A - Levels

I am in Year 10 and want to do criminology for a degree at UCL. What A - Levels should I choose? I am considering these options, would they be suitable:
1) Latin Language (I have already done the Language GCSE)
2) Biology
3) Psychology ( I have chosen sociology as a GCSE)
4) Mathematics

Reply 1

bibachu

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by SFisher14

Biology and psychology are definitely great options for criminology. You may even get to do an optional topic in forensic psychology in Year 13 for paper 3 depending on your school's specification. Latin could be a good option if you are good at it and enjoy it and the same goes for maths. I personally study philosophy, politics and psychology, so if your school offers subjects such as politics, history, media or law, these could potentially link well with criminology (sociology would probably be best, but since you are taking sociology at GCSE and haven't listed it, I'm assuming you don't want to study it at A level). I have friends who do maths and the feedback is mixed. Most find it incredibly challenging either in terms of the content or the exam papers themselves. Some (a minority) do quite well in it and enjoy it, but tend to put in a lot of work when it comes to maths anyway. I believe that UCL accept the WJEC Level 3 diploma or certificate in criminology alongside two A levels, if you plan on applying to their criminology course only. I'm not entirely sure, so you'll have to check. Honestly another essay based subject would probably be a good idea, unless you are trying to keep your options open. You have plenty of time to decide, but these sound like good options.

Reply 2

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by SFisher14

UCL doesn't offer criminology as a degree per se, but it does offer the following:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/degrees/crime-and-security-science-bsc

The entry requirements are:
A Level Grades
AAB
Subjects
No specific subjects. At least two A level subjects should be taken from UCL's list of preferred A level subjects. WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology is acceptable in lieu of one A Level subject.
GCSEs
English Language and Mathematics at grade C or 4.

From the list of preferred A Level subjects (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/how-apply/entry-requirements), you have the following:
Arts and Humanities

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Arabic

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Art and Design

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Art and Design: 3D Design

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Art and Design: Critical and Contextual Studies

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Art and Design: Fine Art

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Art and Design: Graphic Design

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Art and Design: Photography

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Art and Design: Textiles

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Bengali

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Biblical Hebrew

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Business Studies

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Cantonese

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Chinese

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Classical Civilisation

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Classical Greek

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Drama (WJEC specification)

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Drama and Theatre Studies

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Dutch

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English Language

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English Language and Literature

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English Literature

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English Literature (specifications A or B where applicable)

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Film Studies

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French

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German

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Greek

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Gujarati

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Hindi

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History of Art

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History of Art and Design

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Information and Communication Technology

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Irish

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Italian

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Japanese

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Latin

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Media Studies

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Modern Greek

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Modern Hebrew

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Moving Image Art (CCEA specification)

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Music

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Panjabi

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Persian

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Philosophy

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Polish

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Portuguese

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Religious Studies

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Russian

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Spanish

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Tamil

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Turkish

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Urdu

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Welsh

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Welsh (Second Language)

Social sciences

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Ancient History

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Anthropology

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Archaeology

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Economics

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Economics and Business

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Economics and Business (Nuffield)

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Environmental Science

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Environmental Studies

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Geography A

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Geography B

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Government and Politics

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History

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Law

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Poltics

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Psychology

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Psychology A

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Psychology B

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Sociology

Sciences

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Biology

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Biology (Salters-Nuffield)

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Biology (Human)

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Chemistry

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Chemistry (Nuffield)

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Chemistry (Salters)

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Computer Science

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Design and Technology (for 2025 entry)

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Further Mathematics

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Geology

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Mathematics

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Mathematics (MEI)

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Physics

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Physics (Advancing Physics)

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Physics (Salters-Horners)

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Pure Mathematics

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Statistics

So there you go, the subjects that you have picked would be suitable. However, you can pick 1 subject that is not in the above list should you wish.

Reply 3

McGinger

A degree in Criminology doe not make you a 'Criminologist' - that is a specialism within Psychology.
And there is no job anywhere that requires a degree in Criminology.

If you are interested in social problems, look at Social Work, Sociology or Social Policy degrees - at least you'll be able to get a job with one of those.

Reply 4

sppm726

Maths looks good for any science (I’m pretty sure for all science degrees, you have to do a level maths) or law related degree (I know someone who is doing Law at Cambridge and did Physics, Maths + Chemistry as her A levels), so I would definitely recommend maths for criminology.

From what I’ve heard, needing to know Latin isn’t as important as it’s made out to be for any degree. If you really enjoy it, then go for it, it might make your application look unique, but I doubt it will massively impact your application process.

Maybe think about taking English?

Reply 5

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by sppm726

Maths looks good for any science (I’m pretty sure for all science degrees, you have to do a level maths) or law related degree (I know someone who is doing Law at Cambridge and did Physics, Maths + Chemistry as her A levels), so I would definitely recommend maths for criminology.
From what I’ve heard, needing to know Latin isn’t as important as it’s made out to be for any degree. If you really enjoy it, then go for it, it might make your application look unique, but I doubt it will massively impact your application process.
Maybe think about taking English?

Sorry, have to interject:

Maths looks good for any science (I’m pretty sure for all science degrees, you have to do a level maths)
Maths does look good for any science. You don't need maths for all science degrees.
Typically a number of life science degrees require biology, chemistry, any 2 sciences, or both chemistry and biology. Maths is typically not essential in this respect. The only exceptions are bioengineering, bioinformatics (some degrees), and biological mathematics.
Maths is essential in computer science, maths, physics, and engineering though i.e. the physical sciences.

law related degree (I know someone who is doing Law at Cambridge and did Physics, Maths + Chemistry as her A levels)
Law degrees typically don't require specific subjects, so you can do law with the physical sciences. I know someone who did something similar.

recommend maths for criminology
Criminology is more of a social science (akin to sociology) than a hard science. As far as I know, criminology degrees generally don't require specific subjects at A Level (you can do a quick Google search to verify this should you wish).
Having said that, I agree that maths is a good subject to have regardless.

From what I’ve heard, needing to know Latin isn’t as important as it’s made out to be for any degree
Not necessarily. I have heard degrees in Classics require one of the following A Levels: Latin, Greek, Classical Civilisation.

If you really enjoy it, then go for it, it might make your application look unique, but I doubt it will massively impact your application process.
I agree with you there.

Reply 6

McGinger

Original post by sppm726

Maths looks good for any science (I’m pretty sure for all science degrees, you have to do a level maths) or law related degree (I know someone who is doing Law at Cambridge and did Physics, Maths + Chemistry as her A levels), so I would definitely recommend maths for criminology.
From what I’ve heard, needing to know Latin isn’t as important as it’s made out to be for any degree. If you really enjoy it, then go for it, it might make your application look unique, but I doubt it will massively impact your application process.
Maybe think about taking English?

What possible relevance does A level Maths have for Criminology?

Reply 7

SFisher14

Original post by McGinger

A degree in Criminology doe not make you a 'Criminologist' - that is a specialism within Psychology.
And there is no job anywhere that requires a degree in Criminology.
If you are interested in social problems, look at Social Work, Sociology or Social Policy degrees - at least you'll be able to get a job with one of those.

I was thinking of being a Crime analyst or something similar and that is why I want to do criminology as a degree or a course

Reply 8

SFisher14

Original post by McGinger

What possible relevance does A level Maths have for Criminology?

You have to do A-level maths or English to go to UCL I think, but it helps if I do not want to do criminology by the time I get to Year 13 as I can go to a range of jobs. Possibly finance as I have done/am doing Business GCSE

Reply 9

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by SFisher14

You have to do A-level maths or English to go to UCL I think
Please read my post.

it helps if I do not want to do criminology by the time I get to Year 13
A Level Maths will allow you to go into a variety of degrees. English Lit would kind of allow you to go into English degrees at picky universities. Other than that, you can apply for degrees that accept 3 A Levels in any subjects.

I can go to a range of jobs.
I wouldn't go that far. A Levels by themselves don't really help that much. They're more like stepping stones for more advanced qualifications or apprenticeships. No employer would specifically ask for A Levels as terminal qualifications for any job.
A Level Maths is requested for some apprenticeships and professional qualifications though e.g. actuary (IFoA).

Possibly finance as I have done/am doing Business GCSE
I'm going to burst your bubble there.
Finance for the most part isn't anything like Business GCSE, in academics or in practice. If anything, degrees in finance generally favour those who did A Level Maths (depending on how mathematical the degree is).
In practice though, you would require professional qualifications for the specific role that you want to apply for, never degrees in any subject (not even finance). Your degrees generally won't help you to get jobs or work towards professional qualifications unless it's a handful of types in financial services (very specific ones though) and accounting. Even then, I would say it's a lot faster and cheaper to just go for the professional qualification since you can qualify in less time and at lower expenses.
Most of these professional qualifications don't require any prior qualifications i.e. your A Levels and GCSEs won't help, but GCSE English Language and Maths are expected by employers though. The common examples are those found on CISI, CII, and LIBF websites. Those that do tend to be in actuary (IFoA), accounting (CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS, AIA, CAI, etc.), and fund management/investment analysis (CFA) - only the CFA requires an undergrad degree but that can be in any subject; IFoA requires at least A Level Maths or equivalent; accounting generally require passes at A Level and GCSE.
In other words, you can pretty much get into most areas of finance will minimal qualifications of any sort. If you want to be an academic in finance, then you would need a finance degree.

Reply 10

SFisher14

Updated options:
Now in year 11 with GCSE results for business, Latin and r.s (short course) 7,6,6 respectively o want to do these A-levels at my current school sixth form:
1) sociology (currently doing for GCSE)
2) psychology
3) biology
4) maths (I like maths currently and is good as a backup if I don’t want to do criminology but rager accounting let’s say)