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Professional Policing BSc(Hons)

2024-25 (also available for 2025-26)

Undergraduate Open Days
Undergraduate Open Days

Start date

16 September 2024

Duration

3 years full-time

Entry requirements

A Level - BBC-BCC

BTEC - DMM-MMM

See full entry requirements

Places available (subject to change)

49

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. You’ll gain real-world experience via teaching by police officers and professionals from other organisations. 
  2. Suiting different learning styles, Professional Policing BSc(Hons) includes a mix of theory and practice; you’ll take part in a range of practical policing exercising, such as interviewing, investigation, operational planning, report writing, statement making, and giving evidence. 
  3. Hear first-hand experiences and viewpoints from guest speakers, such as senior police officers, and community organisations.

Providing you with a strong theoretical, methodological, and ethical understanding of policing, this course – while it doesn’t guarantee you employment – prepares you for a prospective future career in policing and other areas of security and public service.

Licenced by the College of Policing (CoP) to offer this Professional Policing Degree, we work with West Yorkshire Police (WYP), our local force, on the requirements for joining the force and developing opportunities around the Special Constabulary, as well as other employment and volunteering roles in WYP. We also partner with departments across the University to provide opportunities for more practical-based exercises, for example, involving students and staff from Paramedic studies, Nursing, Law, and Social Work.

Understanding the importance of working in partnership with other professionals will assist in your application to become a police officer.

Why study Professional Policing BSc(Hons)

It is now a requirement, under certain entry routes into policing, that new police officers have a degree-level qualification – upon completion of this course and application to the police, you can concentrate on professional police training, during your two years as a probationer, and do not have to undertake further study.

The course has been designed for those who have an interest in learning about the law and working with people. There have been many situations, where harm has come to vulnerable people, such as children, those with learning difficulties, physical or mental health issues, older adults and those experiencing domestic violence.

Maintaining the law is just one aspect of policing, and protecting the public, particularly the vulnerable, is another. Some of the issues raised by these situations concern how individuals from different professions or disciplines work together, communicate, and understand each other’s roles and responsibilities. This course will help you to understand the law, how to work with others and to protect the public.

You’ll be taught by lecturers who have a wide range of research practice knowledge and specialisms as experts in their field. You’ll also gain real-world experience via teaching by police officers and professionals from other organisations, and you’ll hear first-hand experiences from guest speakers from community organisations.

A truly interactive course, you’ll engage (in different ways) in learning, through written work, practical exercises, and small group discussions, and debates. You’ll focus on topics including the criminal justice system, crime prevention, social science, and policing communities.

Opening a wide range of possibilities, this Professional Policing degree is the foundation for a potentially rewarding career ahead.

Course detail

Criminal Justice

This module will introduce you to the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales. You’ll learn about different court systems and processes, the range of punishments and sanctions. You’ll examine victims in the CJS and changes connected to the treatment of victims, witnesses and offenders. You’ll focus on the role of the police and its relationship with the Crown Prosecution Service. You’ll consider rehabilitation and partnership working to support offenders, victims and witnesses.

Criminology and Crime Prevention

This module develops your understanding of criminological approaches to crime. The professionalisation of policing in England and Wales are requiring police officers to be critical as well as reflective. The complexity and diversity of society requires officers who can handle situations which are rarely routine. An introduction to criminological perspectives on policing and crime reduction will foster an understanding of the initiatives and approaches that have been proposed and adopted to reducing crime.

Policing Communities and Problem Solving

This module will develop your understanding of ‘Community Policing’. You’ll look at the development of community policing, as a response to public criticism of reactive based policing and a move to a more proactive approach. It will highlight examples of real-world significance and explore the changing nature of community policing in a social and political context. It will introduce you to signal crimes and signal disorder and the development of problem-oriented policing (POP) and partnership working.

Policing: Core Functions and Standards

The module will introduce you to the purpose, responsibilities, and standards of the modern police service. Principles of policing in England and Wales; fairness and equality are part of the change towards professionalisation. Concepts in policing such as ‘policing by consent’ and ‘legitimacy’ rely on public cooperation for officers to carry out their role. This module encourages you to consider an evidenced-based approach.

Study and Employability Skills

In this module you'll be introduced to study skills within a Higher Education (HE) setting, focusing on academic writing, referencing and citations, basic library searches and research. Alongside this, you’ll also be introduced to the skills and competencies required to become a police officer and how to prepare for the recruitment process. The module aims to develop your abilities to achieve within a professional HE programme. It will also provide you with an understanding of the police recruitment process.

Valuing Difference and Inclusion

In this module you’ll consider how the police service in England and Wales develops and maintains positive relationships with all communities. You’ll look at how society has changed and the police service has responded. You’ll explore significant events such as the Brixton Riots (1981) and the murder of Stephen Lawrence (1993). You’ll examine how equality legislation has developed since the 1970s with a focus on confidence in the police.

Entry requirements

BBC-BCCat A Level .

112-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

Merit at T Level.

DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

  • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
  • 112-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

If you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry to this degree you may be able to apply to our Social Science Foundation Pathway leading to a BSc(Hons) Degree.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

Your Career


This qualification is recognised by the police service as preparing you for a career as a police officer in England and Wales.  You will not be required to undertake further academic study to become a qualified police officer, you’ll only be required to meet occupational competence, enabling you to concentrate on your professional training during your two years as a probationer.  

The Professional Policing Degree qualification will reduce the probation period from three years to two years, so you’ll be eligible for any pay rises after this period. Some forces will also give you a higher starting salary if you already have a degree. 

This course does not guarantee you employment in any police force. On graduating you’ll need to apply to the police force of your choice, meet their eligibility criteria and complete the national recruitment processes. Further information is available on the Join The Police website.

If you wish to use successful completion of this course as your entry route to the police service, you must apply to join a police force within five years of your graduation. However, your degree will still be valid for any other roles you may wish to apply for. 

On successful completion of the course, you may also wish to pursue a range of other occupations relating to investigation, security, and community-based roles, supporting vulnerable people, working with offenders, victims, criminal justice organisations, crime reduction roles, and many other exciting career paths. This could involve working with His Majesty’s Prison Service, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), UK Border Agency (UKBA), National Crime Agency (NCA), Fraud Investigation and Security Services (MI5 and MI6).    
 
*Percentage of graduates from the subject area who were in work and/or further study within fifteen months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2020/21, including both UK and non-UK domiciled, other activities excluded). 
 
**LinkedIn. 

86% Graduates employed*

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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