Introduction
Explore the realms of psychology and criminology on our joint honours degree, with hands-on experience in our Science Centre in Cambridge.
How do our thoughts and feelings dictate our actions? And is there such a thing as the criminal mind?
These are fascinating questions, and psychology and criminology are equally fascinating fields. You might be interested in both, and wondering which area to specialise in. If that’s the case, our British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited Psychology with Criminology degree is made for you.
We start by looking at the main principles of psychology and criminology. Then, in Years 2 and 3, our optional modules give you the freedom to explore your own interests in more depth.
Read more
By studying BSc (Hons) Psychology with Criminology at ARU, you’ll learn from expert tutors who are actively engaged in research work. And you can take advantage of our specialist science facilities too, including laboratories for analysing hair and saliva samples, and measuring electrical activity in the brain.
You’ll learn about criminal profiling and how it offers insights into youth offending, gendered violence, genocide, rape, abuse and other types of crime. You’ll look at media representations of crime, and explore social and developmental psychology.
But we don’t just learn in the classroom. There are field trips to places such as the Old Bailey and Auschwitz. You’ll sit in on live trials in Cambridge Crown Court too, and observe the dynamics of the court room.
In the final year of your course, there’s the chance to learn about offending and offender rehabilitation from trainee forensic psychologists. You’ll also complete a major project within psychology – and define your future career path.
Psychology degrees at ARU
This is just one of the undergraduate psychology degrees that we offer in Cambridge. You can also choose to study BSc (Hons) Psychology, or focus on the field of clinical psychology.
Specialist labs
At ARU you’ll be based in our £45m Science Centre. It opened in 2018 and features a range of psychology labs including:
- EEG Lab
- Perception Lab
- Neuroscience Lab
- Developmental Lab
- Psychometrics Lab.
Industry-standard equipment
Our labs house specialist psychological equipment such as:
- PowerLab devices for monitoring emotional and physiological responses, and a portable Nexus device for use outside the lab
- a Tobii Pro 300TX eye-tracker and portable eye-tracker glasses
- a driving simulator
- an Oculus Rift VR headset
- visual and acoustic stimulation systems
- a functional near-infrared spectroscopy device, for measuring brain activation
- electroencephalography, for measuring the electrical activity of the brain
- commercial software packages.
British Psychological Society
Achieve a second-class honours degree or above, and you’ll be eligible for graduate chartered membership of the British Psychological Society. It’s your first step towards becoming a chartered psychologist.
Careers
As a Psychology with Criminology graduate, a range of careers is open to you. With further study, you could specialise in disciplines such as forensic, occupational or educational psychology. Or as a criminologist you could work for the Probation Service, the police, the Prison Service, the Home Office or the Courts Service.
As a graduate chartered member of the British Psychological Society, you could undertake further training to become a counselling or clinical psychologist, or specialise in areas like health, educational or forensic psychology.
Whichever path interests you most, you can be sure that you’ll graduate with the knowledge, skills and abilities that industry needs. We work with employers, and they help us review what we teach and how we teach it – offering hands-on, practical opportunities to learn through work-based projects, internships or placements.
We have strong links with the local probation service and the police, so you’ll have the opportunity to gain work experience while you’re studying.
Graduation doesn't need to be the end of your time with us. We offer a range of postgraduate degrees including MSc Foundations in Clinical Psychology, and MSc Clinical Child Psychology. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.
My name is Kavisha Prince Anthony, and I always had a dream of studying abroad. Thankfully, that dream came to life since I applied to the Study Advisor. I was able to receive my visa within four days. I also had some visa refusals in the past; I had about six UK visa refusals in the past, but thankfully, it was not an issue since the Study Advisor was able to make things work this time. I highly recommend Study Advisor for your dreams of going abroad, whether it be the UK or any other European country there is.