Forensic Psychology

Overview If you want to apply what you learned through your undergraduate psychology studies to the field of offender behaviour, then this Master's in Forensic Psychology will give you the knowledge and skills to work in the criminal justice system, or train to become a qualified forensic psychologist.

The course brings together the disciplines of clinical, social and cognitive psychology, with criminology and law. You'll address the major issues concerning the justice system in relation to individuals, organisations and society, and when you successfully complete your studies, you'll be able to apply your knowledge in a range of contexts from criminal investigations, to welfare, wellbeing and rehabilitation.

Accredited by the British Psychological Society, the course represents the first of 2 stages of training required to become a Chartered and Registered Forensic Psychologist.

Psychology at the University of Portsmouth is ranked 5th of all post-1992 universities for research quality as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

Eligibility This course accepts UK, EU, and international students.

Application deadline The application deadline for this course is 28 February of the year it begins. If the course isn't filled by the deadline, late applications will be considered. However, it's best to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Course highlights

Learn from the largest group of actively researching forensic psychology academics in the UK

Use our specialist facilities for interview observation including eye-tracking and digital analysis

Study themes including professional competence, assessment and interventions with offenders, and investigative psychology and the legal process

Complete a research project on a topic of your choice, applying your research and data analysis skills to produce a piece of work to a publishable standard

Fulfill stage 1 of 2 stages of training required to become a Chartered and Registered Forensic Psychologist

Careers and opportunities Forensic psychologists usually start by doing a minimum of 2 years full-time supervised practice in an employment setting.

Graduates of this course have gone onto roles such as:

Trainee Forensic Psychologist

Research Officer

Assistant Psychologist

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner

Probation Practitioner

Wellbeing and Recovery Practioner

Interventions Facilitator

Resettlement Facilitator

Police Staff

Mental Health Consultant

Support Worker

Graduates of this course have gone on to work for companies such as:

Ministry of Justice

NHS

Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service

Seetec

STR Group

Youth Justice Services

Motive 8

Career outcomes shown are sourced from the latest available graduate outcome surveys. The data shows career outcomes at 15 months after graduation.

Career planning During your course, you'll have expert career support from your tutors and from our Careers and Employability Centre, which you can access for 5 years after you graduate.

Course structure Face-to-face teaching takes place from September to May. Full-time students – and part-time students in your final year of study – will submit your research project in September.

Full-time

Full-time students will attend the University on Tuesdays and Thursdays

We recommend that you allocate 37 hours per week to your postgraduate degree (including independent study), equivalent to a full-time job

Part-time

Part-time students will attend on either a Tuesday or a Thursday, which will then be fixed for the 2 years

We recommend that you allocate 18 hours per week to your postgraduate degree (including independent study), equivalent to a part-time job