MSc Forensic Psychology
Manchester, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 20,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* full-time | EUR 2223 part-time per 20 credits studied
Introduction
Examine the role of psychologists in legal settings, advances in the psychological understanding of offender behaviour, and assessment and rehabilitation. You’ll critically examine the role of psychology in various forensic settings, demonstrating how theory is applied to real-life situations.
Our master's course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is the first stage towards gaining registration as a Qualified Forensic Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). You’ll explore topics such as police investigations of crime, working with vulnerable groups, jury decision-making, ethical practice, and offender rehabilitation, and interpret and report the statistical outcomes of test measurement. We have been commended by the British Psychological Society’s Accreditation group for our outstanding use of technology to teach sensitive topics.
Features and Benefits
- Accredited course - This course is accredited as Stage 1 MSc Forensic Psychology by the British Psychological Society (BPS), the first stage to becoming a qualified forensic psychologist.
- Contemporary teaching - Our teaching staff includes practising researchers, counsellors, and forensic, clinical, health, and community psychologists. Our innovative assignments are reflective of what is expected in forensic practice and include case studies, consultancy and court reports. You’ll benefit from dynamic teaching with the use of CAVE, our simulation room, and a mock courtroom.
- Reflective practice - You'll have the opportunity to develop your reflective practice skills within the Personal and Professional Development Unit. This is a key skill for practitioner psychologists.
- Research active academics - Our staff engage in a wide range of research areas, including police decision-making, trauma, eyewitness testimony and alibi evidence, forensic mental health, terrorism, juror decision-making, and risk assessment and formulation. We actively work with students to publish their dissertations in peer-reviewed journals.
- Enhanced student support - We strongly believe in enhancing student wellbeing. You’ll have a personal tutor and the programme support tutors will also work closely with you throughout the course.
- Outstanding facilities - You’ll have access to our specialist facilities for psychology demonstration and practice, which includes an fNIR imaging research device, and psychology laboratories.
Admissions
Curriculum
Course information
To give you a thorough understanding of forensic psychology, you’ll study core curriculum content from the British Psychological Society (BPS). This includes the application and use of assessment tools within forensic practice and applying psychology to legal processes. You’ll look at how we assess offenders within forensic settings and how we apply theory to practice.
Some of the areas you’ll typically explore include the role of psychologists in the criminal and civil courts and offender assessment. You’ll consider interviewing and eyewitness testimony in different types of victims of crime and witnesses, as well as psychological measurement.
Year 1
Over the duration of the course, you’ll study seven core modules which follow the core curriculum content from the BPS.
On the Personal and Professional Development module you’ll gain skills in reflective practice, identifying how you develop personally and professionally as a forensic practitioner.
Your dissertation is 60 credits and is worth a third of your MSc. You’ll be encouraged and supported to come up with your own research project applied to a forensic topic. This is a non-traditional thesis - you’ll write up your dissertation as a journal article to give you the skills for writing for publication. Some of our students go onto to publish their dissertation research in reputable forensic psychology journals, which is actively encouraged by our teaching team.
Core Modules
- Personal and Professional Development
- Psychology and Law
- Research for Innovation Dissertation
- Theory and Practice in Forensic Psychology
- Assessment and Treatment in Forensic Settings
- Psychological Measurement
- Research Principles and Methods
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Career prospects
To practise as a forensic psychologist in the UK, you’ll need to complete further training to achieve chartered psychologist status with BPS and apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). As a registered psychologist, you might work in a range of criminal justice settings such as prisons, probation, voluntary sector services or the police.
This course will enable you to work in a range of forensic and clinical settings such as mental health, youth offending, prisons, probation, secure units, policing, and civil services.
Program delivery
Study
- Full-time 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 0% placement; 80% independent study
- Part-time 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 0% placement; 80% independent study
Assessment
- Full-time 90% coursework; 10% practical; 0% examination
- Part-time 90% coursework; 10% practical; 0% examination
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.