Criminology

Why choose WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology?

An understanding of criminology is relevant to many job roles within the criminal justice sector, social and probation work, sociology and psychology. WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology is a qualification with elements of psychology, law and sociology that complements studies in humanities.

This course is designed to offer you a chance to learn about crime in the real world by exploring case studies of different types of crime and criminals. You will gain a number of different skills including analysis, evaluation, time management and self-organisation as you work through the course. Lessons are designed to deliver the core content to you and then enable you to develop your research skills by exploring real case studies and stimulating discussion to help you explore the key issues from each case. The skills developed in criminology will complement your study on many different courses, especially social sciences and humanities.

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What units will I study for my Diploma?

Units of study that make up the qualification include;

Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime (Mandatory Internally assessed)
Unit 2: Criminological Theories (Mandatory External examination)
Unit 3 Crime Scene to Courtroom (Mandatory Internally assessed)
Unit 4 Crime and Punishment (Mandatory External examination)

The internal assessments for Unit 1 and Unit 3 involve a Controlled Assessment where you will be given an assignment to complete over a series of examination lessons. For these units you will be allowed to take in your folder of class notes developed over the course of the unit so it is very important that you keep a well-organised file throughout the course.

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How Criminology is assessed

Each of the units are graded A - E grades.
- The whole qualification is graded A* - E grade
- Learners can resit an examined unit once before they complete the qualification.
- If an internal controlled assessment piece does not achieve at least an E grade, students will be allowed one opportunity to retake that assessment at the teacher’s discretion.
- Students must pass all 4 units in order to achieve the qualification.
- Students can achieve a Level 3 Certificate in Criminology on successful completion of unit 1 and 2 after Year 12, or can achieve a level 3 Diploma in Criminology if they successfully complete all of units 1-4 by the end of Year 13.

Unit 1 and 3 are assessed by internal Controlled Assessment (8-hour assessed coursework completed in exam conditions)

Unit 2 and 4 are assessed externally by examinations during the summer term.

Each unit has equal weighting on the course:

Unit 1 and 2 are each worth 50% of the Certificate qualification

Unit 1, 2, 3 and 4 are each worth 25% of the Diploma qualification

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How I will learn?

Each lesson will focus on a key Assessment Criteria for the unit you are studying which will help you to gradually build up your own file of comprehensive notes for each unit. Independent research and note-taking are a key feature of most lessons and home learning tasks in Criminology as you progress through the course. Unit 1 and 3 focus on developing your organisation and extended writing skills in preparation for the Controlled Assessments. In Unit 2 and 4 we also work on exam technique in preparation for the external exams for these units. This means that there will be a lot of focus on completing different style exam questions both in and out of lesson time to build your confidence.

You will have the opportunity to meet and interact with professionals who work in the criminal justice system to support your understanding of theory and practice where this is appropriate.

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Related Degrees

BA/BSc Criminology

BA Criminology and Criminal Justice
BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology
LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology
BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology
BA (Hons) Criminology
BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sociology
BSc Criminology with Law

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Further Course Information

We will engage with local law enforcement agencies to gain a greater understanding of how the course content relates to the real-life work of those in the criminal justice system.

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