Overview

The BA (Hons) (Criminology) (International) Pathway is a four-year, full-time, interdisciplinary degree in Criminology which enables students on the BA (Hons) Criminology programme 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:

1. Criminology
2. Sociology
3. Law
4. Applied Psychology
5. French, German, Italian, Spanish or Irish.

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) (International) Pathway

Students who wish to take the Second Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway register for the pathway at the beginning of Second Year. No student may register for Second Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway until s/he 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.

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

Students who choose Italian take the following core modules to the value of 20 credits:

and choose elective modules to the value of 15 credits from the elective list in Second Arts (Criminology). 

Third Year - Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway

Students complete the Third Year of BA Hons Criminology (International) Pathway at a host university abroad.

Students are reminded that if they wish to transfer from the BA Hons Arts-Criminology (International) Pathway to the BA – Hons Arts-Criminology CK113, they may do so at the start of Semester 1 by submitting a transfer application to the Office of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences. Transfers are not available for students in European Studies.

Third Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway is spent in an approved foreign university where students will study approved courses/modules to the equivalent value of 60 credits. All courses will be assessed by the approved Host University.

Fourth Year - Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway

No student may register for Fourth Arts (Criminology) (International Pathway) until s/he has passed the Third University Examination in Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway. 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 Fourth Arts (Criminology) (International) Pathway students take core modules to the value of 25 credits in Criminology plus 35 credits of elective modules. Students follow the same curriculum as students taking Third Arts (Criminology)).

Programme Requirements

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

Programme Requirements

¹

GE0003 German Language (Beginner Level A1) Part 1 and GE0004 German Language (Beginner Level A1) Part 2 must 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) in Criminology (International) Pathway (NFQ Level 8, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Have a critical analysis of the varying causes and functions of crime in society;
• Know the history of criminology and its wide range of theories;
• Be aware of the influence of class, gender, race, religion, politics, region and age in the causation and definition of crime and social deviance;
• Have learned key empirical research findings about crime and understood the main research methodologies used to construct criminological knowledge;
• Create research designs into a wide range of criminological issues;
• Read and decode the philosophy, theory and research implicit in different criminal justice politics and policies;
• Conduct a critical assessment of popular opinion, media images of crime and deviance, and the official criminal statistics;
• Have gained an insight into the forms and processes of criminalization, and an awareness of alternatives to imprisonment;
• 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, Repeat First Years, Second Years and Repeat Second Years 2025/2026 ***
*** 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.

First Year - 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.

Second Year - Marks and Credits

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

Second Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass second year and progress to third 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 second year. The aggregate of 33.33% of the second 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.