The course in general
How many contact hours do you have in the average week?
9

Ideally, what 3/4 subjects would you recommend doing in order to be in the best position for your course?
Sociology- although I did not take this for A Level and I haven't had any difficulty with the subject.Psychology- it helps with the basis of all the theories learnt.Law- small parts of criminal law come into the criminology side of the combination course.

Why did you decide to study your degree programme?
I liked the idea of studying criminals and what theories can explain behaviour. As Brighton University only offered this course as a joint award, I chose Sociology as I thought it may link closer with criminals and society itself. I studied psychology at A Level, and I have found that useful within Criminology as a lot of it is very closely linked.

Explain the things you wish you'd known about your degree before you applied:
I wish I has known more of the contents of each module. We were only told a title, from which it was hard to work out what was included.

Describing your average day
Explain how your day is made up. For example, do you have labs/seminars/tutorials/lectures?
Normally we have 2 lectures a week for each module within the course, the lecture is then followed by a seminar in which the contents of the lecture is gone over. With the main subject being Criminology, a 2 hour seminar follows a 1 hour lecture. I attended university for 3 days pw in which I attended 9 contact hours.

How much extra work/reading are you required to do out of lectures?
There is a set reading for each lecture every week to help with the understanding of what is in the lecture. For criminology, there is also a set of questions from a certain text book to do for the reading. This is gone over during the lecture, and then again in the seminar. Background reading from other books is also a good idea but not essential as a lot if covered in the lectures.

The best and worst parts of the course
What do you like best about your degree programme?
I like the way that is is set into different modules and split into half years. I found it easier concentrating on modules for half a year and taking exams in january as well as june instead of studying for a year and taking exams all at once. I also like the way in which each lecture is followed by a seminar the same day or straight after. It keeps lecture notes fresh in my mind to know what to say and discuss.

What do you like least about your degree programme?
I don't like the way in which the Criminology lecture is all in one lecture, compared to the other 2 modules being split into 2 lectures. As criminology is the main subject, I would prefer to have a bit longer on it.

Academics and course content
What do you think of your university's academics and facilities?
I think the facilities are very modern. Interactive whiteboards and projectors are used a lot, which is also helpful with presentations as we can use them. A new building has also been built with brand new computer systems which will be open in September.

Explain how you expected your course to be and how it compares to how it actually is. Give an outline of the content of the course.
In first year there are 6 modules, which are split, with 3 studied in the first semester and 3 in the other. Exams are taken at the end of each semester. There are a few essays to be completed for each module as well. Most lecturers use the projectors to present lectures which is easy to copy down notes. The notes are also placed on Brighton Student Blackboard which we can download in case any notes are missed.