Criminology with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

Foundation Year
Our Foundation Year provides an excellent alternative route to Keele, providing a unique opportunity to better prepare for your chosen degree, and with guaranteed entry onto your undergraduate course once you successfully complete your Foundation Year. This extra year of study can improve your academic skills, expand your subject knowledge, give you a better understanding of higher education and, perhaps most importantly of all, build your confidence. On the Keele Foundation Year, youll study on campus, joining our undergraduate community from the outset, with access to all the facilities and support that youd get as an undergraduate student at Keele.

International Students
For International Students, Foundation Years are delivered through our dedicated on-campus provider, Keele University International College. Applications for International Foundation Years are also handled by KUIC; please do not apply via UCAS as the University will not be able to process your application and you may still be charged the UCAS application fee. To find out more and to apply for an International Foundation Year, visit https://kuic.keele.ac.uk/

Criminology

Keele pioneered the teaching of undergraduate Criminology in the UK and has since delivered a research-led programme combining theoretical understandings of crime with practical application of this knowledge. With links to various criminal justice agencies, our Criminology BA enables you to benefit from networks with the police, probation services and prisons to explore real-world scenarios and prepare for a career across a range of sectors. We are proud to be at the forefront of active research, making a difference in society.

Why choose this course?
• Keele pioneered the teaching of undergraduate Criminology in the UK



• Global Top 300 for Social Sciences (Times Higher Education World University Subject Rankings, 2022)



• Benefit from real-world industry experience with a placement year opportunity



• A chance to broaden your horizons and study abroad at a partner university



• Top 15 in the UK for Graduate Employability (Uni Compare rankings, 2026)



Pioneers of undergraduate teaching of Criminology in the UK, Keele provides a modern, research informed programme, taught by active criminological researchers. Our Criminology degree explores themes of crime control, justice, victimisation and harm through contemporary case studies, building your awareness across a range of different perspectives.

Our Criminology programme draws from diverse social and human sciences to offer a comprehensive understanding of the crime problem, emphasising problem-based learning, allowing you to apply your knowledge to real-world issues, challenges and situations relating to crime and social justice.

We have developed professional partnerships with a range of criminal justice agencies, including the police, probation services, and prisons that provide you with opportunities to hear from, and network with, those working in criminal justice related fields. There are also opportunities for you to gain work experience through placements.

About Keele
Keele University was established in 1949 by the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Founded to meet the needs of a changing world, Keele has always had a pioneering vision to be a different kind of university.

We excel in both teaching and research, with some of the most satisfied students in England, and research that is changing lives for the better at a regional, national and global level.

Our beautiful 600-acre campus is one of the biggest in Britain – but all the most important services and facilities are on your doorstep, with accommodation, teaching spaces, facilities including a medical centre, sports centre and pharmacy, and a range of shops, eateries and entertainment venues – including the Students’ Union – clustered around the centre.

Career focused courses, a vibrant student community and a beautiful 600-acre campus – this is Keele.

Whether you’re a passionate natural scientist, or eager to explore law, business, humanities or social sciences, our innovative courses are designed with your future in mind. Many of our courses offer a placement opportunity – just one of our initiatives that prepare you for real-world success.

Recognised for outstanding student experience and teaching quality, we were ranked a Top 10 UK university for student satisfaction across 15 subjects (National Student Survey 2025, broad-based English universities) and achieved Double Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (2017 and 2023).

Located in the Staffordshire countryside, but within easy reach of a bustling town, vibrant city and our noisy neighbours of Manchester and Birmingham, Keele truly offers the best of both worlds: a close-knit campus community and an exciting local area to explore.

We’d love to see you on campus soon.