Plan of Study – Forensic Psychology

Note: A Semester Hour (s.h.) is a unit of academic credit representing an hour of class (such as lecture class) or three hours of laboratory work each week for an academic semester. Most courses are two, three or four semester hours.

Forensic Psychology: Cert Comp

Forensic Psychology: Certificate of Completion

Certificate Courses (Minimum of 16 semester hours required.)

CJ 1020 Introduction to Criminal Justice (3 s.h.)

An overview of the criminal justice system in the United States. The history of law enforcement; the political, sociological, and philosophic background of police functions, the courts and corrections system; constitutional problems as they relate to the police function; and the use of recent technology in criminal justice is explored.

CJ 3210 Principles of Criminology (CJ*/FOR/SOC) (3 s.h.)

Study of the incidence, type, causes, and theories of adult deviant behavior. Emphasis is placed upon current crime trends and statistics and the processes involved in dealing with crime.

PSY 1010 General Psychology (3 s.h.)

Describes the major systems, central issues and historical development of modern psychology. Introduces basic principles in sensation, perception, cognition, learning, memory, language, emotion, motivation, personality organization, and social process.

PSY 3420 Abnormal Psychology (4 s.h.)

Nature of abnormal and deviant behavior and its underlying dynamics; systematic study of modern concepts of diagnosis, understanding, treatment and prevention of abnormal behavior patterns. Emphasis on normal behavior development as delineated by psychopathology. Prerequisite: PSY 1010.

PSY 3820 Forensic Psychology (CJ/PSY*) (3 s.h.)

How the science of psychology is used by our legal system to better understand situations where an individual's state of mind or psychological functioning may have an impact on the legal process, the distinction between forensic and clinical work, conceptual underpinnings of forensic psychology, and the role of psychology in the legal system and controversies surrounding its use. Career paths and training issues also discussed. Prerequisite: PSY 1010.