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| Ngozi |
Hey, my name is Ngozi and I've recently completed my third
(and final!) year of my BSc Criminology and Criminal Psychology degree. People
always say that time flies and despite being able to remember each year quite
clearly, it really doesn't feel like it was all that long ago that I was
stumbling about campus trying in vain to find the Stephen Lawrence building for
my orientation.
It was quite dramatic for me, choosing my degree programme,
because I had to explain to my careers advisor why I was so interested in studying
criminals and horrific crimes without sounding like I was training to become a
criminal myself. She still seemed rather dubious when I left the room so I
don't think I was all that successful.
I chose Criminology and Criminal Psychology at Greenwich
because it seemed to be the perfect blend of studying crime, studying criminal
behavior and studying criminal thoughts and intentions. I'm a big asker of
'why's and I wanted to understand what makes people become criminals and why
some appear to specialise in certain crimes and others commit a range of
criminal acts.
Apart from the fundamental structure of the programme, I
found myself drawn to the different modules and the freedom we were given to
choose at least one elective per year. In particular, in first year, I was
given the opportunity to study linguistics, a subject I had always been
passionate about but had never truly pursued. It helped that all the courses
seemed to have similar links and connections that made the topics easier to
grasp and develop concepts around them.
The lecturers are incredibly knowledgeable so I can't stress
enough how advantageous it would be to utilise that resource. Whilst the
library is expansive, new concepts and ideas surrounding the fields of criminal
psychology and criminology are constantly being developed so I would most
definitely encourage you to subscribe to some online journals and spend some
time reading through any new articles. Not only does it keep you in the loop
but it gains some serious brownie points with lecturers - they remember the
students who have something new to say! I really value all three years of my
degree and will cherish the experiences and lessons I have learnt here.
Like most degree programmes, it primarily consists of a
mixture of coursework and exams, however, individual courses may have their own
assessment structure so it's best to be clear at the start of the year so can
prepare. Some courses hold assessments during the year, at the end of term or
at the end of the year so be sure to note down when the course begins when your
assessments are likely to take place so that you don't find yourself studying
like mad just before the start of Winter break!
One last piece of advice? Get a day planner! Whether you're
planning on working part-time or otherwise, it's great for keeping track of
lectures, tutorials, fresher's events, lecture readings, assessment deadlines
or anything else. Without a doubt, having an academic diary was one of the most
valuable things I had at my disposal as it provided structure to my time and
let me know how to organise my days and subsequent weeks.
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