Access to HE Diploma (Criminology)

What it is: an Access to HE Diploma, a QAA approved Level 3 qualification for adults who want to go to university without A Levels. QAA says Access to HE Diplomas are accepted at over 140 universities every year.

Where it leads: Criminology, criminal justice, policing and sociology degrees.

UCAS points: up to 144. The diploma carries UCAS tariff points, which universities accept for entry to many degrees; 45 graded credits at Distinction give 144 points.

Credits: 60 in total, 45 graded at Level 3 and 15 ungraded.

Study: 100% online, start any time, typically 12 to 18 months at your own pace.

Assessment: coursework only, no exams. Tutor marking in 3 to 5 working days, and you can resubmit to improve your grade.

Price: £79.99 a month after a 7-day free trial, £67.99 a month if you start without the trial, or £815.99 for a year paid up front. No contract, pause or cancel any time, 14-day money back guarantee on every payment.

Awarding body: TBC.

Comparing providers? See the best online Access to HE Criminology courses in the UK, with prices and study times from learndirect, Distance Learning Centre, Open Study College, Stonebridge, Academy Online Learning and Access Courses Online.

Every crime leaves a question. Who commits it, why, what circumstances allowed it, and what happens next, to the victim, to the offender, to the community. Criminology is the discipline that asks and answers those questions, and it sits at the intersection of law, psychology, sociology, and public policy. The Access to HE Diploma (Criminology) is your entry point.

This Level 3 qualification is awarded by TBC Awarding Body, a QAA licensed Access Validating Agency. It is for adults aged 19 and over who want to study Criminology, Law, Social Sciences, or Criminal Justice at a UK university but do not hold traditional A levels. UK universities accept it in place of A levels for a wide range of degree programmes.

You will study 60 credits across criminological theory, the UK criminal justice system, psychology of criminal behaviour, victimology, social policy, research methods, and law. By the end of the diploma you will be able to analyse crime through multiple disciplinary lenses, and to argue your position with evidence, structure, and precision.

Studied 100% online, typically over 12 to 18 months, with no exams and no fixed lecture times. Assessment is through essays, case studies, policy critiques, and a final independent research project. You choose when and where you study. Your tutor provides written feedback within 3 to 5 working days on every assignment.

Criminology graduates go into probation, policing, the prison service, policy research, social work, law, and academia. The discipline is broader than it sounds, and the skills it develops, critical analysis, research, and written argument, transfer across almost every professional sector. For a plain look at the career itself, our route into criminology work sets out where graduates end up and how each strand pays.

You earn up to 144 UCAS points. A full Distinction profile, 144 UCAS points, is the same as AAA at A level. Most criminology and law degrees in the UK ask for between 96 and 128 UCAS points, which you can achieve with a solid Merit-to-Distinction profile across the diploma.

Start anytime. Study around your existing life. If you want to understand how society deals with wrongdoing, and you want a career at the centre of that, this is your route in.