Top forensic psychology graduate programs

Investigative Forensic Psychology deals with assessment, diagnosis, treatment and interventions related to criminal behaviors. A psychologist expert in forensic science deals with criminals, offenders, prisoners and professionals working in the field of law, judiciary, administrative and penal systems. They address psychosocial problems of various stakeholders who are directly or indirectly related to civil or criminal litigation. A student interested in pursuing forensic psychology graduate program should consider enrolling to a forensic psychology school that gives specialized and integrated knowledge in broadly three domains:

S.No. Specialized Psychology Domains 1 Law, Legal and Judiciary systems 2 Forensic Science 3 Clinical disorders and delinquent behaviors

Requirements in graduate programs in forensic psychology

Though knowledge of each one of the specialized psychology domains listed above is essential for a forensic psychologist, it is the interface of the three that makes a person skilled in performing the role of a forensic behavior expert.

To become a chartered / licensed forensic psychologist, one should pursue a Masters in Forensic Psychology as a psychology graduate program. Students majoring in psychology (who are psychology major students) can study elective course of forensic psychology as one of their subjects (though many psychology schools do not offer that). Earning a master’s in forensic psychology is not sufficient to be called as an expert in the domain. Even after pursuing a graduate program, one needs to be a licensed practitioner in forensic behavior. This requires a rigorous coursework of dual or joint degrees in the disciplines of law and psychology.

Specialization in forensic behavior generally starts at masters, doctorate or post-doctorate programs. Besides psychology, students majoring in disciplines of law, political science, journalism, sociology and related fields can also pursue forensic psychology as their graduate course work. However, it is important that knowledge of clinical psychology is essential for having specialization in forensics as one has to deal with abnormal and delinquent behaviors of criminals. Thus, many students after completing their masters and doctorate (PhD or PsyD) in clinical psychology take up specialized course in forensic psychology to become an expert of the field. Forensic psychology is one of the common postdoctoral specializations of many clinical psychologists. Likewise, law students after completing their major and graduate programs take up doctoral and post-doctoral coursework in forensics to be expert in the domain.

Curriculum that makes forensic psychology graduate programs rankings best for any forensic school

The practice of forensic psychology involves psychological assessment and profiling of people involved in legal cases. The clinical assessment, risk assessment, cognitive evaluation, case taking, criminal profiling and report writing are some of the common training arenas of forensic science students. Besides, psychology students need to choose a range of electives to gain complete understanding of psychology-law interface. Electives like Child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, criminal proceedings, psychology of victims, civil commitment, mediation & arbitration are related to the discipline of study. They are also trained in topics like psychology of police investigation, deception, eyewitness testimony and false memory. The course content also requires them to be trained in tests like lie-detection, brain mapping, polygraph testing, narco-analysis etc. It is essentially important that education and training of forensic psychologists should make them capable of applying psychology principles in the aid of legal inquiries.

Am I ready for a job in forensic psychology?

The job of a forensic psychologist is stressful and tense as the person has to be the witness of many traumatic experiences of people. A student aiming to become a forensic behavior specialist must be capable of building relationship with offender community and show problem-solving and decision making skills. S/He should have good listening and communication skills and demonstrate resilient behavior to bounce back from adversities. A non-biased, fair and non-judgmental approach for wrongdoers is equally essential.

After this brief know how on this subject, the psychology fact can be safely concluded that this rapidly growing sub-discipline of psychology is not a splendid profession but a solemn occupation meant for courageous hearts and audacious minds.

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