Overview

The BA (Hons) Criminology is a three-year, full-time, interdisciplinary degree in Criminology.

To be eligible for the award of the BA (Hons) degree a student will be required to have achieved 180 credits by obtaining 60 credits in each of First, Second, and Third Arts (Criminology). A student may not register for more than 60 credits in one academic year.

BA (Hons) (Criminology) (International) Pathway 

The BA (Hons) (Criminology) (International) Pathway is a four-year programme which enables students to study abroad for a year in an approved University outside Ireland.

First Year - Arts (Criminology)

In First Arts (Criminology) students study prescribed modules to the value of 60 credits in the designated subjects:

Points to Note:

1. German: Students wishing to select German (Non Beginners) should have a minimum grade H4 in German in the Leaving Certificate (or equivalent).
2. French: A student will not normally be allowed to select French unless he/she has attained a pass standard in French in the Leaving Certificate Examination or equivalent.
3. Italian: Students wishing to take Non-Beginners' Italian are recommended to have a minimum of Grade H4 in Italian in the Leaving Certificate Examination (or equivalent). Students who have studied Italian at second level and obtained a grade below H4 can join the Beginners' Italian course.
4. Spanish: Students wishing to take Beginners' Spanish must have obtained a Grade H4 in the Leaving Certificate (or equivalent) in another modern continental language or Irish, Latin, or Greek. Students wishing to take Non-Beginners' Spanish must have obtained a minimum Grade H4 in Spanish in the Leaving Certificate Examination (or equivalent). Students will be accepted to the Beginners group only if they have no prior German, or if they have reached a level no higher than Junior Certificate German.

Second Year - Arts (Criminology)

No student may register for Second Arts (Criminology) until he/she has passed the First University Examination in Arts (Criminology). The selection of any module is conditional on the Professor or Lecturer concerned and the College being satisfied that a student is capable of profiting by attendance thereat. Students may not select modules which involve a timetable clash.

Student who wish to take the four-year option with a year abroad must register for the BA (Criminology) (International) Pathway at the beginning of Second Year.

In Second Arts (Criminology) students take core modules in Criminology to the value of 25 credits plus 35 credits of elective modules.

Note: Students cannot take the same module in Year 2 and again in Year 3.

Third Year - Arts (Criminology)

No student may register for Third Arts (Criminology) until he/she has passed the Second University Examination in Arts (Criminology). The selection of any module is conditional on the Professor or Lecturer concerned and the College being satisfied that a student is capable of profiting by attendance thereat. Students may not select modules which involve a timetable clash.

In Third Arts (Criminology) students take core modules to the value of 15 credits in Criminology plus 45 credits of elective modules.

Note: Students cannot take the same module in Year 2 and again in Year 3.

Programme Requirements

For information about modules, module choice, options and credit weightings, please go to Programme Requirements. 

Programme Requirements

Module List

Code	Title	Credits
Year 1
Students take 60 credits as follows - all listed core modules (45 credits) and 15 credits of elective modules:
Core Modules
Criminology
CR1001	Criminology: a history and introduction	5
CR1002	Methods, studies, and key issues in Criminology	10
CR1003	Introduction to the Psychology of Crime	5
Sociology
SC1012	Introduction to Sociology (Part A)	5
SC1017	Key Issues in Sociology (Part B)	5
Law and Society
LW1169	Introduction to the Legal System for Criminology	5
CR1006	Criminal law and social control	10
Elective Modules
Students take one 15-credit option from the following:		15
French
FR1105	Threshold French (5)
FR1107	French for Reading Purposes I (5)
FR1201	Introduction to French Studies (5)
Gaeilge
GA1003	Bunstaidéar ar Theanga agus ar Chultúr na Gaeilge (15)
German
Intermediate Level B1
GE0005	German Language (CEFR-Level A2.1) (5)
GE0008	German Language (CEFR-Level A2.2) (5)
GE1102	Introduction to German Literature and Culture (5)
Beginners
GE0003	German Language (Beginner Level A1) Part 1 (5) 1
GE0004	German Language (Beginner Level A1) Part 2 (5)
GE1104	Introduction to German Culture and Literature for Beginners (5)
Italian
Beginners
IT1109	Introduction to Written and Spoken Italian (10)
IT1201	Post-Unification Italian Culture and Society (5)
Non-Beginners
IT1102	Non-Beginners' Written and Spoken Italian (10)
IT1201	Post-Unification Italian Culture and Society (5)
Spanish
Beginners
HS0028	Spanish Language (Beginner Level) (10)
HS1007	Research Project in Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies (5)
Post-Leaving Certificate
HS1007	Research Project in Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies (5)
HS1009	Spanish Language (Post Leaving Certificate) (10)
Philosophy
PH1001	Introduction to Philosophy (15)
Government and Politics
GV1204	Democracy, Ideology and Utopia (5)
GV1207	Politics and Government of Ireland (5)
GV1217	Introduction to Political Science (5)
Year 2
Single Subject
Students take 60 credits as follows: - all listed core modules (25 credits) and 35 credits of elective modules:
Core Modules
CR2001	Contemporary Criminological Theory	10
SC2065	Introduction to Social Research	10
SC2021	Sociology of Crime and Deviance	5
Elective Modules
Students take modules to the value of 35 credits from the following:		35
CR2002	Women, Confinement and Social Control in Ireland (5)
CR2003	Crime, Urbanization and Cities (5)
CR2006	Policing Modern Society (5)
CR2008	Victims and Victimology (5)
CR2015	Young people, trauma and the criminal justice system (5)
CR2021	Prisons in Practice (5)
CR2025	Online Hackers and Cyber-deviants (5)
CR2019	The Global Trade in Illicit Drugs and Its Regulation (10)
CR2022	Inside-Out Criminal Justice and Social Justice (10) 2
FR2202	Literary Seminar I (5)
FR2105	Towards Vantage French (5)
FR2107	French for Reading Purposes II (5)
FR2204	Topics in Literature and Culture (5)
FR2306	The Theatre of the Absurd (5)
FR2311	Africa: Colonialism to Continental Crisis (5)
FR2313	Francophone Travel Narratives (5)
FR2406	An Introduction to Translation Studies with French (5)
GA2001	Úsáid agus Cruinneas na Gaeilge I (10)
GE2101	Integrated German Language Course (10)
GE2102	Linguistics 1 (5)
GE2126	German Literature from 18th to 21st Century (5)
GE2130	Constructing and Deconstructing German National Identity: Key Texts (5)
GE2150	Memory in Contemporary German Fiction (5)
GG2048	Political Geography (5)
GG2010	Cities of Diversity (5)
GV1218	International Politics (5)
GV2230	Public Management Concepts (5)
GV2231	Public Management in Practice (5)
GV2240	International Security (5)
HI2045	Crime, Violence, and Revolutionary Ireland, 1913-1925 (5)
HI2046	Popular Justice and Social Control in Ireland, 1803-1940 (5)
HI2047	Hitler, Nazism and the Holocaust (5)
HS0128	Spanish Language (Improver [01] Level) (10)
HS2101	Second Year Spanish Language Course (Ex-Beginners) (10)
HS2022	Catalan Language and Culture I (5)
HS2023	Catalan Language and Culture II (5)
IT2101	Intermediate Italian Language (10)
IT2306	Italo Calvino and the Interpretation of Reality (5)
IT2309	Italian Crime Narratives (5)
IT2310	Issues in Contemporary Italian Society through Film and Documentaries (5)
LW1153	Criminal Law (10)
LW2207	International Human Rights Law (5)
LW2208	Law of the European Convention on Human Rights (5)
LW2006 & LW2007	The Law of Evidence I and The Law of Evidence II
PH2002	Reasoning and Argument (5)
PH2004	An Introduction to Political Philosophy (5)
PH2006	Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness (5)
PH2017	Feminist Philosophy (5)
PH2018	Violence and War (5)
PH2019	Philosophy of Science (5)
PH2028	Applied Ethics (5)
PH2035	Roman Political Thought: Cicero (5)
PH2036	Existentialism (5)
SC2004	Sociology of Politics, Power, and Ideology (5)
SC2012	Race, Ethnicity, Migration and Nationalism (5)
SC2014	Classical Social Theory (5)
SC2015	Critical Social Theory (5)
SC2017	Sociology of Education/Sociology for Education (5)
SC2026	The Family: Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives (5)
SC2027	Sociology of the Body and the Mind (5)
SC2034	Sociology of the City (5)
SC3062	Sociology of Law: Legal Justice, Human Rights and Social Change (5)
SS2007	Penal Policy and Practice (5)
ST2001 & ST3001	Introduction to Biostatistics and Biostatistics I 4
Year 3
Single Subject
Students take 60 credits as follows - all listed core modules 15 credits and 45 credits of elective modules:
Core Modules
CR3001	Research Methods for Criminology	5
CR3010	Crime, Justice, and Policy	10
Elective Modules
Students take modules to the value of 45 credits from the following:		45
CR2002	Women, Confinement and Social Control in Ireland (5)
CR2003	Crime, Urbanization and Cities (5)
CR2006	Policing Modern Society (5)
CR2008	Victims and Victimology (5)
CR2015	Young people, trauma and the criminal justice system (5)
CR2019	The Global Trade in Illicit Drugs and Its Regulation (10)
CR2021	Prisons in Practice (5)
CR2022	Inside-Out Criminal Justice and Social Justice (10) 2
CR2025	Online Hackers and Cyber-deviants (5)
CR3009	Corporate Crime (5)
CR3002	Dissertation on Criminology (10)
CR3013	Abolitionism: Critical carceral studies (5)
FR4101	Advanced Use of French (10)
GA3001	Úsáid agus Cruinneas na Gaeilge (10)
GE3101	Advanced Integrated German Language Course (10)
GE3126	German Film in Focus: A Thematic Approach (5)
GE3137	Interpreting Heinrich von Kleist's Short Prose Fiction (5)
GE3139	Historical Connections: German-Irish Relations and Biographies (5)
GE3142	Nietzsche für Alle und Keinen: The Philosopher as Artist (5)
GE3150	Topographies and Fiction (5)
GE3151	Migration, Multilingualism and Literature (5)
GE3902	Language and Interpretation: The Philosophy of Making Sense (5)
GE3904	The Double Face of Germany: Representing the Holocaust (5)
GV3210	Conflict and Conflict Resolution (5)
HI2045	Crime, Violence, and Revolutionary Ireland, 1913-1925 (5)
HI2046	Popular Justice and Social Control in Ireland, 1803-1940 (5)
HS1009	Spanish Language (Post Leaving Certificate) (10)
HS3001	Final Year Spanish Language (10)
HS3054	Gender, Violence and Power on the US-Mexico Border (5)
HS3058	Human Rights, Memory and the Post-Dictatorship Generation in the Southern Cone (5)
IT3101	Advanced Italian Language (10)
IT3205	Dante, Inferno (5)
IT3307	Italian Women Writers (5)
IT3312	Renaissance Virtues and Vices in Italian Early Modern Literature (5)
IT3316	Dante's Commedia: The Poetic Path to Paradise (5)
IT3317	Cinematic Representations of the 'anni di piombo' (5)
IT3318	Unearthly Narratives: Italian Tales of the Fantastic and Apocalyptic (5)
IT3401	Minor Dissertation (5)
PH3025	Political Philosophy in Theory and Practice (5)
PH3041	Moral Psychology 2 (5)
PH3042	Professional Ethics (5)
PH3048	Moral Philosophy in Theory and Practice (5)
PH3110	Human Nature and Free Will (5)
SC3001	Contemporary Social Theory (5)
SC3003	Understanding Globalisation and Development (5)
SC3012	Sociology of the Media (5)
SC3029	Sociology of the Environment (5)
SC3046	Gender, Sexuality and Inequality (5)
SC3058	Sociology of Memory, Trauma & Collective Denial (10)
SC3062	Sociology of Law: Legal Justice, Human Rights and Social Change (5)
SC3067	The Sociology of Violence (5)
SS3015	The Politics of Racism (Online) (5)
SS3112	Penal Policy and Practice (5)
ST2001 & ST3001	Introduction to Biostatistics and Biostatistics I 4
Total Credits		180

¹

GE0003 German Language (Beginner Level A1) Part 1 and GE0004 German Language (Beginner Level A1) Part 2must be taken together.

²

Selection of CR2022 Inside-Out Criminal Justice and Social Justice is subject to the approval of the module co-ordinator. Students will be required to submit a motivational statement outlining why they wish to take the module and undergo an interview as prescribed by the School.

³

FR2101 Advanced French Language I is an obligatory language module. 

⁴

Co-requisite ST2001 Introduction to Biostatistics

Examinations

Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.

Programme Learning Outcomes

Programme Learning Outcomes for BA (Hons) (Criminology) (NFQ Level 8, Major Award)

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1
1-1
Have a critical analysis of the varying causes and functions of crime in society;
1-2
2
Know the history of criminology and its wide range of theories;
1-3
3
Be aware of the influence of class, gender, race, religion, politics, region and age in the causation and definition of crime and social deviance;
1-4
4
Have learned key empirical research findings about crime and understood the main research methodologies used to construct criminological knowledge;
1-5
5
Create research designs into a wide range of criminological issues;
1-6
6
Read and decode the philosophy, theory and research implicit in different criminal justice politics and policies;
1-7
7
Conduct a critical assessment of popular opinion, media images of crime and deviance, and the official criminal statistics;
1-8
8
Have gained an insight into the forms and processes of criminalization, and an awareness of alternatives to imprisonment;
1-9
9
Have become aware of cultural variations in the handling of moral and political conflicts globally; and of the relationship between the international economic order and crime and justice in developing countries.

*** Only for Incoming First Years and Repeat First Years 2024/2025 ***
*** Click here for Marks and Standards for all other years ***

Marks and Standards

These Marks and Standards should be read in conjunction with the Programme Requirements and the Book of Modules.

Fitness to Practise

All students on programmes subject to Fitness to Practise in UCC will be required to comply with the Fitness to Practise Policy and meet the relevant Fitness to Practise standards, in order to progress to the next year of his/her/their programme. Click here for a list of programmes subject to the Fitness to Practise Policy.

Marks and Credits

Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1200.

First Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass first year and progress to second year, students must achieve:

1. An aggregate mark of 40% across all modules,
2. A pass mark in modules to the value of at least 50 credits, and
3. A module mark of at least 30% in any remaining modules.

Pass by Compensation: Students who satisfy each of the above criteria are allowed to compensate in modules to the value of 10 credits and pass the year overall.

Award of Honours in the Degree Award

An honours classification is awarded for the final degree using the final year examination results and marks carried forward from the penultimate year. The aggregate of 33.33% of the penultimate year marks plus 66.67% of the final year marks will be used to calculate the final degree award.

Honours will be awarded as follows:

1. First Class Honours: ≥ 70%
2. Second Class Honours, Grade I: ≥ 60% and <70%
3. Second Class Honours, Grade II: ≥ 50% and <60%
4. Pass: ≥ 40% and <50%

Award of Honours when a student undertakes Study Abroad
When students study abroad as part of his/her/their degree programme, the calculation of the final degree award is based on modules in the Book of Modules only.

Examination Boards

• Provisional marks for Semester 1 examinations are released in January/February of each year. These marks are subject to approval at the University Examination Board.
• Marks for all modules taken in Semester 1 and 2, including those wholly assessed by Continuous Assessment, will be presented to the University Examination Board at the end of Semester 2.

Supplemental Examinations and Assessment

• Students who fail to achieve the progression standard for the year at the Summer Examination Board must complete Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment for those specific module(s), where there is provision to do so.
• Please refer to the Book of Modules for requirements governing the Supplemental Examination and Assessment for individual modules. Note: For some modules there is no Supplemental Examination and Assessment.
• The marks achieved in the Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment of a repeat module are considered at the Autumn Examination Board.
• The actual mark achieved by the candidate in the Supplemental or Repeat Year Examination will be recorded on the student record (Academic Transcript).
• The maximum mark that will be taken into account for aggregation and progression purposes is a pass level, unless the student has been granted a cap waiver or deferral by the University Mitigation Committee, or a University Examination Board, or has been approved to defer the previous attempt by the University Mitigation Committee.
• At the Autumn Examination Board, marks from all passed modules approved at the Summer Examination Board are carried forward and are combined with the marks achieved in Supplemental Examinations and/or Assessments. The pass and progression criteria are applied to the aggregate mark achieved.

Note: The mark achieved at the last examination/assessment attempt is the mark that is included in the calculation of the aggregate mark for pass and progression purposes.

Study Abroad

• When students study abroad as part of his/her/their degree programme, they will be assessed by his/her/their host university.
• To pass the study abroad period and progress to the subsequent year, a student must achieve a pass standard as applied by the host institution.
• A Pass/Fail judgement will be presented to the UCC Examination Boards:
  • At the Summer Examination Board for students spending Semester 1 abroad.
  • At the Autumn/Winter Examination Board for students spending the full academic year abroad or Semester 2 only.
• For students failing to achieve a pass mark, Supplemental Assessment will be prescribed by the School in UCC, and these results will be presented at a Winter Examination Board.

Exemptions

All passed modules carry an exemption, which is limited to a period of five academic years (or two in the case of Computer Science modules) subsequent to the award of the exemption.

Repeat Year Examinations

Students repeating the year may do so choosing one of the following mechanisms:

1. Students retain module exemptions, if any, and must repeat all failed/absent modules, including those modules where the failing mark previously achieved was greater than the level of compensation (≥ 30%) but who failed to achieve the progression standard for the year (see above). The pass and progression criteria are then applied to the combination of full marks achieved in modules passed at the first attempt, plus capped marks achieved in modules in the Repeat Year Examinations.​

Note: For students selecting different modules not previously taken, there are no restrictions on the marks awarded for those modules at the first attempt in a repeat year. The selection of different modules by the student means that the student foregoes any previous marks achieved in the original modules (including previously passed modules).

2. Students may forego all module exemptions achieved and repeat the year choosing modules to the value of the full 60 credits. In determining pass and progression, there is no restriction on the marks awarded for modules taken at the first attempt of the Repeat Year. Modules taken at the subsequent Supplemental Examination and Assessment are capped at the pass mark.

Subject to capacity, all students - whether they have failed or passed - are allowed to choose this second option, in an attempt to improve his/her/their grade.

Students repeating the final year are eligible for the award of Honours in the first Repeat Year only. Final year students wishing to repeat the year with a view to improving his/her/their degree result may do so only if they have not been conferred.

Three Year Rule

Students must pass/progress within three academic years of the date of first registration for a year, otherwise they cannot continue in the programme.

Terms and Definitions

Programme Description

• The programme description is outlined in the Programme Requirements tab.

Module Descriptions/Assessment

• Module descriptions, including the pass standard for a module, special requirements to pass a module, and assessment elements and their weightings, are contained in the Book of Modules.

Marks and Credits

• A maximum of 100 marks may be awarded for every five credits of a programme.
• Some modules are assessed on a Pass/Fail basis only, i.e. marks are not awarded.

Pass and Progression

• Progression is defined as the permission granted to a student to register in the subsequent academic year for the next set of modules within his/her/their programme of study.
• Compensation is defined as the process by which a student, who fails to satisfy some of the regulations for credit in a specific module, is nevertheless recommended for credit to be awarded on the grounds that the failure is offset by his/her/their performance in the other modules on his/her/their programme of study.