MSc Policing Leadership at Nottingham Trent University

Policing is a vitally important public service that frequently deals with complex issues of public safety such as the safeguarding of vulnerable people and the protection of communities.

The police service faces several critical challenges, such as the need to provide services with fewer resources, to target resources where they are needed most and to improve the service provided to communities. This course will give students the ability to help meet these challenges by applying advanced and specialist knowledge and skills at the cutting edge of our understanding.

The general aim of the course is to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to become a leader at any level of policing and to drive continual improvement in policing practice by using and generating evidence about what strategies and tactics are most effective. You will study existing evidence on effective policing and how to produce new evidence that can help inform policing decisions. You will also undertake research, supported by an expert supervisor, using the most appropriate methods to answer policing questions that particularly interest you.

During your studies, you will encounter opportunities to build your understanding of policing in an international context through specialist modules and your interaction with students from our accompanying MSc courses in International Law Enforcement and Management of Fraud Investigation.

This course is aimed at students who have an undergraduate degree in policing, criminology or a related discipline, or who have equivalent knowledge of policing gained through professional practice.

Careers and employability

This course is primarily targeted at those in employment within policing services in the UK who are seeking to build their leadership skills for potential career enhancement. This course is designed to provide you with the qualification that signals advanced knowledge and skills, which can help to accelerate your career progression. For those from outside the policing service, this course will provide a route into policing leadership.

The Masters level qualification is specifically designed to build leadership and advanced analytical skills (through research) that are often requisites for career advancement.