Overview

Forensic psychology applies psychology to the criminal justice system. As a forensic psychology student, you cover core modules included in the BSc (Hons) Psychology program, along with specific modules relevant to forensic psychology.

You consider different experiences of the criminal justice system – for victims, witnesses, defendants, and legal professionals. You learn about the assessment and treatment of different types of offenders. You learn the theory and research behind police interviewing and put it into practice in our mock police interview rooms. And you consider the role of jurors, witnesses, and experts first hand by taking classes in our replica courtroom. Our staff is actively involved in the practice of forensic psychology so you are taught topical issues by experts from this field. Excellent links with external organizations mean that there may be opportunities for course-related voluntary work.

Professional accreditation

This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Course structure

Year 0 (foundation year) core modules

This module will assist you in developing the personal and academic skills that you will need for undergraduate study. It focuses on developing skills such as information retrieval, evaluation, critical thinking, note-taking, presentation skills, and group work.

Contemporary issues in Social Sciences

This module will introduce you to the historical and contemporary development of social science disciplines and will provide examples of theoretical challenges and the ways in which research is applied in society. You will gain an understanding of the critical differences between disciplines and how interdisciplinary research is fostered through collaboration. You will also be introduced to academic standards, ethical guidelines and research protocols, personal development planning, and a range of study and transferable skills relevant to your degree course and beyond.

Fake News: Propaganda and Polemics, Past and present

This module provides you with the opportunity to develop your skills in thinking critically about the information and analysis presented in an array of media in today’s digital world, drawing on the methodologies of a range of disciplines within the social sciences, humanities, and law. You will explore examples of the debates over fake news in both the past and present, and look at how fake news can be used to both support and undermine the status quo, enabling you in the process to become more savvy and engaged citizens.

Historical and Popular Crime, Justice, Law and Psychology

This module introduces you to the history of crime and justice, using media representations and crime fiction as a way of exploring crime over time, including aspects such as changes in society, law, and education in this context.

Project

This module allows students to identify an area of interest related to their undergraduate degree and to explore this through a small-scale research project where students will be required to produce an analysis of an area of focus.

Teesside: History, Literature, Culture, and Society

This module provides you with an opportunity to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the Teesside region. You will learn about Teesside’s history, culture, and society through the examination of various topics which will give you a deeper understanding of the region, both past, and present.

Year 1 core modules

This module explores various aspects of the Criminal Justice System, including a range of agencies and institutions that operate within it. The initial focus is placed upon introducing students to the historical foundations of criminal justice in the 19th century and the material/ideological conditions of Victorian Penality. Whilst plotting this historical trajectory towards a contemporary understanding of the Criminal Justice System, a number of facets will be explored including the era of penal-welfarism, the dislocations of neoliberalism, criminal justice under New Labour and the Coalition Government. The aim is to locate our understanding of criminal justice within a broader historical, political, social, and economic context. The module will also explore a number of specific themes, for example, probation, prisons, restorative justice, race and gender and links are made to theory where appropriate.

Critical Thinking and Psychology

This module provides students with many of the skills needed to critically evaluate psychological theories and studies. It uses examples from psychology to highlight the common errors that people make when assessing arguments and evaluating evidence.

The module provides step-by-step guidance on how to overcome widespread mistakes and how to construct logical, balanced and coherent arguments. The module also requires students to assess the validity of a number of extraordinary claims, such as parapsychology, alternative medicine, astrology and mediumship. Students will be encouraged to be open-minded, yet require appropriate standards of proof when evaluating such claims.

Human Development and Social Psychology

You gain an understanding of two of the five core areas of study specified by the British Psychological Society (BPS): developmental psychology and social psychology. You consider theoretical and empirical work within human development and social psychology and are introduced to ethics in psychology, psychological research skills and report writing.

Psychobiology, Cognition, and Individual Differences

You gain an understanding of three of the five core areas of study specified by the British Psychological Society (BPS): biological psychology, cognitive psychology and individual differences. You consider theoretical and empirical work within biological and developmental psychology and individual differences and also develop psychological research skills and report writing in more depth to provide you with the skills necessary to plan, conduct and report psychological research.

Psychological Research Design and Analysis 1

Providing a foundation in psychological research methods and analysis, this module covers a range of experimental and non-experimental methodological approaches.

You are introduced to the Windows SPSS package for statistical analysis and graph drawing, and you learn about simple qualitative research and data collection methods.

The module covers ethics in research, qualitative and quantitative methods, survey design, simple non-experimental and experimental designs, reliability and validity, probability, hypothesis testing, descriptive data analysis, simple non-parametric and parametric statistical analysis, and research report writing.

By the end of the module, you’ll be able to identify the appropriate method for a range of research questions, analyze the resulting data and draw appropriate conclusions.

Underpinning Forensic Psychology

This module is designed to introduce students to the key concepts involved in understanding forensic psychology, such as crime and victim interaction, criminal thinking patterns, explanations of criminal behaviour, testimony and courtroom psychology, and crime prevention.

The main aim of the module is to introduce students to the basic concepts within Forensic Psychology. It will attempt to answer the question 'what is crime?', and will discuss the range of theoretical approaches that have been used to explain it. The module will also introduce students to a range of study and transferable skills relevant to their degree programme and future career.

How you learn

Teaching is delivered using a range of lectures, seminars and laboratory classes. We emphasise study skills so you learn how to use all our extensive facilities such as electronic journals, virtual learning environments and computer programs. You also have access to our computer suites and specialist laboratories where you develop practical skills in the investigation of human behaviour.

How you are assessed

Our varied assessments develop the skills most valued by employers. They include essays, exams, group and individual presentations, poster presentations, portfolios and a dissertation. There is even opportunity to write a psychological expert witness report.

Career opportunities

Although this is an academic course rather than a professional training course, on successful completion, with a 2.2 or above, you will be eligible to apply for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) status with the British Psychological Society (www/bps.org.uk). As with all our psychology degrees, upon graduation you can proceed to further study in any area of psychology. However, the unique skills and knowledge developed on this course are particularly suited to the postgraduate training you will need in order to become a Chartered Forensic Psychologist.

All programmes are designed to incorporate employability skills development alongside your degree course. Our staff utilise their extensive connections to provide many and varied opportunities to engage with potential employers through fairs, guest lecture sessions, live projects and site visits. In addition we offer a series of workshops and events in the first, second and third year that ensure all students are equipped with both degree level subject knowledge PLUS the practical skills that employers are looking for in new graduate recruits.

Our award winning careers service works with regional and national employers to advertise graduate positions, in addition to providing post-graduation support for all Teesside University alumni.