Psychology with Forensic and Investigative Psychology

Psychology with forensic and investigative psychology combines the broad scientific study of human behaviour, cognition and emotion with a specialist focus on how psychological knowledge is applied in criminal justice, legal and investigative contexts. Psychology provides the foundational science: understanding how perception, memory, decision-making, personality and social influence work, and how they are studied empirically. Forensic and investigative psychology then applies that knowledge to questions such as how criminal behaviour can be explained and predicted, how eyewitness memory can be evaluated, how interviews with suspects and witnesses should be conducted, how offender profiles are developed, and how psychology contributes to legal proceedings.

At Abertay University, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study psychology and forensic practice in an international context. Abertay has a reputation in this area, and Dundee's connections to the Scottish legal and criminal justice system give the programme a distinctive local context that extends to national and international applications. The typical entry tariff for this programme is around 152 UCAS points.

You will study the core areas of psychology required for graduate basis for registration with the British Psychological Society, including biological psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology and research methods, alongside specialist modules in forensic psychology, investigative interviewing, criminal behaviour, risk assessment and psychology and the law. The year abroad adds an international dimension to your psychological training.

Graduates of psychology with forensic and investigative psychology programmes work in the probation service, prison service, police and law enforcement, social services, victim support, mental health services and the legal profession. Those who proceed to postgraduate training as forensic psychologists, which requires further supervised practice, can work with offenders in prison and community settings, conduct psychological assessments for courts and contribute to the rehabilitation of people who have offended. Research careers in criminology, psychology and criminal justice are also available.

Postgraduate study in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, criminology or investigative psychology is the typical route to specialist practice.