Criminology at UWS requires a lot of dedication, especially the second semester of first year when you do the subject, "Crime and Criminology".
You basically have three pieces of class notes, where you have to summarise set readings and hand them in to the tutor for marking. You have a major essay thats worth around 40%, with a word count of 2500. This essay requires the student to synthesise different criminological perspectives. You then have a presentation, which requires the student to present for at least 30-40 minutes. This does take some nerve as you have to teach the class and construct some productive questions for class discussion. Then you two exams, one mid semester and one at the end of the semester. This means that you will have to be consistent with your readings to pass the course. From what i have heard, many have failed this course and this hinders their elective choices.
Of course, as you go further into your degree, the expectations run higher and you are expected to do many readings, having to always critically analyse statistics and criminological perspectives. You will have many case studies to read and will explore things like the psychological aspects of crime, juvenile crime, reform, punishment, white collar crime, policing in Australia e.t.c. All these subjects are pretty boring, but that comes with the course.
Also be sure to reference your materials clearly. UWS academics seem to have this thing for picking up plagiarism and UWS does enforce this policy strictly. I have known people that have failed major essay's and case studies because they didn't reference properly. Be sure to ask your tutor what reference style he/she prefers, as there are multiple variations you can choose from. Librarian's are also a helpful source of information.
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask me.