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Forensic Psychology involves using psychological assessment on those involved with the law, such as criminals, according to the American Psychological Association. Forensic psychologists, therefore, must have strong clinical skills in clinical assessment, report writing, interviewing, and verbal communication, which are all especially important in court.
A new subfield of Psychology, Forensic Psychology became popular on television, with shows like Criminal Minds and CSI featuring the profession. Forensic psychology professionals use research, ideas, and tools from psychology to legal situations, like investigations, design interventions, and psychological research. This study breaks down the behaviors of those who commit crimes and analyzes the suspects’ reasons for committing such felonies.
During trials, forensic psychologists provide valuable insights into crimes committed in the past to prevent the same crimes in the future. However, the work of such professionals is not restricted to crimes. In civil cases, they also can influence outcomes in custody disputes or insurance claims.
To become a forensic psychologist, the first step is to earn a bachelor’s degree, such as a Bachelor’s in Forensic Psychology. Next is to gain an internship and earn a graduate degree.
Quick Summarization
An online Forensic Psychology degree program prepares students to create profiles of criminals to help law enforcement agencies in their investigations and in solving crimes. They will be adept at understanding criminal behaviors, providing insights into why criminals commit crimes and the types of people more vulnerable to violating laws to minimize crimes.
Methodology
This article aims to provide students and their families with the most updated and informative data on the best schools with a Forensic Psychology degree online. We used these criteria to select the top colleges and universities offering the best undergraduate programs:
- Offered as an online or hybrid format featuring asynchronous and synchronous classes to provide adult students the flexibility they need to earn a degree and fulfill other commitments,
- Features a curriculum developed by licensed professionals, industry experts, and seasoned instructors,
- Establishes the groundwork for forensic psychologist practice, with rigorous coursework highlighting the Forensic Psychology theories and applications,
- Offers supplementary student services, including career counseling, online tutorials, online library services, and one-on-one mentoring to support student’s academic journey.
- Provides a generous transfer credit policy, as well as federal aid and financial assistance programs,
- Obtained proper accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and regularly meets strict requirements to optimize students’ academic experience.
Explore our undergraduate program ranking process. Read our Methodology.
5 Best Online Bachelor of Forensic Psychology
Touro University Worldwide
Touro University Worldwide is a Jewish-sponsored nonprofit institution of higher education. It is a military-friendly university offering tuition discounts to veterans, active-duty service members, and their families. Its leaders are successful in the world of online learning. At Touro University Worldwide, students can rest assured that they will receive all the help they need to achieve their professional and personal goals.
Among the many on-campus and online degrees TUW offers is its Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Concentration in Forensic Psychology. Students will develop the crucial skills necessary to pursue a wide range of law and criminal justice careers.
Forensic Psychology students will learn how to apply their learnings in eyewitness testimony, lie detection, offender rehabilitation, police interrogation, insanity defenses, criminal profiling, and socialization of police officers. Aside from that, they will also tackle topics related to criminal behavior, including psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder concepts, as well as addiction, concerning forensic settings.
Forensic Psychology students at TUW will learn from the university’s exceptional faculty and industry experts who bring years of relevant hands-on experiences to their classes. Aside from that, students will also be able to apply their learnings to their jobs while preparing to advance in their careers.
TUW’s Forensic Psychology concentration program requires 120 credit hours, including 45 for General Education courses, 12 for Concentration courses, and 24 for Electives.
Touro University Worldwide’s Forensic Psychology concentrations include:
- Forensic Psychology
- Applied Social Psychology
- Criminal Behavior
- Psychology and the Law
Bushnell University
Bushnell University was founded 127 years ago to offer a Christ-centered environment and encourage students to nurture their faith, champion service, pursue wisdom, and transform their lives. This institution takes its calling and history seriously, delivering excellent academic programs within a Christian learning environment.
In this university, students are trained to answer God’s calling and prepare them to positively impact their lives through the church, family, community, and career. On top of that, faculty and students engage in academic dialogues and research from a faith-based perspective and a commitment to the Bible.
Bushnell University offers an online Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Concentration in Forensic Psychology program that gives students the unique opportunity to have a robust foundation of psychological principles with an in-depth understanding of their influence on criminal justice. They learn how critical facets of people’s personalities influence the US criminal justice system, including corrections to addiction, counseling and trauma, criminal behavior, and law enforcement.
Through Bushnell University’s Forensic Psychology concentration program, students can apply ethical standards to assess psychological practices and explanations and foster values that help build communities in a diverse world. They can apply effective communication skills in various formats and demonstrate critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills.
Forensic Psychology students at Bushnell University will learn how to apply the Christian faith to their knowledge of psychological science. They will know how to demonstrate their knowledge base of psychological principles and apply them to the country’s justice system. They will conduct forensic psychology assessments and evaluations to help solve criminal cases.
Graduates enjoy numerous entry-level employment opportunities in various industries, including federal law enforcement, private security and business, crime analysis, research, victims advocacy, corrections, courts, counseling, clinical psychology, and more.
Courses within the Forensic Psychology concentration program include:
- Social Psychology
- Human Development
- Cognition
- Theories of Personality
- Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida Institute of Technology was founded in 1958. It is now a regionally accredited university that offers associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees on-campus, off-site, and online. Today, Florida Tech is an innovative leader in various disciplines, including aviation management, business, cybersecurity, information technology, and psychology. All of its online degree programs combine the academic rigor and prestigious that the university is known for.
At Florida Tech, students are guaranteed to receive personalized attention from their professors through chat rooms, discussion boards, email, and video to ensure their academic success. It is home to top-notch educators, world-class researchers, and international scholars, with nearly 90% of their full-time faculty members having a doctorate or the highest degree and having worked for multinational corporations, including Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Missile Systems, Toyota, and Xerox.
Florida Tech is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). It has consistently ranked among the best national and value universities. It has also been recognized for its online bachelor’s and graduate business programs and online graduate computer information technology degrees.
For those interested in pursuing a degree in Forensic Psychology, Florida Tech’s Bachelor of Arts in Applied Psychology/Forensic Psychology is one exceptional program to consider. This degree is built on a liberal arts foundation, tackling various topics, including examining fundamental concepts, practices, and principles of applied psychology. More importantly, it delves into how forensic psychology interacts with the legal system and law enforcement.
With this online degree program, students can explore how psychology is used to analyze and prevent criminal behavior. They review crucial topics, including criminal behavior, investigative techniques, policing, courtroom procedures, legal processes, counseling, probable cause, and victimology. They will also study human behavior from the perspectives of psychological, sociological, and other interdisciplinary theories.
Florida Tech’s BA in Applied Psychology/Forensic Psychology courses include:
- Forensic Clinical Psychology
- Law and Psychology
- Professional and Ethical Issues
- Psychology of Learning and Motivation
- Abnormal Psychology
Walden University
Walden University started offering distance learning to adult learners who want to earn advanced degrees after two educators saw an opportunity to help working professionals in 1970. Since then, it has been helping reshape access to higher education, offering bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and certificate programs to change people’s lives. To date, this university has helped prepare and empower over 140,000 graduates to fulfill their dreams in life.
This university provides flexible learning formats designed to fit their students’ needs. They also offer financial assistance to make the total cost of tuition less overwhelming. This school provides students with dedicated support services to ensure it can guide and keep them on track. Aside from that, students can rest assured that they will learn only from the best faculty, who are respected leaders, researchers, and scholars who bring real insights into their online classes.
Walden University offers an online Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Concentration in Forensic Psychology to prepare students to impact the nation’s criminal justice system by using their know-how of human behavior and psychology. Through this degree, students will develop a new perspective on applying various psychological principles and know how to examine legal proceedings.
The BS in Psychology with a Concentration in Forensic Psychology degree requires the following courses:
- Introduction to Forensic Psychology
- Forensic Evaluation
- Applications for Forensic Psychology
- Courts and Judicial Process
- Introduction to Victimology
Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University has been recognized as Arizona’s number-one college campus and among the best in America for 2023. It has received over $300 million in scholarships in 2022 alone. These numbers prove that Grand Canyon University is one of the best schools to pursue a bachelor’s degree nowadays.
Today, GCU offers numerous hybrid and online bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs to help working professionals gain the credentials and skills necessary to reach their career goals. It also offers evening classes to allow students with daytime obligations to balance their life and work.
Among the many hybrid and online degrees GCU offers is the Bachelor of Science in Psychology with an Emphasis in Forensic Psychology program, which provides an overview of the combination of psychology and the criminal justice system. This program is geared toward those who want to help people who need assistance coping with the effects of a violent crime.
Through the Forensic Psychology concentration program, students will gain competencies in critical thinking, ethical and social responsibility, forensics, foundational psychology, and personal and professional development.
This online degree also looks into the role of forensic scientists in the psychology and criminal justice fields. It also allows students to dig deeper into criminological and victimological theories and apply psychological theories to better understand propensity and criminal behavior.
The Forensic Psychology program features coursework that prepares students to communicate, think critically, and thoughtfully integrate their ethical convictions and faith into all dimensions of their lives. This degree is an excellent stepping stone for those who want to become licensed forensic psychologists in the future, which typically requires a master’s and doctoral degree.
Core courses for GCU’s Forensic Psychology concentration program include:
- Introduction to Psychological Research and Ethics
- Personality Psychology
- Introduction to Forensic Psychology
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Behavior and Victimology
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a graduate with a Bachelor’s in Forensic Psychology do before pursuing graduate studies?
Forensic Psychology is a broad field, ensuring that graduates can work in various settings, including hospitals, law firms, rehabilitation and research centers, medical examiner’s offices, police departments, government agencies, and prisons/correctional facilities.
These are some of the careers that Forensic Psychology online undergraduate students can pursue if they decide they don’t want to pursue graduate studies yet:
- Criminal Investigators – $76,444
- Civil Investigators – $86,468
- Judicial Assistants – $58,705
- Peer Support Specialists – $49,212
- Psychiatric Aides – $26,365
- Forensic Interviewers – $43,731
- Community Mental Health Counselors – $51,055
- Detective Sergeants – $91,970
- Probation Officers – $47,327
- Behavioral Health Specialists – $56,206
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers – $49,710
How long does it take to become a licensed Forensic Psychologist?
Typically, becoming a licensed professional in Forensic Psychology can take 10 to 15 years.
The first step toward becoming a licensed Forensic Psychologist is to earn a bachelor’s degree. After that, students must also obtain master’s and doctoral degrees in Forensic Psychology. Graduates can choose a relevant track at the master’s level, especially if they want to do clinical work dealing with sex offenders, criminals, victims, and other people involved in the law. Those looking to become a professor in the future should obtain a doctoral degree.
As for the licensure, graduates can take the Specialty Board Certification in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), which is not required but can attest that the certified professionals possess a high level of competence in their chosen specialty area.
Is being a Forensic Psychologist a good career?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall employment of all kinds of psychologists will grow by 6% from 2022 to 2032. Highly populous areas, like California, Florida, and Oregon, naturally have more crimes, increasing the demand for forensic psychologists. This means that the need for such professionals will continue to increase as populations increase in America and the rest of the world.
Key Points to Ponder
- An online Bachelor’s in Forensic Psychology focuses on giving students a well-rounded education and strengthening their skills in assessment and research, criminal psychology, theories of personality, and social psychology.
- An online Forensic Psychology bachelor’s degree program is geared toward those who apply the science of the mind in social services and the court and criminal justice system.
- Forensic Psychology graduates will work in a wide range of fields, including law enforcement, social services, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers, to name a few.
Additional Information: