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Is it worth getting a degree in Law or Criminology?

I'm in year 12 and slightly torn in what to study at university, but thinking along the lines or law or criminology at the moment. I'm predicted AAB and have looked at a few university courses which suit my grades, but is it worth getting a degree in these subjects?

I think law will be quite a good degree to have for me as I'm not sure what career I want to pursue, but from my understanding it is a highly regarded degree. Is it worth going through it if it's an incredibly difficult degree to achieve though? Would criminology be easier, or is it too specific of a degree?

I want a degree which is open for many types of employment (not including sciences or medicine) and not sure if I should pursue either of these subjects. Both subjects seem to include the elements of sociology I enjoy the most which is why I've taken an interest.

Also, does it really matter what subject my degree is in when getting a job? Excluding medicine and science as I have no interest in those as a career.
Original post by willowharp
I'm in year 12 and slightly torn in what to study at university, but thinking along the lines or law or criminology at the moment. I'm predicted AAB and have looked at a few university courses which suit my grades, but is it worth getting a degree in these subjects?

I think law will be quite a good degree to have for me as I'm not sure what career I want to pursue, but from my understanding it is a highly regarded degree. Is it worth going through it if it's an incredibly difficult degree to achieve though? Would criminology be easier, or is it too specific of a degree?

I want a degree which is open for many types of employment (not including sciences or medicine) and not sure if I should pursue either of these subjects. Both subjects seem to include the elements of sociology I enjoy the most which is why I've taken an interest.

Also, does it really matter what subject my degree is in when getting a job? Excluding medicine and science as I have no interest in those as a career.


Try plugging your A level subjects into this page first to get degree suggestions:

https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer

Then have a look through the prospects website to see what you can do with different degrees:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/applying-for-university/choosing-a-course/how-to-choose-the-right-degree
Original post by willowharp
I'm in year 12 and slightly torn in what to study at university, but thinking along the lines or law or criminology at the moment. I'm predicted AAB and have looked at a few university courses which suit my grades, but is it worth getting a degree in these subjects?

I think law will be quite a good degree to have for me as I'm not sure what career I want to pursue, but from my understanding it is a highly regarded degree. Is it worth going through it if it's an incredibly difficult degree to achieve though? Would criminology be easier, or is it too specific of a degree?

I want a degree which is open for many types of employment (not including sciences or medicine) and not sure if I should pursue either of these subjects. Both subjects seem to include the elements of sociology I enjoy the most which is why I've taken an interest.

Also, does it really matter what subject my degree is in when getting a job? Excluding medicine and science as I have no interest in those as a career.

Hi @willowharp

I know deciding what to do with your career and education in year 12 can be a tough and stressful time. It is great that you know which sector you want to go into roughly at least as some people may not even know this so don't feel too overwhelmed! Both courses you have selected are very good and interesting.

When I was deciding what I wanted to do in university, what helped me to come to my final decision was looking into the modules of each course and seeing what I was more interested in. I have linked the course layout for the two courses in Kingston down below:

Law with professional experience LLB (Hons)
Criminology BSc

Hope this helps

Joyce :smile:
Current KU student
Criminology is pretty much a waste of time as a degree - its just a Sociology degree with a few extra units and it doesn't make you into 'a Criminologist'.
A degree in Sociology or Social Policy will be far more useful / recognised and will usually include units about criminality and deviancy.
Sociology - https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/socstudies/undergraduate/courses
Social Policy - https://bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2022/social-policy/bsc-social-policy/
Applied Social Sciences - https://www.york.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/ba-applied-social-science/

Law is useful even if you decide not to go into Law as a career - just remember that is one of the toughest social science degrees., and its possible to do a degree in another subejct and then qualify as a Solicitor (SQE) or take a postgrad course in Law (Law conversion). See https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/law-sector
Original post by willowharp
I'm in year 12 and slightly torn in what to study at university, but thinking along the lines or law or criminology at the moment. I'm predicted AAB and have looked at a few university courses which suit my grades, but is it worth getting a degree in these subjects?

I think law will be quite a good degree to have for me as I'm not sure what career I want to pursue, but from my understanding it is a highly regarded degree. Is it worth going through it if it's an incredibly difficult degree to achieve though? Would criminology be easier, or is it too specific of a degree?

I want a degree which is open for many types of employment (not including sciences or medicine) and not sure if I should pursue either of these subjects. Both subjects seem to include the elements of sociology I enjoy the most which is why I've taken an interest.

Also, does it really matter what subject my degree is in when getting a job? Excluding medicine and science as I have no interest in those as a career.

Hi @willowharp

I was in a similar position to you when I was in year 12! I couldn't decide between Law, Psychology and Marketing when I was applying to university 😅 Choosing which course to study is a big decision so it's okay to be unsure about which to pick.

If you haven't already, I'd definitely recommend going to some open days and talking to Law and Criminology course tutors to help you understand which one's the right fit for you. Attending open days really helped me understand which course was the right one for me.

Law and Criminology are great choices if the course content + sociology elements they bring are what you're interested in and if you're looking keep your options open after graduating. If employability and graduate employment are big factors for you, I'd also take a look at the career development and work experience opportunities available at the universities where you're interested in studying Law or Criminology.

Here are our pages for Law and Criminology:

Law
Criminology

Hope that helps!

Best wishes,
Gurpreet - NTU Rep
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by willowharp
I'm in year 12 and slightly torn in what to study at university, but thinking along the lines or law or criminology at the moment. I'm predicted AAB and have looked at a few university courses which suit my grades, but is it worth getting a degree in these subjects?

I think law will be quite a good degree to have for me as I'm not sure what career I want to pursue, but from my understanding it is a highly regarded degree. Is it worth going through it if it's an incredibly difficult degree to achieve though? Would criminology be easier, or is it too specific of a degree?

I want a degree which is open for many types of employment (not including sciences or medicine) and not sure if I should pursue either of these subjects. Both subjects seem to include the elements of sociology I enjoy the most which is why I've taken an interest.

Also, does it really matter what subject my degree is in when getting a job? Excluding medicine and science as I have no interest in those as a career.

Criminology is very interesting because it combines (in my opinion) numerous disciplines; Psychology, Sociology, Policing, Law and Education.
From experience Criminology and law can be difficult and rather competitive, most who take this course are aiming to work within in the legal industry and try and get internships especially in their second and/or final year or go onto to study MSc or train to be a solicitor and/or barrister.

Whilst criminology does not make you a criminologist the skills you learn are valuable. It gives you a different perspective of society and how we respond to contemporary issues in society; I believe it allows people to become reflective, compassionate and you learn great communication and debating skills. Some universities also do Criminology and Sociology which are excellent!

Depending on your future career goal; university buys you time to either pick a potential specialist career to work towards or to help you figure out what you want to do, regardless of whether it relates to your degree.

Again this is all from my personal experience but I think you need to do what is right for you.

Hope this helps and Good luck!
Original post by willowharp
I'm in year 12 and slightly torn in what to study at university, but thinking along the lines or law or criminology at the moment. I'm predicted AAB and have looked at a few university courses which suit my grades, but is it worth getting a degree in these subjects?

I think law will be quite a good degree to have for me as I'm not sure what career I want to pursue, but from my understanding it is a highly regarded degree. Is it worth going through it if it's an incredibly difficult degree to achieve though? Would criminology be easier, or is it too specific of a degree?

I want a degree which is open for many types of employment (not including sciences or medicine) and not sure if I should pursue either of these subjects. Both subjects seem to include the elements of sociology I enjoy the most which is why I've taken an interest.

Also, does it really matter what subject my degree is in when getting a job? Excluding medicine and science as I have no interest in those as a career.

Hi @willowharp :smile:
I think it's great that you've started looking at University courses already! Getting a degree in either of these subjects is great because when studying the course, you will gain a range of different skills overall! I'd highly recommend going with whichever course really interests you as if you enjoy the course you're studying, you've got a strong motivator already!

My advice would be to thoroughly research a range of different Universities, through Open days especially, as you can get a better feel of the campus, and see if you can imagine yourself studying and living there for the next few years. Through Open days as well, you can talk to the different departments you're interested in, and it's a great opportunity to ask them more subject-specific questions. We have some upcoming ones, so feel free to come along:
https://le.ac.uk/open-days

Researching the courses as well is important, as you'll really see if the topics and modules interest you, and seem like something you'd enjoy. Talking to the current students is something that I also considered important when applying, as you get an honest current student's viewpoint! Additionally, if an optional year is something which you're passionate about, make sure you research the University beforehand and see if they offer it; specifically for Law, and Criminology, we offer a Year Abroad, which is where you have the opportunity to study the course in a completely different country, which is great for developing your confidence skills and learning to be independent overall.

Regarding the Criminology course, we are ranked second in the Guardian University Guide 2021 and have a range of different ways in which you will be taught, such as using the Crime Scene Room, which is much more interactive. With the Law course, we have a Pro-Bono society if you're interested, and if you want to find out about the Job Prospects after getting a specific degree, everything is listed on our website, which you can check out here:
Law-
https://le.ac.uk/courses/law-llb/2022
Criminology-
https://le.ac.uk/courses/criminology-bsc/2022

Please feel free to ask any more question you have:smile:
Good luck!
(edited 1 year ago)

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