Media and Criminology BA (Hons)

**BA (Hons) Media and Criminology
Does prison work? Is rehabilitation effective? How do the justice and penal systems in other countries compare to our own? To what extent do we use media as a way of claiming and understanding identities?**

Why choose this course?

On this degree you’ll explore the full breadth of human behaviour, from how social divisions play key roles in both access to the media and modes of representation in media texts to understanding crime as both an individual and social phenomenon. You’ll also build an awareness of the economic forces that frame the media, cultural and creative industries, and the role they have in areas of contemporary political and cultural life.

How you will learn

Our teaching is underpinned by staff expertise and ongoing research and practice. Team teaching is a key feature of a number of modules with staff and external expertise employed to best effect. Teaching takes a flexible approach, utilising learning and teaching methods, such as:


- formal lectures


- seminars: these can be tutor-led or student-led and can include e.g. discussion; critical analysis of reading; planning and/or designing production work or group presentations; debates


- group work


- tutorials: one-to-one sessions with a tutor to discuss the development of assignments


- screenings


- workshops on skills or development of ideas


- supported project work


- research exercises


- work experience projects


- self-directed study.


Opportunities and experiences

You will have the opportunity to work with our links with local and national media organisations and employers, engaging in projects such as multiplatform advertising and content production, film festivals and screening events, public relations and promotional campaigns and media research. You will learn how to write for different media platforms, such as journalism, promotional and PR writing, with an emphasis on digital media platforms such as web content writing, blogging and social media. You will also develop your creativity through the planning, design and creation of media projects, learning essential skills in script or treatment writing, digital video and editing.
Our Criminology team work closely with courts, prisons and youth offender training centres, and bring this expertise into their teaching.

Careers and employability

As a criminology graduate, you will receive an exceptional grounding for a career in the probation service, the prison service, the police, youth justice, voluntary organisations or the wider public sector. Alternatively, you may wish to pursue postgraduate studies at the University. Our strong links with local and regional agencies coupled with our staff’s extensive practice experience means that our criminology teaching is highly relevant to today’s job market.

Media graduates have found jobs in the television industry, public relations, marketing and journalism; or have gone on to take the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in order to get a job in teaching; or have enrolled for other postgraduate study. Media graduates would be well suited for a range of roles in areas such as:


- media research


- audience/market research


- journalism


- multiplatform content production; such as web content writing, web video


- visual and creative production internships


- advertising, marketing, promotions and public relations


- digital and print publishing; including books, newspapers, magazines, and journals and periodicals


- self-employment and freelance work


- producers or in media buying and commissioning


• PG study



- media distribution, e.g. promotion, cinema management


- film and television graduate level entry, e.g. internships


- teaching.

We're a Top 10 UK University* in the heart of England, with great transport links to London and the rest of the UK.

Ranked 2nd in the UK for employability and course quality*, the University of Derby offers expert, industry-relevant teaching, state-of-the-art study spaces, award-winning accommodation, and a welcoming, inclusive community.

(*Uni Compare 2026)