Forensic Psychology Certificate

The Department of Psychology, in coordination with the Department of Law, Justice and Security, offers a certificate in Forensic Psychology. The certificate will be awarded to students who successfully complete the course requirements and demonstrate a basic understanding and knowledge of selected subject matter in Psychology and Criminal Justice.

Summary of Requirements

Required Courses: 21 Credits

• CRIM1001

  INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE

  CRIM1001
  INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This introductory course will introduce criminal justice as a system that is an institutional agent of American society. The components of police, courts, and corrections are discussed with the goal of defining their function and purpose and interdependence on one another. The patterns of crime and the processes of the American Criminal Justice System, law enforcement, judicial process, and corrections will be examined. Students will learn the terminology of the field, examine the methods of inquiry used in the field, and learn the objectives, policies and procedures of probation, parole, and prisons as well as some of the issues and problems.

  PREREQUISITES:

• CRIM3030

  THEORIES OF CRIMINAL DEVIANCE (SOCL3030)

  CRIM3030
  THEORIES OF CRIMINAL DEVIANCE (SOCL3030)

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  An examination of the etiology and major theories of criminality, with special reference to the rational choice, routine activity, biological and psychosocial theories of deviance. This course will examine criminal deviance by analyzing both criminal and victim populations, with particular emphasis on crime typology and the analysis of criminal behavior. The responses of the Criminal Justice System and private security experts to criminal behavior from situational crime prevention techniques to correctional treatment methods are explored and discussed. Cross-listed with SOCL3030

  PREREQUISITES:

  ENGL1012 or ENGL1012H

• PSYC1021

  INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY

  PSYC1021
  INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This survey course introduces students to several critical areas of psychology. Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on the scientific method, its application to psychology, and the insights gained from scientific research. The interactions among biological processes, cognitive and emotional responses, sociocultural forces, and behavior are examined. Included are such diverse topics as: health, stress, and coping; consciousness, sleep and dreams; effects of psychoactive drugs on behavior and health; psychological disorders; social psychology; types of learning and behavior management, information processing approaches including memory, encoding and retrieval; and the relationship of the nervous system to thought, feelings, and behaviors.

  PREREQUISITES:

• PSYC2065

  FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

  PSYC2065
  FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  The course provides the student with a general introduction to the practice of forensic psychology. The field addresses ways in which experts in psychological science contribute to the legal system. Potential topics include eyewitness memory, the insanity defense, child custody, lie detection, criminal profiling, violent crime, and more.

  PREREQUISITES:

• PSYC3011

  RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

  PSYC3011
  RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This course examines the major experimental designs and methods of scientific psychology. The nature of psychology as a science, types of and evaluation of research design and conclusions, conducting of research, preparation of research papers and ethics in research in psychology are covered.

  PREREQUISITES:

  PSYC1021 & PSYC3070 or CRIM2011 & MATH1040 or CRIM2012

• PSYC3023

  ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

  PSYC3023
  ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This course begins with definitions of abnormal behavior. Most of the course focuses upon various classifications of abnormality based on the most recent DSM, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders, somatoform disorders, stress and physical health, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, sexual and gender-identity disorders, and schizophrenia. Etiology, symptomatology, and treatment are explored throughout the semester.

  PREREQUISITES:

  PSYC1021 or PSYC1021H

• PSYC3063

  CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY (CRIM3063)

  PSYC3063
  CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY (CRIM3063)

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This course, through an integration of psychology, criminology, and law, examines criminal behavior from both a psychological and legalistic perspective. Elements of the course include psychological explanations of individual personality development and examination of the concept of evil; rational choice and thrill-motivated theories of criminality, and the FBI's methodology for analyzing the crimes committed by selected types of criminals. The course employs famous trials to illustrate the legal means that society uses to deter and punish criminal behavior and the rules of evidence that determine the role of psychology in our legalistic system of criminal justice.

  PREREQUISITES:

  PSYC1021 or PSYC1021H or CRIM1001