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BSc (Hons)

Professional Policing

Duration
3 Years
Start
September 2024
UCAS Code
PP10
Delivery
Campus Taught

Take the first step into the Policing profession with our Professional Policing course. This degree programme offers the skills, knowledge and understanding you’ll need to become a police constable.

Why study with us

  • The University helped to design this course with the College of Policing and they have licensed us to deliver it.
  • We work with various police forces and law enforcement agencies. This means that you will get to hear from high-profile guest lecturers.
  • You will have access to superb facilities, including our Hydra Minerva immersive training simulator.
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A day in the life of a Policing student

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The Hydra Minerva Suite at the University of Central Lancashire

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Professional Policing gallery01 / 05

Lancashire Constabulary Policing Attestation Ceremony
Lancashire Constabulary Policing Attestation Ceremony

Frequently asked questions about becoming a police officer

If you want to join the police as a new Police Constable, there are four main routes you can take, these are:

  1. The police constable degree apprenticeship (PCDA) - this provides you with the opportunity to study for a degree whilst training on the job.
  2. A degree in Professional Policing - gain a degree which can lead into the police or a related career.
  3. Police Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP) - this is the traditional entry route which is a two-year training programme within a police force.
  4. The degree-holder entry programme (DHEP) - If you’ve studied an undergraduate degree in any subject, follow this work-based programme supported by off-the-job learning.

It’s not necessary to have a degree to become a police officer. However, by studying the BSc Professional Policing degree you’ll get shorter on the job training period as a police officer. You'll also get the opportunity, whilst studying, to become a Special Constable or Volunteer.

During the three-year degree programme, you’ll gain the knowledge and theory of Professional Policing. You'll also benefit from our strong partnerships with Lancashire and Cumbria Constabularies and Greater Manchester Police.

You’ll learn about many areas including:

  • Response policing
  • Policing communities
  • Policing the roads
  • Intelligence
  • Conducting investigations

You’ll also build skills in evidence-based policing and decision-making.

On the degree programme you will explore topics such as:

  • Vulnerability and risk
  • Digital policing
  • Inclusion
  • Counter terrorism

You'll also have access to our crime scene houses and the Hydra Minerva Suite. The Hydra Minerva Suite is a simulated control room suite.

At UCLan we place a strong emphasis on employability skills throughout the degree programme.

Policing graduates have gone onto successful careers in the police and also:

- Civil Nuclear Constabulary
- HM Prison Service
- The RAF
- Fraud investigation
- UK Border Agency

You can also progress to postgraduate study in Cybercrime Investigation or Counter Terrorism.

What you'll do

  • You’ll learn from a team that mixes experienced academics with serving and former police officers. They have extensive operational experience.
  • In your final year, you can conduct your own research project. This will be in an area of policing that interests you, that is relevant to modern day policing practice. Who knows? You may find a very valuable solution to a real-life problem.
  • You’ll access our Hydra Minerva Suite: an advanced training simulator that recreates the sights, sounds, radio messages and phone calls of crisis situations, from a missing child to a major terrorist attack.

Module overview

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Year 1

Compulsory modules
  • PC1008: Efficient Policing
  • PC1009: Effective Policing
  • PC1010: Policing in Context
  • PC1011: Police Professionalism and Accountability
  • PC1012: Information and Intelligence
  • PC1013: Applied Decision Making

PC1008: Efficient Policing

Develop the academic skills needed to meet the requirements of the national curriculum for the professional education of potential police constable candidates. You'll need to develop a broad knowledge base and a range of subject-specific, cognitive, and transferable skills. The module will cover key concepts, the different approaches to solving problems and how to communicate the outcomes clearly using structured arguments. 

Course delivery

This course is taught face-to-face at one of our UK campuses.

100%Face-to-face

Please note the delivery information for this course is accurate for the academic year 2023/24. The information displayed in this section may not yet accurately reflect how the course will be delivered in 2024/25 but this information will be updated by October 2023.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information. However, our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may cause alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses. Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or revisions to subject benchmarks statements. As well as to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

Visit us this autumn

Discover our facilities, explore campus and talk to academic staff and students about the courses you want to study at one of our autumn Open Days.

Book an Open Day

Missing Persons Information Unit

By joining our Missing Person Investigation Unit, you’ll have the opportunity to work with the families of missing people. You can develop lines of enquiry, and work within a wider network of cold-case missing person investigators.

Cybercrime Advice Clinic

Get involved with our Cybercrime Advice Clinic. You can work with victims of cybercrime within Lancashire (and beyond). Help and support victims after they have been targeted by cyber criminals.

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Professional Policing degree facilities

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In my first year, we studied recent police case studies in particular The Baby P case, a child cruelty case but treated with sensitivity by the lecturers. The highlight of my first year has been the module on policing operations which focuses on street policing.
Daniel Gurgee posing for picture
Daniel Gurgee
BSc (Hons) Professional Policing
United Kingdom

Future career as a Police Officer

Our BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree course is designed with one purpose in mind: preparing you for your career as a Police Officer.

Fees and funding

2023/24
UK
Full-time£9,250 per year
Part-time£1,540 per 20 credits
International
Full-time£14,900 per year
2024/25
UK
Full-time£9,250 per year
Part-time£1,540 per 20 credits
International
Full-time£16,500 per year

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of bursaries, scholarships and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country to see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

  • Care Leaver Bursary

    Our Care Leaver Bursary is for students who need extra support because they have been in care or are estranged from their parents.

    Find out more about Care Leaver Bursary
  • Estranged student support

    Estranged Student Support Bursary is for students who need extra support because they are estranged from their parents.

    Find out more about Estranged student support
  • Dependants Bursary

    Students with financially dependent children may be eligible for our Dependants Bursary as part of our financial support package. 

    Find out more about Dependants Bursary
  • Contextualised Admissions Bursary

    We recognise that the last two years have been very challenging for young people and learning has been impacted. To help support students eligible for a contextualised offer we are offering a bursary of £250 in their first year of study.

    Find out more about Contextualised Admissions Bursary
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This course is based in the School of Law and Policing

For information on possible changes to course information, see our essential and important course information

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at the University of Central Lancashire on our student contract page