Criminology Level 3

Applications Open: - 17 November 2025

Applications Close: - May 2026

Entry Requirements: - 5 GCSEs at grade 4 including English Language or Literature, and Maths. There are some further entry requirements for specific courses.

How to Apply: - Please apply via KentChoices

Open Event: - Wednesday 12th November 2025 16.30-19:30 - talks at 17.30 and 18.30pm

This qualification is equivalent to one A Level.

An understanding of criminology is relevant to many job roles within the criminal justice sector, social and probation work and sociology and psychology. WJEC Level 3 Applied Certificate in Criminology is a qualification with elements of psychology, law and sociology that complements studies in humanities.

This is an Applied General qualification. This means it is designed primarily to support learners progressing to university. It has been designed to offer exciting and interesting experiences that focus learning for 16-19 year-old learners and adult learners through applied learning, i.e. through the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in purposeful contexts linked to the criminal justice system.

Mandatory Units

Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime - Internally Assessed (90 GLH)

Unit 2: Criminological Theories - Externally Assessed (90 GLH)

Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom - Internally Assessed (90 GLH)

Unit 4: Crime and Punishment Mandatory - Externally Assessed (90 GLH)

Learners must complete all units.

The first mandatory unit will enable the learner to demonstrate understanding of different types of crime, influences on perceptions of crime and why some crimes are unreported.

The second mandatory unit will allow learners to gain an understanding of why people commit crime, drawing on what they have learned in Unit 1.

The third mandatory unit will provide an understanding of the criminal justice system from the moment a crime has been identified to the verdict. Learners will develop the understanding and skills needed to examine information in order to review the justice of verdicts in criminal cases.

In the final mandatory unit, learners will apply their understanding of the awareness of criminality, criminological theories and the process of bringing an accused to court in order to evaluate the effectiveness of social control to deliver criminal justice policy.

Each unit within the qualification has an applied purpose which acts as a focus for the learning in the unit. The applied purpose demands learning related to authentic case studies. It also requires learners to consider how the use and application of their learning impacts on themselves, other individuals, employers, society and the environment.

The applied purpose will also allow learners to learn in such a way that they develop:

• skills required for independent learning and development

• a range of generic and transferable skills

• the ability to solve problems

• the skills of project based research, development and presentation

• the fundamental ability to work alongside other professionals, in a professional environment

• the ability to apply learning in vocational contexts

The WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology is assessed using a combination of internal and external assessment.

Unit 1: Changing Awareness of Crime - Internally Assessed

Unit 2: Criminological Theories - Externally Assessed

Unit 3: Crime Scene to Courtroom - Internally Assessed

Unit 4: Crime and Punishment Mandatory - Externally Assessed

Internally assessed units will be course work based and externally assessed units will be exam based.

Details of the external assessment are as follows:

• 90-minute examination

• total of 75 marks

• three questions on each paper

• short and extended answer questions, based on stimulus material and applied contexts

• each question will have an applied problem-solving scenario

• each paper will assess all learning outcomes and assessment criteria will be sampled in each series

• electronically assessed (e-assessment)

• available in June of each year

• learners are allowed two resit opportunities; the highest grade will contribute towards the overall grade for the qualification

• WJEC will produce a mark scheme which will be used as the basis for marking the examination papers

• graded: on a scale of A to E

Details of the internal assessment are as follows:

The following principles apply to the assessment of each internally assessed unit:

• Units are assessed through summative controlled assessment (available electronically).

• Controls for assessment of each internally assessed unit are provided in a model assignment.

• Each internally assessed unit must be assessed independently. Learners may produce a piece of evidence that contributes to the assessment criteria for more than one unit. This is acceptable provided it can be clearly attributed to a specified assessment criterion and has been produced under the appropriate controlled conditions for each unit.

• All grades are awarded based on the number of marks attained in each assessment.

In order to attend Meopham Sixth Form the minimum entry requirement is 5 level 4 GCSEs, including English and Maths.

A GCSE/ Level 2 in Criminology is not required and students will not be at a disadvantage if they do not hold a previous criminology qualification.

The main purpose of the WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology is mainly to use the qualification to support access to higher education degree courses, such as:

• BSc Criminology

• BA Criminology

• BA Criminology and Criminal Justice

• BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology

• LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology

• BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology

• BA (Hons) Criminology

• BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sociology

• BSc Criminology with Law

Alternatively, the qualification allows learners to gain the required understanding and skills to be able to consider employment within some aspects of the criminal justice system, e.g. the National Probation Service, the Courts and Tribunals Service or the National Offender Management Service.