A BA (Hons) Policing and Criminal Investigation degree studies how crime is investigated and how policing is done: evidence gathering, investigative interviewing, decision making under pressure, intelligence analysis, and the law and ethics that constrain all of it. It is a practical, professionally oriented degree, often taught by former officers and built around case work and simulated investigations.
Before going further we need to state something plainly, because it changes whether this course makes sense for you.
Read this first: eligibility for UK policing
Joining a UK police force as a constable carries nationality and residency requirements, and forces generally require a period of continuous residence in the UK before application. Holding this degree does not by itself make an international graduate eligible to become a UK police officer, and no university or agency can change that.
What the degree does do is prepare you for the wide range of investigative, analytical and compliance work that sits around policing and is far more open, and it is an excellent qualification to take back to a career in Nepal. We would rather you understood the position now than after three years of tuition. If becoming a UK police officer is your specific goal, this is not the route and we will tell you so.
What you study
Three years, with heavy use of scenario and simulation work.
- Year one: the criminal justice system, criminal law and police powers, introduction to investigation, and policing in society.
- Year two: investigative practice and crime scene management, interviewing witnesses and suspects, intelligence and crime analysis, evidence and disclosure, and safeguarding and vulnerability.
- Year three: serious and complex crime investigation, cybercrime and digital evidence, counter fraud, professional standards and ethics, and a dissertation or major investigative project.
Entry requirements from Nepal
The figures below are what most of our partner universities ask for. They are not fixed, and individual universities set their own thresholds each intake, so treat this as a guide and let us confirm the exact position for the courses you shortlist.
- Academic: +2, A-Levels or IB at roughly 60 per cent and above, with a foundation year route available. No specific +2 subject is needed. The course is essay and report based, so written English matters.
- English: IELTS 6.0 overall with no band below 5.5 is typical. Many of our partner universities also accept PTE Academic, Duolingo, or a Medium of Instruction letter from Tribhuvan, Pokhara or Kathmandu University. See our IELTS score comparison and the routes that do not require IELTS.
- Study gap: most universities accept a gap, commonly up to five years and sometimes up to ten, as long as you can account for the time.
- Finance: the student visa requires evidence of your first year tuition plus living costs, currently 1,529 pounds a month for London and 1,171 pounds a month elsewhere, held for nine months. Our page on UK university fees for international students sets out the detail.
Where the degree leads
- Crime and intelligence analysis
- Counter fraud and financial crime investigation, in banks, insurers and public bodies
- Corporate security, compliance and internal investigation
- Regulatory and enforcement bodies
- Digital forensics and cyber investigation
- Charity and support work with victims and offenders
- Policing and investigative careers in your home country
- Postgraduate study in criminology, security or forensic fields
Related options worth considering are criminology, which is the more academic and research-oriented degree, and forensic science, which is the laboratory route.
Talk to us before you choose
Real Dreams has been sending Nepalese students to UK universities since 2003, and course choice is where most applications are decided. Send us your transcripts and we will tell you which universities realistically accept students at your level for policing and criminal investigation, which intake suits you, and what the first year actually costs once tuition, deposit and maintenance funds are added together.
Counselling is free and there is no obligation. Our offices are in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara, Butwal and Bhairahawa, with a further office in London. Get in touch when you are ready, start an application, or look through the full course list.
