Overview
Accredited by the British Psychological Society, this course is designed to provide you with a thorough grounding in the theory, themes, issues and practical skills we consider to be central to forensic psychology.
It is part of a suite of courses in the field of forensic psychology at Coventry University, which also includes MSc Forensic Psychology and Mental Health (campus based and online versions) and an online MSc in Forensic Psychology.
The course has been designed to cover the British Psychological Society’s Division of Forensic Psychology's (DFP) core curriculum, which includes foundational topics such as the theoretical basis of forensic psychology across a range of settings and risk assessments associated with forensic psychology.
Our current staff for this course have over 100 years’ worth of combined, varied professional psychological experience, either as British Psychological Society Chartered/Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Members themselves, and/or as active researchers. Please note staff may be subject to change.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
COVID-19
The University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to Covid-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedStudent experience
All the support you need, in a top student cityAccreditation and Professional Recognition
This course is accredited and recognised by the following bodies:
British Psychological Society (BPS) - Accredited Forensic Psychology
This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society for the 2021/22 intake. As such, the course fulfils Stage 1 requirements towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist (for students who also have the required Graduate Basis for Chartership).
To be awarded an accredited degree, graduates must achieve a minimum of 50% pass mark on first attempt for all modules contributing to the accredited MSc degree (British Psychological Society Standards for the Accreditation of the Masters Programme in Forensic Psychology and Crime). Any subsequent attempts are capped at 40%. Graduates who do not meet this requirement will exit with a non-accredited award. To achieve the necessary number of credits for all non-accredited awards, graduates must achieve a minimum of 40% pass mark for all modules contributing to the award.
Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
The course includes the Consultancy module, accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Please visit the CMI website for full details on the CMI accreditation. Students who successfully complete the CMI Global Professional Development module and meet the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) evidence requirements can gain a Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Leadership and Management and an Award in Professional Consulting, based on the following units: Strategic Leadership Strategic Leadership Practice Tools and Techniques for Effective Consultancy. Completion of the CMI module will enable you to apply for Chartered Manager status via the CMI qualified route once all other entry criteria have been met. For more information, please visit the CMI webpage: http://www.managers.org.uk/ Coventry University’s accreditation with CMI is currently ongoing for the relevant modules, but is frequently reviewed and monitored by the CMI through their quality systems. If any changes occur with respect to our accreditation related to these modules, we will seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Hospital Wards
We have two fully-equipped mock hospital wards, each containing 4 beds. The wards are built to NHS standards and contain moveable beds, first aid equipment and patient monitoring tools.
Life Sciences Research
Our facilities include a real ambulance, which students can use as part of their studies, and a purpose-built Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre. This allows for improved training quality in patient care and patient safety.
SuperLab
The Alison Gingell building contains a state-of-the-art SuperLab, capable of holding up to 270 people at once. The lab's facilities include equipment for microscopy, DNA analysis and forensic testing.
Course information
The MSc Forensic Psychology course is designed for people who are embarking on, or who wish to continue in, a career associated with forensic psychology in a range of settings (e.g. with victims, offenders or criminal justice professionals), without specialising at this point, or for those who wish to undertake a postgraduate programme before determining their future career trajectory in forensic psychology. Specifically, this course will provide you with an opportunity to obtain a broad overview of the discipline and relevant settings, so that you can develop a future career trajectory based on your experience of the course curriculum and skills development.
You will have an opportunity to study a range of topics associated with forensic psychology, including offending behaviour and the criminal justice system. You will also explore the theories, research and practice related to intervention with diverse client groups, with a specific focus on violence and sexual offending.
Five core mandatory modules will be delivered alongside students on the four aligned MSc courses: MSc Forensic Psychology (campus-based and online) and MSc Forensic Psychology and Mental Health (campus-based and online). An additional three mandatory pathway modules will then be delivered solely to students on the MSc Forensic Psychology to specialise the content of each degree and differentiate them from the Msc Forensic Psychology and Mental Health course. It is therefore important to read all course webpages related to the two pathways and compare the specific topic areas covered, to ensure you apply for the most appropriate course for you.
Course Specification
Download PDF
Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
In more detail...
This master’s course is designed to develop your understanding of what makes offenders or their victims think, feel and act in certain ways, and how our criminal justice system can respond to such individuals. The course is designed to cover the British Psychological Society’s Division of Forensic Psychology's (DFP) core curriculum, covering diverse topics such as the theoretical basis of forensic psychology across a range of settings, through all stages of the criminal justice process, i.e. from investigation to punishment and through care, and risk assessment and the associated risk management of offenders.
This course also offers coverage of legal approaches that we consider to be relevant to psychology, and the inclusion of the CMI Global Professional Development module in Consultancy aims to develop skills in leadership and consultancy. Please see Accreditation and Professional Recognition section. ‘The Legal Process’ module is delivered by law lecturers from Coventry Law School, which has taught law for over 50 years. This provides an opportunity to learn about forensic psychology from a legislative perspective. You will be introduced to the role of experts in the English legal system, as well as the nature and functions of the criminal and civil justice systems and the distinctions between them.
Our teaching and learning is designed to encourage your participation and deepen your understanding of specific subjects, for example, by debating and discussing topics, such as the role of family factors in offending behaviour and the ethics associated with risk assessment. Alongside this curriculum, your course will also provide you with an opportunity to develop what we consider to be a range of globally relevant practice-based transferable skills including effective communication and dissemination, criticality, reflection, synthesis, and evaluation of ethical issues.
This course aims to set you on the path to obtaining the relevant skills required to become a Chartered Psychologist. This course can be studied on a full-time basis over the course of one academic year or alternatively, it can be studied online on a part-time basis (see course webpage for MSc Forensic Psychology (online)). If you were to opt to study this course online on a part-time basis, it would be delivered over two academic years and through our online learning system.
Developed with a focus on your future employability, the highly practical nature of the course is intended to help you develop many of the core skills we consider to be necessary for effective practice
Further, in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2018, 94% of our students reported that they found our MSc Forensic Psychology course intellectually stimulating.
- Accredited by the British Psychological Society (please see Accreditation and Professional Recognition section)
- Our current staff have years of professional psychological experience, either as Chartered/Registered Members themselves or as active researchers. Their recent projects have ranged from understanding multiple-perpetrator rape and police responses to domestic violence (please note staff may be subject to change)
- According to the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2018, 97% of Psychology students reported that they felt the staff on the MSc Forensic Psychology were enthusiastic about what they were teaching and 94% of our students reported that they found the MSc Forensic Psychology course intellectually stimulating
- We have links with a variety of relevant external organisations, such as Secure Mental Health Services, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), Her Majesty’s Prison service, privately operated prisons and the National Crime Agency
- Access to equipment and software such as Biopac and SuperLab, as well as a range of laboratories, including sound-proofed cubicles, a closed-circuit TV observation suite, ‘mock’ prison cells and light and dark multisensory laboratories, all of which are supported by psychology technicians (subject to availability).
- Students who successfully complete the CMI Global Professional Development module and meet the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) evidence requirements can gain a Certificate in Strategic Leadership and Management and an Award in Professional Consulting, based on the following units: Strategic Leadership Strategic Leadership Practice Tools and Techniques for Effective Consultancy.
Your main study themes are:
- Research and research methods: We aim to cover how to conduct qualitative and quantitative research of relevance to forensic psychology, using a range of techniques and research methods to collect and analyse data.
- The legal and criminal justice context for forensic psychology: Aims to develop an understanding of the psychological theories and evidential processes used in the justice system, including: the legal framework of the civil and criminal justice systems; processes of investigation; the legal process; the process of detention; working with litigants, appellants and individuals seeking arbitration and mediation; and interdisciplinary and multi-agency working.
- Interventions: We examine the range of interventions available to forensic psychologists, identifying strengths, weaknesses and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.
- Client groups: We look at the various types of client groups that forensic psychologists work with, such as the different types of offenders, patients and at risk individuals of all ages and both sexes, including children and young people in conflict with the law, as well as professionals, groups and organisations.
- Forensic settings: Aims to develop the knowledge and skills relevant to forensic psychology, understanding issues of organisational culture and systems. These include: prisons; secure units; hospitals; mental health; police; courts (including criminal, family and civil); community settings; charities and social enterprise.
- Development and training: We'll aim to teach you how to take responsibility for your own professional development, and appreciate the psychological theories and evidence underpinning the development and training of others.
- Advice and consultancy: Explores forensic psychological theories, principles, procedures and evidence when working with organisations on a consultancy basis to contribute to the development of practice, guidance and policy.
For the one-year full-time cohort, teaching and learning follows the traditional campus-based model of delivery, including face to face lectures and the expectation of full attendance during term-time.
Regardless of teaching mode, online content and library access is provided, and there is the opportunity to be part of a learning community in order to discuss topics online with course tutors, as well as access resources, including online journals and ebooks through the library. Students are encouraged to engage with each other in online forums and share formative learning opportunities together to enhance the experience.
During the course you will study a range of mandatory modules that carry between 10 and 40 credits each, and then complete a 40-credit dissertation. You will be assessed using approaches such as case studies, risk assessment report, video log, reflective practice, literature review and empirical reports. Some of the assessments have elements linked to real world tasks. We aim to provide guidance on how to tackle each assessment during the course.
For an MSc award, you are required to complete 180 credits, including the 40-credit dissertation, i.e. you must pass all modules on the MSc Forensic Psychology to achieve this qualification. As the course is accredited graduates must achieve a minimum of 50% pass mark on first attempt for all modules contributing to the accredited MSc degree (BPS Standards for the Accreditation of Masters and Doctoral Programmes in Forensic Psychology ). Graduates who do not meet this requirement will exit with a non-accredited award. To achieve the necessary number of credits for all non-accredited awards, graduates must achieve a minimum of 40% pass mark for all modules contributing to the award. Please see Accreditation and Professional Recognition section.
Upon successfully completing this course, you will be able to demonstrate the following Course Learning Outcomes:
- A comprehensive knowledge and critical understanding of how psychology can be applied to a range of criminal justice, legal and forensic settings, and client groups
- Competence in applying psychological knowledge and skills (e.g. critical evaluation) to practice-based scenarios in forensic psychology
- Reflective and critical understanding of yourself as a future practitioner in forensic psychology
- A range of transferable and professional skills that are applicable to a range of forensic practice settings
- A critical understanding of psychological research paradigms, research methods, ethical procedures, data analyses, psychological literature evidence and theory
- Knowledge and understanding of the principles of consultancy and the theories and practices found in leadership.
Campus-based learning consists of ‘face-to-face’ teaching that will normally take place two days per week over one year. Please note that each module credit requires 10 hours of study, thus a 20-credit module requires 200 hours of study including lectures, workshop and independent study. Self-directed study includes, completing the recommended reading that accompanies your lectures, working on coursework assignments, taking part in group work and exam revision.
The university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we were able to provide a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
International experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
Entry Requirements
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
This course may incur additional costs associated with any field trips, placements or work experience, study abroad opportunities or any other opportunity (whether required or optional), which could include (but is not limited to) travel, accommodation, activities and visas.
This course may incur additional costs associated with any equipment or materials.
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans:
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans:
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
According to the British Psychological Society, the largest single employer of forensic psychologists in the UK is the HM Prison Service. Psychologists can also be employed in rehabilitation units, secure hospitals, Social Services, conducting research in university departments and working in private consultancy.
There are two stages to becoming a practising Forensic Psychologist and Chartered Member of the BPS, requiring a combination of professional education and practice. In the first instance, you need the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), followed by an accredited master’s in Forensic Psychology, such as this course.
The second stage requires a minimum of two years of supervised practice and successful completion of Stage 2 of the BPS Qualification in Forensic Psychology before you are eligible to register with the HCPC and use the title of ‘Forensic Psychologist’.
By studying Forensic Psychology, you should be able to develop knowledge and skills that are relevant across the criminal justice system in a variety of roles, including crime scene analyst; trainee forensic psychologist; trainee clinical psychologist; behavioural investigative advisor; lecturer in forensic psychology; Home Office, local government or police researcher; police officer; youth offending team worker; or probation officer.
Where our graduates work
Some of our previous MSc Forensic Psychology graduates have gone on to further study, or into Stage 2 of the BPS Qualification in Forensic Psychology.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
