As someone who has always been fascinated with the inner workings of the Criminal Justice System and let’s face it, an avid viewer of plenty of true crime documentaries, the chance to undertake a degree program in the rather unusual subject of Criminology was one I was certainly going to take. Personally, I loved that I could customise my degree to suit my interests and also broaden my horizons through my year abroad in Seoul, South Korea.
Mornings
As a student from the local area, I choose to commute from my own accommodation outside of the city as a budget friendly alternative to accommodation inside the city, even if it does mean waking it a little bit earlier for those dreaded 9am lectures. Luckily for me however, this year most of my classes typically start in the afternoon meaning that I get a couple of extra hours in bed after my tiring training sessions with the Team Durham Gymnastics and Trampolining squad. Generally speaking, I am usually awake between 8 and 8:30am to ensure that I get the chance to have a quick flick through my plans and schedule for the day to ensure that I haven’t missed any preparation for my seminar classes before heading off to the bus stand. Typically, the bus only takes around 20 minutes from my hometown to Durham City Centre or a little more if there’s traffic, meaning that I have a little extra time to catch up on any last-minute reading.
Self-study with a treat
Once in the city I usually head off to the library to get a little bit of self-studying or reading completed before popping into one of many local cafes around Durham to grab a little treat to reward myself. Despite the seemingly small number of contact hours, one of the core focuses within the Criminology degree programme is independent learning which was something that I found difficult to adapt to at first, yet it was something that I came to love. Independent study may seem a little scary at first, but I found it gave me the time to explore the concepts and themes, I was most interested in, in much greater depth and detail whilst also having more free time to engage in sports and societies as part of my wider student experience.
Lectures, workshops and seminars
Today, I got lucky as I don’t have any seminars meaning that I had very little preparation and I mainly had a couple of lecture readings to catch up on. Seminars occur less frequently than lectures and are typically made up of small groups of students, usually around 8-12 students, where students discuss key ideas or perspectives from the previous lecture with each other. Between 2 and 4pm I have my first workshop of the day for my Community Placement module where we discuss how successfully criminological theories and governmental policies translate into practice and the lived experiences of individuals. This class smaller than a typical lecture, with a cap of only 20 students, and unlike other modules it allows students to gain direct work experience within the Criminal Justice Sector whilst studying at university. This module aids in the development of my personal, professional and academic skills, making it particularly useful for my future prospects and job opportunities after graduation. After the practical workshop, I have another academic commitment in the form of a one-hour lecture for a module titled ‘Youth in Crisis’ which looks at the factors surrounding young people’s transitions to adulthood and youth criminality. This module usually consists of one lecture a week and one seminar class every two weeks.
Sport, societies and extracurricular activities
After all my academic commitments, I usually try to make sure that I have time away from academic activities and focus on my hobbies, interests and most importantly, good food. Personally, I like to take part in a wide range of activities from sports and relaxed societies like Pokémon Society. In particular I really love the Northern Society and the Korean Society which helps me maintain my Korean language skills from my year abroad last year. There really are a wide range of activities and communities for students with some of the more interesting examples being Quidditch Team or the Taylor Swift Society and if you can’t find something you’re interested in why not start your own society.
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