen career. For example, you can choose pathways in psychology, sport and exercise psychology, counselling psychology or forensic psychology. Alternatively, you could focus on criminology. You could also combine your studies in psychology and criminology, criminology and forensics, criminology and law, or health and social sciences. There’re options to suit every interest.

Our staff are highly experienced, drawing on existing links within industry to help you develop the knowledge you need for your future career. Our teaching team are also highly regarded for their research and publications. Many of our lecturers are social scientists and have active research interests into ageing, gender issues and mental health, as well as the body in society. Whilst studying at BNU, you’ll also be given the opportunity to hear from external speakers who can provide you with a deeper understanding of the subject from their experience.

We can arrange trips to places like prisons and occupational settings to give you insights into different career paths. You’ll see your chosen subject in action and how your degree can be used in the real world. What’s more, you could also gain experience volunteering in areas like mental health, forensic-related agencies, educational settings and sports psychology. This all helps to enhance your skills, as well as enable you to build up valuable contacts, further preparing you for life after graduation.

If you can’t commit to full-time study, don’t worry. You can choose to study a range of our programmes part-time. It may take you a bit longer, but you’ll be able to fit your studies around other commitments.

Criminology Health And Social Science

Mental health, crime and punishment, ageing, gender, diversity, inequality - only by understanding people’s experiences of these areas can we really start solving the big issues facing society. With BNU, you can explore the theories, policies, processes and relationships that influence attitudes, beliefs and behaviour in society.

We have specifically designed our programme and pathways to empower you and to have a positive impact on individuals, communities and society. Everything we do is focused on you and your future employment.

After graduation, you could look into jobs within and around the criminal justice system, such as the courts, prisons or the probation service, or within Government. The skills you’ll learn could also take you to a career in social and youth work, refugee and victim support, community development and advice work.

We’ll also prepare you to work in voluntary and third sector organisations such as drug and alcohol services as well as intelligence and crime analysis, youth offending and the legal profession. Whatever your career goal, we’ll help you to achieve it.

Society is a complicated machine with lots of independent cogs that all affect each other. It’s a fascinating and wide-reaching subject to study. Studying health and social science gives you lots of options for your future career.

Health and social science focuses on the changing world and the social and cultural influences on health, wellbeing and society. You’ll learn how to deconstruct issues and challenges in society related to diversity, health and gender. It also examines the ways in which globalisation is affecting the community and understandings of health, wellbeing and ageing.

There is a strong focus on employability throughout this programme and you will have the opportunity to volunteer for an organisation relevant to this degree, which will help enhance your CVs for future graduate level employment.

This subject is perfect if you want to pursue a career in the public sector, either working in policy or politics. Health and social science will help you to attain key transferable academic skills which are needed to pursue a career in the wellbeing, health, social and voluntary sectors.

Psychology

Absolutely fascinating – that’s how we’d describe psychology at BNU! Through theory and research, it unravels an enormous range of complex challenges to explain behaviour and how our brains work.

Our hands-on approach will give you a sense of what it’s really like to work in the world of psychology, in whatever career you choose. Our current students use our stateof-the-art observation laboratory to engage in the measurement of psycho-physiological responses using Biopac©. They measure the activity of the cardiovascular system, brain, autonomic nervous system and more. Our current students also have access to Tobii eye tracking equipment and HTC Vive, a virtual reality software, meaning they can push the boundaries and get creative with their research ideas. We’ll also help our students master SPSS, the statistics software that social scientists use to analyse and present data.

Many of the pathways on our BSc (Hons) in Psychology are accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS), which is a recognised qualification by employers throughout the country. Upon graduation, if you achieve a 2:2 or higher, you’ll be eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) and from there you can take steps towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.

Our courses prepare you to work in a wide range of organisations, including the NHS, police force, prison service, the courts, probation service, local government, Civil Service, human resources, advertising and marketing communications and more. Many students also use our courses as a steppingstone to further training. So, in whatever area you wish to specialise, we can help you achieve your career goals.