History and Criminology BA (Hons)

What is special about this course?

The BA (Hons) History and Criminology covers a range of approaches, from thematic modules that cover a variety of places and historical periods, to concentrated and in-depth studies of the changing nature of crime and the social, political, historical and individual forces behind these changes.

Each year, you will build on your analytical and research abilities through a series of skills modules in both History and Criminology. 

You can also choose to specialise in Scottish History at the upper levels and graduate with a BA (Hons) Scottish History and Criminology degree.

Please see our FAQ sheet for further information on this course.

Special features

• The joint honours degree in two complementary subjects will give you greater flexibility in employment, advanced study and research opportunities
• The degree can be studied full time or part time to suit your personal circumstances
• You can study individual modules for personal or professional development
• You can specialise in Scottish History at the upper levels to enable you to exit with a Scottish History and Criminology degree 
• The humanities staff at UHI specialise in high quality video-conference teaching supported by a dynamic virtual learning environment and expansive online resources 
• There are opportunities to volunteer at local museums and archives, and occasional voluntary field trips in the university's region also enhance the experience of your degree
• Exciting new modules based on staffs' cutting-edge research are offered at upper level

Entry requirements

Entry to year one:

• 3 Scottish Highers at grade BBC or above, or
• 2 A levels at grade BC or above
• At least two should be from the list of relevant subjects
• Applicants with other relevant qualifications or experience will be considered on an individual basis
• This is a Category 2 PVG course: PVG Scheme membership is required for specific optional modules/unit(s), where there is guaranteed contact with vulnerable groups in optional module/unit(s), but an alternative pathway exists to achieve target qualification. For further information visit our PVG scheme webpage

Advanced entry to year two:

• HNC Social Sciences (12 SQA credits) with 3 additional SQA credits at level 7 which is equivalent to 120 degree credit points, and at least grade C in the Graded Unit will be considered for direct entry to year two

Access routes

SWAP Access courses
If you are eligible to undertake Scottish Wider Access Programmes (SWAP), please visit our SWAP access list for further information on grade profiles and available subjects.

Other relevant humanities access courses will also be considered on an individual basis.

Year 1 - CertHE

You will study the following core modules:

• Comparative institutions of justice
• Introduction to criminological theory
• What is history?

You will also choose one history option module, which may include:

• A Middle Age? Europe c.1100‐1500
• Empire, environment and identity: Scotland, 1600-2000
• People, protest and power: themes in modern British history, 1780-1918

You will also choose two option modules from our range of humanities and social science subjects.

Year 2 - DipHE

You will study the following core modules: 

• Historians and history
• History of crime and punishment
• Politics of policing

You will also choose one history option module, which may include:

• A curious age: European society and culture
• Court, kirk and burgh in medieval and early modern Scotland
• Themes in American history

You will also choose two further option modules from our range of humanities and social science subjects.

Year 3 - BA

You will choose at least two history option modules, which may include:

• Conquerors, crusaders and churchmen: the world of the Normans, c.911-c.1204
• Dynastic decline and religious violence: Valois France, 1550-1610
• Jacobites: patriots, rebels or opportunists?
• Land as power: the making of the modern Scottish landscape from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries
• Scots in North America: experience and identity
• Study of things: material culture of medieval and early modern Europe

You will also choose at least two criminology option modules, which may include:

• Gender, crime and justice
• Psychology of criminal justice
• Strange cases: crime literature and the construction of crime
• Victimology

PLUS

• Advanced social research methods OR
• Public history

You will choose one further module from one of your two subject areas to ensure that you have a total of three modules from each half of your degree.

Year 4 - BA (Hons)

You will complete a dissertation in criminology OR history. You will also study one option module from your chosen dissertation subject, plus three option modules from the other subject.

History options may include:

• Death and destruction: the social impact of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) 
• Deviants, rebels, outcasts and villains: history from the margins in medieval and early modern society
• Empire and ‘others’: the shaping of British imperialism in North America
• Reaching the ‘estate of manhood’ in medieval and early modern Europe
• The empire strikes back: how the British empire shaped Scotland""

Criminology options may include:

• Cultural criminology
• Globalisation of crime
• The darker side of the internet
• Understanding violence and crime in sport

Fees

For students normally domiciled in Scotland, with a term-time address in Scotland, the following fees apply:

This includes

• EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status in the UK,
• EEA/Swiss nationals with settled status in the UK
• EEA/Swiss nationals with pre-settled status who are self-employed or migrant workers in the UK.

Rest of the UK students

For students normally domiciled in the rest of the UK (England, Wales and N. Ireland) or assessed as rest of the UK for fee status the following fees apply:

International students

For students who do not normally reside in the UK studying online from their home country, or living in the UK but assessed as international for fee status, the following fees apply:

This includes EU/EEA and Swiss nationals without settled status in the UK and EEA and Swiss nationals with pre-settled status who are not self-employed or migrant workers in the UK.

A no fee increase guarantee is available for self-funding full-time and structured part-time rest of the UK and international undergraduate students for continuous study for the same award, up to the permitted standard time limit for the relevant award.

Funding

UHI has a number of scholarships, bursaries, awards, and discretionary fund opportunities available to new and current students. Please use the A-Z of funds or use the filter to see which ones may be relevant to you. All students are welcome to apply.

Further information on funding your studies is also available, please see the attached link or contact the relevant UHI partner.

Additional costs

Participation in any field trips or face-to-face activities will be at your own expense. Costs will vary dependent on your location etc. Attendance at such face-to-face events is optional and not essential for completion of the course.