BA (Hons) Criminology and English Literature (joint honours)
Explore crime, justice and social responses to offending, developing critical and analytical skills.
Key facts
- Duration
- Full time: 3 years
- Part time: up to 6 years
- Starts
- September 2027
- Level
- Undergraduate
- UCAS code
- LQ33
- Location
- Headington
- School
- School of Education, Humanities and Languages
- School of Social Sciences
About this course
Our joint honours course allows you to pursue your own areas of interest within Criminology and English Literature whilst also providing you with a solid foundation in the discipline and a range of personal and professional skills which will serve as a springboard for your future career development. The programme is carefully designed to enable you to gradually develop your knowledge and skills and to become an autonomous, effective and independent learner.
Criminology is a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary subject concerned with analysing the nature, occurrence and explanations of crime, criminal behaviour and societal responses to these phenomena. Join us to explore thought-provoking experiences through English Literature. You'll study local, national and global literatures through inspiring topics which will engage your imagination and help you develop key skills in communication, critical thinking and writing.
Make the degree yours
Optional modules let you study topics that interest you, while the dissertation is your chance to focus on an area you care about.
Free language courses
Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Optional year abroad
This module provides you with the opportunity to apply and test your subject knowledge in a new context, either by studying abroad or work-based learning.
Study abroad
You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Most exchanges take place in the second year. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
| Qualification | Typical offer |
|---|---|
| UCAS tariff points | 112 |
| Contextual offer tariff points | 88 |
| A-level | BBC |
| BTEC Extended Diploma | DMM |
| International Baccalaureate | 27 |
Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications, international qualifications or recognised foundation courses. For advice on eligibility please contact Admissions: admissions@brookes.ac.uk
If you don’t achieve the required tariff points you can apply to join a foundation course.
Fees and funding
Fees
| Fee types | 2026/27 | 2027/28 |
|---|---|---|
| Home full-time | £9,790 | £10,050 |
| Home part-time | £1,220 per single module | £1,255 per single module |
| International full-time | £17,250 | £18,500 |
Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.
For further information please see our tuition fees FAQs.
Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page.
Questions about fees?
Learning and assessment
In your first year, you’ll develop key academic skills that will help you succeed in the course. We’ll also ask big questions like what is crime and why do some people commit crime, but not others? You’ll build the core skills and understanding you need for undergraduate literary studies with modules in the literature of Oxford and of travel.
In your second year, core modules will help you to challenge the status quo: How might capitalism encourage crime? Where and why are there inequalities in the criminal justice system? You’ll broaden and deepen your knowledge of literature in relation to environments and transgression, and a choice of topics such as Victorian writing and children's literature. You’ll begin to specialise, following your own interests.
In your final year, you'll have the freedom to explore literary topics like urbanisation, women's writing, madness, Shakespeare and digital narratives. Optional modules can include topics like the pleasures of crime, visual criminology, queer criminology, drugs or policing.
You’ll learn in a supportive and stimulating environment. You’ll be part of a close-knit programme where you’ll know everyone and get lots of support from both teaching staff and fellow students.
Participation and discussion are important features of the course, with most modules combining lectures and seminar-style discussion based on weekly readings. You'll have the chance to discuss and challenge a wide variety of critical views and perspectives in your seminars, which will help to promote individual creativity and effective collaborative learning.
| Contact hours | Total workload | Timetabled |
|---|---|---|
| about 7 hrs a week | 1,200 hrs a year | Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 |
Assessment
Your assessments will be diverse and will support different learning styles - you’ll have a real opportunity to showcase your strengths.
You might write a blog, film a video diary or create a literary tour. You’ll be able to write essays, literature reviews or position papers. You will also have opportunities to produce short presentations and work in groups.
The assessments are designed to help you develop your confidence in using a wide range of skills, preparing you well for your future career.
Information from Discover Uni
Full-time study
Part-time study
Careers
As you study, you’ll develop highly transferable skills and competencies in the areas that employers care about.
These include:
- critical thinking
- creative problem solving
- written, spoken, and visual communication, in a variety of media and styles
- intercultural and interpersonal understanding
- research and analysis
- working independently and collaboratively.
You’ll graduate able to analyse issues, express your ideas, inform and influence others, and respond to challenges – critical skills for the 21st century workplace.
Our graduates go on to work in diverse areas like:
- NGOs and charities
- social work
- publishing
- public relations
- marketing
- teaching
- media and journalism
- the Civil Service.
Many pursue postgraduate study, often here at Oxford Brookes.
How to apply
Our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, so module availability and course structures may vary from what is listed here. On rare occasions, we may also need to make updates to our course programmes after publication; for full details, please visit our changes to programmes page (opens in a new tab)