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Welcome to the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice!
Join us for an exciting day of experiencing university life first-hand. Explore our campus, meet our tutors, and take part in three different sessions based around different areas of Criminology. Whether you’re curious about courses, career paths, or student life, this is your chance to ask questions, connect with current students, and plan your next steps.
This year's Taster will take place 23 June 2026.
Criminology and Forensic Investigation | Facilities Tour
Katherine: We've got extensive forensic facilities. These range from our crime scene rooms and our crime scene suites, right the way through to our mock courtrooms as well.
Helen: Our equipment here will equip our students to be able to carry out similar forensic processes in the real world.
Aaliyah: The eco lab has a variety of different growth cabinets and other equipment that we use to help rear larvae into adult flies that we used for various different applications within forensic investigation. The eco lab is really beneficial for students, as it allows them to understand decomposition and try out a variety of different types of practicals that they'll come across during their decomposition studies.
Katherine: The microscopy suite that we have include stereo microscopes and compound microscopes for looking at larger items like footwear and flies. Also, smaller items like slides of pollen and diatoms. We've also got comparison microscopes for ballistics and gunshot residue, as well as micro CT for looking at those really tiny samples, such as bones and teeth - anything on that really tiny nanometre scale.
Helen: Our fingerprint laboratory has a wide range of equipment that we can use to recover marks from the crime scene and from pieces of evidence. So, we have the capability to visualise marks using physical techniques like fingerprint powder and chemical techniques as well, in order to enhance and develop the mark using a variety of different forensic light sources that we have available here.
Katherine: Here in the DNA facility, we've got the latest DNA equipment from the vortexes and centrifuges right through to DNA amplification machines, DNA spectrophotometers to quantify the DNA, where we can take any sample, human or animal, from extraction through to processing, analysis and interpretation.
Dan: The facilities we have here at the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú are based in Victoria House. The crime scene facilities are designed for students to come into and immerse themselves in some very authentic looking rooms, that we can recreate all aspects of a scene or scenario that the lecturers may come up with. The idea basically being they get a full on immersive session for a good two or three hours, where they can really put to use the skills and the information given as part of the other parts of the course. Once they've done that, they go away and think about it and then they come back again to further enhance what they've learned on other parts of the course as they go through the years.
Katherine: All of our facilities are open to all of our students both undergraduate and postgraduate. They use them in classes, and they can use them for their dissertation research, so they get lots of experience with all the different techniques, all the different pieces of equipment for wherever they want to go.
Students will get to:
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Learn about the different routes you could take within the field of Criminology.
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Learn about student life at the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú.
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See first-hand university buildings and facilities.
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Experience three different practical sessions in different areas of Criminology.
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Q&A - Learn from staff and current students about what you could do with a Criminology degree, and what ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú has to offer as a city.
Taster Day programme
Programme
We're excited to meet you. Check in from 9.30am, get ready to learn about studying a degree in Criminology at uni.
Here's our guide to subject taster days, should you want to learn a little more about our taster days before booking.
We'll meet at Richmond Building, Portland Street, ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú PO1 3DE
Welcome! Get an intro to your taster day, find out the different pathways you can explore and see where your future could lead to with a degree in Criminology.
All attendees will take part in these three practical sessions throughout the day.
Criminology
Forensics
Cybercrime
Quick breather. Take stock of the morning then get ready for the next session.
All attendees will take part in these three practical sessions throughout the day.
Criminology
Forensics
Cybercrime
Students will do the last practical session they have not yet taken part in.
Criminology
Forensics
Cybercrime
Hear from our experts about the exciting range of jobs available within the field of Criminology.
Closing summary of the day, but the floor is yours to ask your questions, to lecturers and current students.
This could be about different Criminology subjects, any of the talks you've watched so far, the city of ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, moving away from home, and/or whatever you want to know about uni.
Let us know your thoughts about the day before heading off.
Taster Day location and meeting point
Check in opens from 9.15am at Park Building, King Henry I St., ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú, PO1 2BZ.
If you're arriving by coach or minibus, we recommend parking on Museum Road, ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú which is just outside of Ravelin Sports Centre.
For more information on checking in and how to get here, take a look at our guide to taster days page.
ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú
Explore our island city and its many attractions, and find out what student life is really like at the University.
Undergraduate Open Days
Thinking about joining us as an undergrad? Book your spot at an upcoming Open Day.