A day in the life of a criminology student

If you are looking for a career that makes a real impact in the world then studying criminology could be the course for you. You’ll learn about the causes and consequences of complex crime, criminal justice, forensics, cybercrime, border protection and biosecurity, and graduate ready to work in a highly valued professional role in the community. 

We sat down with ACU Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice student Jaya Muscat to chat about a typical day in her life.

7am

“My alarm goes off and I eat my breakfast and get ready to head over to uni,” Jaya said. “It’s about a 20-minute drive depending on traffic. I am going in earlier today as my friend and I are working on multiple assignments and our group presentation together in the library. I make sure I have all my chargers, notebooks, and task sheets, and that all my devices are fully charged as it is going to be a long day on the computer.”

8 – 9am

“First tutorial of the day is ‘Victims of Crime’, which is about the different types of victims and what specifically classifies someone as a victim. We get to do a great activity, that will come in handy when preparing for our group assignment, where we take part in a sentencing simulation between a judge, defence attorney and prosecution for a particular crime. The activity is an online forum with examples of cases, and it is our job to determine whether the person accused should receive a prison sentence, a fine or community service and for how long depending on the nature and severity of their offence.” 

9 – 10am

“First class complete and now it is time to walk to our forensic psychology class which is fascinating – learning about all the different types of forensics involved when discovering deceased bodies in potential homicides or via natural or unknown causes. In this tutorial we read a lot of articles and watch videos of professionals speaking about different types of forensics. This week’s topic was fingerprints and DNA and how crucial this can be in determining possible suspects and identifying others at a crime scene.

“If you are as interested in this field as I am, you will be amazed at all the new things you discover that you may have been wondering about in the past. There are so many different aspects to criminology than you might think – it’s not just criminals and prison.”

10.30am – 12pm 

“Before getting back into our assignments, my friend and I give our brains a break and grab some food and drink. This takes a while as the line in the café can get quite long but it is definitely worth the wait.”

12.30 – 2.30pm

“It is now time to knuckle down and work on assignments, each being 1,500 to 2,000 words as well as a group presentation to start preparing with my partner. First, while the content is still fresh in my head, I begin planning out my brief to legal counsel for forensic psychology. A good, structured plan will ensure I know exactly what I need to include and what I need to research to ensure I am covering all aspects of the criteria. My friend and I each work on our individual assignments for an hour before beginning to plan our sentencing simulation. Before writing any of our presentation, we do a thorough read through of the scenario and write down the mitigating and aggravating factors of the case so we could identify which path the judge should go down in terms of prosecuting the offender. 

3 – 5pm

“The afternoon brain drain has officially hit, and it is time to pack up to travel home before traffic hits. Once I arrive home, I get ready to attend my pilates class and then afterwards travel to hockey training.”
 
5 – 7 pm 

“Pilates for 45 minutes and my muscles are quite warm. Now I must travel 40 minutes across town for hockey training. At this point my brain and body both feel quite tired so I’m hoping tonight’s session will not be too rough.”

7 – 8 pm 

“After arriving home, I have a much-needed cold shower in this 35 degree weather. I lay out my clothes for tomorrow, charge my devices and pack a lunch for a new day of uni. Then I work more on my assignments. I only have one class tomorrow, which is online in the morning, then much of the day will be focused on the assignments.”

Interested in a study experience like Jaya’s? Explore criminology at ACU.