Month: November 2010

A degree in forensic psychology covers topics that link the psychological research base with the criminal justice system and other aspects of criminal behaviour.  Degrees in forensic psychology are usually taken at masters level, however they are sometimes available at bachelors level.  Of course, there are significant differences between the two.

Forensic psychologists often work in or with the courts. That’s judicial, not tennis (Photo: srqpix)

Bachelors degrees in forensic psychology

A bachelors degree is very similar to an other accredited BSc psychology degree.  You will still cover a lot of ground within the subject, from the biological basis of behaviour, abnormal psychology, cognitive approaches, research methods, to conceptual and historical issues associated with the scientific study of the brain and behaviour.  In a normal psychology degree, you are usually given several optional modules to choose from, particularly in the second and third years, of which forensic psychology might be one possible option.  In a bachelors degree in forensic psychology, several of these optional degrees will cover forensic psychology.  This allows you to get the bird’s eye view of the field that all psychology students get, as well as a more focused look at forensic psychology.  You can then get a better idea of whether forensic psychology is for you, and if you do decide to continue your studies at masters level you’ll have a better chance of getting on the course, all other things being equal.

Masters degrees in forensic psychology

To get on a masters degree in forensic psychology, you’ll usually need to have a bachelors in psychology or equivalent. The topics you’ll cover here include the psychology of criminal behaviour, research issues in forensic psychology (recording and defining crime, for example), psychology and the courts (for example, for juries reach decisions, why eye-witness testimony is unreliable), and offender profiling (which isn’t as glamorous as they make it look on TV).

You’ll learn and be graded in the usual ways – lectures, group work, essays, exams, and so on. You’ll also have a large dissertation project to do related to forensic psychology.

Forensic psychology degrees online

If your schedule makes it hard for your to show up for lectures several times a week, see if you can find a forensic psychology degree online. Distance learning would mean you get all your course material via email, and you’d hand in your work the same way. In some cases you might get video conferencing with your tutors. Although you have to motivate yourself more with an online degree than you would with an on-site degree, if you really can’t make it to campus this is an option. Always ensure you’re studying at a reputable college or university offering accredited qualifications.

Career opportunities with a masters degree in forensic psychology obviously revolve around working with the police, the courts, prisons, probation service, or research in these areas.

If you’re thinking of taking a forensic psychology degree, subscribe to this blog, and get regular updates that will help you learn psychology and get more out of student life. You might also like my psychology study skills book, which will help you get better grades on your course.

A psychology degree doesn’t have to lead to a career as a psychologist. In fact, it can lead to fame, stardom or infamy. Or at least, it preceded one or more of these things for the following people…

Hugh Hefner

The Playboy founder graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in psychology. He also studied for qualifications in creative writing and women and gender studies. These seem pretty relevant, I wonder how the psychology came into play?

Natalie Portman

Photo: makoto2007

Natalie Portman enrolled at Harvard to study psychology after her career had taken off. She was involved in the Star Wars prequels at the time (1999), and graduated in 2003. “I don’t care if [college] ruins my career,” she told the New York Times, “I’d rather be smart than a movie star.” Well since a Golden Globe for best supporting actress came the year after that, it looks like she managed to have her cake and eat it too. She’s also credited in a research paper, “Frontal Lobe Activation during Object Permanence: Data from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy,” under Natalie Hershlag (it’s Hebrew).

Gloria Estafan

With seven Grammy awards and over 90 million albums sold worldwide, Havana-born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan is certainly a talented and popular lady. But she’s also smart, graduating in 1979 with a B.A. in Psychology, with a minor in French, from the University of Miami. So unlike Miss Portman, Mrs Estefan completed her degree before hitting the limelight.

Jon Stewart

Best known for The Daily Show, American satirist, author, actor and comedian Jon Stewart majored in psychology at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. You can see a bit of the critical thinker in him in the video above, too.

Ted Bundy

When serial killers are shown in film and TV, they are sometimes portrayed as cool, self-aware characters with a hidden secret, maybe a little eccentric but generally fit in OK. In reality, this isn’t always the case, although Ted Bundy comes close to that model, fitting into what the FBI define as an ‘organised’ serial killer. Bundy attended Seattle’s University of Washington. Reportedly well liked by his professors, he graduated with a degree in psychology in 1972.

Looking for direction? (Photo: dr_tim_1956

One of the advantages of psychology is the wide range of topics it covers. It means you can get a wider education than other degrees because you dip your toe into a lot more topic areas, albeit from a psychological perspective. The variety is good for people who like to learn, and it gives good opportunity to draw different lines of work together in assignments (which, depending on the essay, can be a great way to pick up extra marks).

But studying such a broad subject can also be a disadvantage. Although psychology is a useful degree and teaches important thinking skills, there isn’t a definitive career path open to you when you finish, as there is with something like graphic design. If you want to be a psychologist, no problem, you just get the extra training. But some people don’t want a career in psychology. Maybe they chose it purely for interest, or because they weren’t sure what they wanted to do and psychology seemed like a good idea. For these people, the broadness of the subject can seem like a negative, however, the problem can tempered somewhat by using the dissertation as a career tool.

Say you decide in year 2 that you want to be a dietician, but you’re going to finish this degree first. You could choose a dissertation topic around diet, which will allow you to learn more about it, become familiar with the research, and have something you can talk about when you get interviewed on future courses. Or, say for some reason you want to go into HR, you’d do a dissertation around selection perhaps.

It doesn’t work for everything, linking your dissertation into accountancy, or music production might be a challenge, for instance. But even if you can get close to the subject it will help. You could do some research on the employees of the profession you want, and interview them. This might at least get you close to that field — in that environment, talking to people in it, networking. It gives you something to put on your CV and talk about in job interviews, and most of all it hopefully helps you feel like you have some direction.