Bachelor of Arts in Forensic Psychology
DURATION
4 up to 6 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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TUITION FEES
USD 20,950 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* tuition 2025-26
Key Summary
Introduction
Forensic psychology blends psychology and law to analyze criminal behavior. You delve into why people commit crimes, assess mental health in legal cases, and help shape the justice system. With this expertise, you can pursue various career paths. You might work in law enforcement, aiding investigations by creating profiles of suspects. Or you could assist in courtrooms, evaluating defendants' mental states. Rehabilitation facilities might enlist you to design programs for offenders. Alternatively, you could contribute to academia, conducting research to enhance our understanding of criminal minds. Forensic psychology offers a diverse range of opportunities to make a meaningful impact in the legal sphere.
At Graceland, Forensic Psychology is an elite program with high academic standards and ties to the Graceland Honors Program. You will study a broad range of subjects ranging from multicultural policing and criminal law to abnormal psychology and research methods with concentrated studies in either criminal justice or psychology. This challenging program is intended to prepare you to thrive in what can be a high-stress and exceptionally competitive career field.
Curriculum
In addition to the general education requirements, majors in Forensic Psychology must complete 27 semester hours of core requirements and one 9 semester-hour concentration (Criminal Justice or Psychology) totaling 36 or more semester hours as listed below. Students in this major must maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA and 3.50 GPA in the major courses in order to remain in the major. Students GPAs will be monitored each semester and those who fall below the 3.50 GPA requirement will be granted a probationary period of one semester to re-instate back into the major. Those students who fall below that threshold after a one-semester probationary period will be allowed to transition into a Psychology or Criminal Justice major.
Core Courses (27 s.h.)
- CRMJ1200 Introduction to Criminal Justice – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ/PSYC1400 Introduction to Forensic Psychology – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ/SOCI2460 Multicultural Policing or PSYC3370 Cross-Cultural Psychology – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ/SOCI3420 Drugs in Society – 3. sh.
- CRMJ/POLS3500 Criminal Law – 3 s.h.
- PSYC1300 Introductory Psychology – 3 s.h.
- PSYC3380 Abnormal Psychology – 3 s.h.
- PSYC/SOCI3510 Research Methods – 3 s.h.
- PSYC3520 Research Methods Two – 3 s.h.
One Concentration Required: Criminal Justice or Psychology
Criminal Justice Concentration (9 s.h.)
- CRMJ/HIST2100 History of Terrorism – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ3100 Law and the Justice System – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ3220 Criminal Investigation – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ3240 Terrorism and Homeland Security – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ/SOCI3351 Community-Based Corrections – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ/SOCI3520 Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice – 3 s.h.
- CRMJ4700 Criminal Justice Internship – 3 s.h.
Psychology Concentration (9 s.h.)
- PSYC2250 Developmental Psychology – 3 s.h.
- PSYC/SOCI3310 Social Psychology – 3 s.h.
- PSYC3330 Behavioral Neuroscience – 3 s.h.
- PSYC3340 Personality – 3 s.h.
- PSYC3390 Cognitive Psychology – 3 s.h.
- PSYC4430 Theory and Practice of Counseling – 3 s.h.
- PSYC4360 Senior Internship – 3 s.h.
Course Required for General Education
- CHEM1340 Forensic Chemistry with Lab – 4 s.h.
- MATH1370 Statistics for Sciences – 3 s.h.
Career Opportunities
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts up to an 8% increase in job demand for this field over the next 10 years. Increased numbers of individuals served by the legal system require increased numbers of forensic psychology-trained individuals to assist in providing professional assistance in insanity pleadings, guardianship cases, child custody disputes, criminal investigations, criminal conduct proceedings, expert witness testimonies, false confessions evaluations, jury selection, and prison psychology issues.