Access to Higher Education Diploma Public Services

A route to university without the complications

Please note, we now have places available for our September 2023 intake, enrol early to avoid disappointment!   This Access to Higher Education Diploma Public Services qualification has been designed for those returning to education who dream of a career in law, criminology, or policing. During this two-year long course, you’ll study highly relevant course content that will prepare you for your future studies and career, meaning you can hit the ground running when it comes to taking your next step.   In your first year, you’ll explore topics such as psychology and the sociology of crime and deviance, as well as getting to grips with how to research opportunities at a higher education level, and how to construct your academic writing and referencing.   Your second year of studies will cover an introduction to law enforcement and policing, and an overview of crime including the causes of crime, criminological theories, and the effect of crime on the victim.  

What does an Access to Higher Education diploma qualify you for?

As an equivalent to three A Levels and a direct progression route to university, this Access to HE Diploma Public Services qualification is a widely recognised pathway for those looking to change their career. You’ll achieve UCAS points to get you on track for university, and we will also provide you with a guide on how to apply to university via the UCAS system. This course is your first step towards pursuing a career in the police force, law, and criminology to name a few.   You can find out more about our Access to Higher Education Diploma programmes in this guide.  

Course Content

This Access to Higher Education Public Services Diploma is made up of nine units. Five units will be graded, and four units will be ungraded. The course provides 60 credits in total. The course content will cover the units needed to progress to a variety of public service-related university degrees, covering the key academic skills and subject knowledge students will need to achieve this.  

Each unit carries a set number of credits, and this information is required when you make your university choice. Here are the full details on unit credits. 

Year 1 Unit 1: Researching in HE

• Researching opportunities for progression to HE.
• Opportunities available in HE.
• Exploring your own aspirations.
• Implications of following a HE course.
• Importance of work experience.

Year 1 Unit 2: Academic skills

• Key resources and planning your learning.
• Extracting key information from credible academic sources.
• Academic writing.
• Referencing.
• Academic integrity.

Year 1 Unit 3: Psychology

• Scientific nature of psychology.
• Psychological perspectives.
• Work of prominent psychologists.
• Ethical issues in scientific investigation of human and/or animal behaviour.

Year 1 Unit 4: Sociology of crime and deviance

• Deviance and criminal behaviour relating to sociological concepts and theories.
• Interpreting and evaluating crime statistics and quantitative evidence.
• Assessing the reaction to crime by the media and other social groups.

Year 1 Unit 5: Personal development

• Learning styles.
• Exploring your personal development.
• Reflecting on your performance.

Year 2 Unit 6: Introduction to law enforcement

• Principles of policing in the UK.
• The role and responsibilities of law enforcement officers.
• The use of digital tools and how they can support the role of leadership and decision-making in modern policing.

Year 2 Unit 7: Maths

• Basic operations with whole numbers, integers, fractions, and decimals.
• Percentages.
• Using numbers in everyday situations.
• Metric and imperials systems of units.
• Basic rules for indices and numbers expressed in standard form.

Year 2 Unit 8: Crime in context

• Gain an understanding of crime and the causes of crime.
• Recognise contemporary criminological theories.
• The role of the media in relation to crime.
• Discover the historical changes in crime and sentencing and the effect of crime on the victim.

Year 2 Unit 9: Law/criminology project

• Develop skills in planning and undertaking a research project which investigates a law and/or criminology-related research topic or issue.