Introduction:

The exciting new BA (Hons) Professional Policing degree provides you with a strong understanding of policing through a combination of theory and real-world policing practice experience as a Special Constable.

Throughout the course, you’ll gain a unique and innovative insight into the world of policing while ensuring you develop your own significant body of knowledge and practice during your studies. The course will also allow you to consider crime and society from wider perspectives and analyse these within a national and international criminological and legal contexts.

What you’ll study

This course will provide you with the opportunity to train as Special Constable, or volunteer with the local force, undertake specialist modules in a wide range of contemporary policing issues, and build your practical policing experience throughout the degree.

A key feature of this course is practical development and will focus on developing the requisite skills and qualities necessary to commence a policing role, as stipulated by the College of Policing.

In your final year of study, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of self-directed work in a relevant emerging issue in local / national / international policing.

Studying this degree in Professional Policing does not GUARANTEE any such employment with the police service as an officer or staff member; the degree provides you with academic entry requirement via the pre-join degree route.

Every police force in England and Wales sets its own recruitment process and selection policy, and entry requirements vary from force to force. You will be advised to check their eligibility against the force website, this may assist them in deciding whether to undertake the pre-join Degree course and/or pursue a career in policing.

This is a knowledge only degree with sign posted options towards practice as a Special Constable, or Volunteer, with the local force. Every student undertaking this degree will have the opportunity to undertake voluntary practice. Where students undertake voluntary practice they will share these experience with the wider group to enhance all students experiential learning throughout the 3-year degree programme.

Student success will not solely be dependent on sign posted voluntary opportunities in order to be successful on the programme.

Please note that due to operational considerations, the number of available places on the police pathway will be capped each year. Places will be decided on condition of successful short listing by Nottinghamshire Constabulary, passing all legal police checks.

Modules on this course are delivered by NTU experts alongside active serving police staff.

Careers and employability

Your career development

When you graduate, you’ll be in the best position to embark on a successful career in the police, prison, probation services or in law enforcement. You’ll have developed the essential skills and knowledge to commence a career in policing immediately upon graduation.

You’ll have gained a range of knowledge specific and transferable skills including communication, presentation and problem solving skills. You’ll be able to use a selection of forms of information technology to gather, analyse and present policing data.

Entry requirements

For this course, you need one of the following:

• A-levels – BBC; or
• BTEC Extended Diploma – DMM; or
• 112 UCAS Tariff points from three A-levels or equivalent qualifications; and
• GCSEs – English and Maths or Science grade C / 4.

We also consider equivalent qualifications and combinations.

There are restrictions on who can apply to be a Special Constable. Applications can only be accepted if you are a national of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) or, if not, have leave to enter or remain in the UK for an indefinite period free of restrictions.

Countries included in the EEA are:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Becoming a Special Constable

In order to undertake either the special constable or police volunteer streams within the course, you will be subject to further eligibility checks which are separate from/additional to the course entry requirements. In particular, for those wishing to undertake the Special Constable role:

• Candidates will need to satisfy a number of pre-employment checks such as security and financial vetting, biometric and drug testing, and a medical examination;
• Candidates will be required to complete each stage of the recruitment policy such as competency-based questions, an interview and a physical fitness test.

Fees and funding

International fees for 2022 entry onto a full-time undergraduate course are:

• £15,600, or
• £16,200 (for courses in the Nottingham School of Art & Design and Nottingham Business School).

Tuition fees are payable for each year that you are at University. Tuition fees for the second and subsequent years of your undergraduate course may increase in line with inflation and as specified by the UK government.

If you choose to do a work placement as part of the undergraduate course the fee for the work placement will be £1,385.

Late Applications

If you missed the UCAS January deadline, it’s not too late to apply to join us in September 2022.

Applying to university after the January deadline isn’t anything to worry about – we accept applications for most of our undergraduate courses until Thursday 30 June 2022.