Course overview

All applicants should apply as soon as possible to reserve a place and ensure adequate preparations are made for the start of your studies. The latest we can receive an 'on time' application (with all associated documentation)is: 6 September 2013 (16 August 2013 for non-EU students). Applications received after this date may be processed, but your course induction and start to studies may well be disrupted.

This programme is designed to develop students’ understanding of criminology and criminal justice in a cultural context reflecting new developments in the discipline. It focuses on aspects such as representations of crime and criminals in the news media and popular culture including film, television and literature. It also examines crime from an experiential perspective by looking at the emotion and spectacle of crime and deviance from the point of view of offenders and victims, with a particular focus on political and popular discourse. Also examined are contemporary criminological theories relating to late modernity, transgression, control and regulation.

Through the choice of options students will have the opportunity to consider aspects such as criminal myths, subcultures including those surrounding erotica and sex, drugs or music, cinematic representations of crime, detective fiction, conflict cultures in relation to emotional aspects such as forgiveness and reconciliation and the seductions of crime and deviance. Students will therefore be able to explore issues such as: Why do people commit crimes? How does it feel to commit a crime? What is the relationship between crime and the media? How does television and cinema portray crime and criminals? What myths have arisen around the subject of crime? Why, for example, do we routinely refer to serial murderers as monsters? What role do the media play in conflict situations such as wars and terrorism? What are criminal styles? To what extent should we understand deviance in relation to tribes and sub cultures such as ‘chavs’? When and why is crime viewed as a spectacle?

This programme is suitable to students who may have completed studies in criminology and criminal justice. Such people may wish to develop and extend their understanding of crime and culture, criminological theory and social theory as it relates to contemporary issues and debates. Equally students who have studied sociology, media, social theory, cultural studies and similar subjects may also find this course provides them with an opportunity to supplement their existing knowledge with matters that relate to cultural perspectives such as media representation, the experience of crime and criminological theorising around matters of social control and social regulation.

Course content

The specific programme aims are

• To enable students to examine critically various crime cultures from offender, victim and criminal justice agency perspective.
• To enable students to understand the impact and construction of media and popular cultural artefacts (e.g. press, TV and film) in relation to crime and criminals.
• To develop students’ understanding of the experiential and emotional perspective of crime – i.e. how offenders and others involved in the criminal justice process experience crime.
• To develop students’ ability to analyse crime from a cultural perspective.
• To develop students’ understanding of contemporary criminological and social theories and their historical development.
• To provide opportunities for students to study a range of criminological and social theories from a cultural perspective and to write a substantial piece of academic written work.

The available modes of study are

Full-time by attendance at the University of Portsmouth (12 months’ study)

This course focuses on the social construction and cultural meanings of crime and criminology and its contemporary condition. The course explores alternatives to conventional criminology and takes the student to exciting new areas that are currently emerging, therefore giving students the opportunity to be at the cutting edge of disciplinary development. Among the subjects studied will be the construction and representation of crime and criminals in the media and popular culture and their influence on the perception of crime. There will also be an emphasis on critiques of current criminological thinking with a view to examining subjects beyond mainstream criminology. Students attending the University are taught using a combination of lectures and seminars by academic staff based at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies.

Course structure

Core units

• Cultural Criminologies (30 credits)
• Criminology Past and Present (30 credits)
• Research Methods (30 credits)
• Crime: Myths and Realities (30 credits)
• Dissertation (60 credits)

Teaching and assessment

Assessment is based upon a range of forms of written assignments including Essays, Research Proposal, Literature Review, Case Study and a Dissertation of 15,000 words.

Career prospects

Criminology and Crime Cultures covers a broad range of issues and skills, meaning that graduates of the programme are well equipped to begin or continue careers in media and/or criminal justice agencies.

Facilities and features

The Course is managed by a Course Leader and an extensive induction programme introduces the student to the University and their course. Each student has a personal tutor, responsible for pastoral support and guidance (see further below), and has access to wider University support services including the areas careers, financial advice, housing, counselling etc via a dedicated Student Services Centre.

Student course and unit handbooks provide information about the course structure and University regulations, etc. Students will be allocated a Personal Tutor who will meet formally with them to support academic learning and check progress; term-time week office hours will provide regular opportunities for academic guidance and support; pastoral support will be available on request.

A Postgraduate Information and Study Skills open learning package is provided to all students to support and develop academic and information skills (e.g. where previous degree level work was some time previously, or prior to contemporary online technological development). The ICJS Tutor Centre runs Advanced Information and Study Skills course unit (not formally assessed) at the start of the first year of study. Thereafter, general support is available upon request, whilst referrals can be made to the specific specialist support from the (central) Academic Skills unit (ASK). The Tutor Centre will also act proactively, for example in contacting those students whose performance appears to indicate that they would benefit from study support. A marker referral system is also in place to identify specific academic skills gaps and their resolution via the Tutor Centre.

Written formative feedback is provided on all assignments to assist improvement of student performance and deepen academic development in line with the ICJS Marking Protocol. In the first term of study, the unit assessment pattern will ensure early feedback and assessment is provided so that remedial action can be acted upon in a timely fashion. For the dissertation proposal a two-page summary can be submitted for advance formative feedback and early warning of any possible research design and ethical problems. Mechanisms for peer support will be facilitated via the Postgraduate Online Learning Centre (see below) and all students have access to local technical support at the University of Portsmouth (ISO Helpdesk).

Routine academic tutor advice and support is provided to all students and is available by telephone, fax, email and through online discussion forums. Specialist support and advice is also available including the:

• Information and Study Skills Unit
• Academic Skills Unit
• English for Academic Purposes
• Additional Support & Disability Advice Centre (ASDAC)
• International Student Advisors

Campus-based International Students who Speak English and an Additional language will be placed within an appropriate English for Academic Purposes (EAP) class and progress will be monitored by their Personal Tutor. The University of Portsmouth values the cultural diversity of our student population and provides additional English language support and cultural events. The details of dedicated support services for International Students are available at www.port.ac.uk/international/

The University of Portsmouth has consistently been awarded an excellent rating for student support and guidance in a number of Quality Assurance Agency inspections.

Online Library and Study Resources

The university has excellent library facilities including extensive electronic library services available on and off-campus. The Postgraduate Online Learning Centre provides easy access to all these academic and support resources and services. In addition you gain easy access to a variety of international research resources and the full-text journals of the University's e-Library. The Centre also provides opportunities for students to network and interact with each other, to post their own Home Page and to provide mutual support.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for MSc Criminology and Crime Cultures are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: Institute of Criminal Justice Studies
Tel: +44 (023) 9284 3792
Email: diana.bretherick@port.ac.uk