Forensic psychology is area of study within the fields of clinical, counseling and school psychology. The professional practice of forensic psychology became a recognized specialty by the American Psychology Association, APA, in 2001 (“Recognized Specialties and Proficiencies,” n.d.). Many graduate schools offer Masters and Ph.D. or Psy.D. Programs; however, in order to be a licensed forensic psychologist, you must have a doctoral-level degree. Drexel University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Sam Houston State University each have their own version of a forensic psychology program. Drexel University College of Arts and Sciences offers, a fully accredited, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology for full time students only (“PhD in
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This PsyD program also has APA accreditation. Students have many opportunities for financial assistance including, scholarships, graduate student instructorship, research assistantship, or clinical externship worth $16,000 or more per year (“Funding - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). Students who apply to this program must have at least a bachelor’s degree, in addition to completing the program application, and providing GRE scores, official transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a personal essay and resume (“Application Requirements - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). The recommended GPA requirement is a 3.6. Students who enter with either a BS or BA can complete the Master’s degree program in the first two years of doctoral study. Just like the other two programs, all students are required to be enrolled as full-time students. This means a full-time course load of at least six credit hours during the fall, spring and summer semesters. In total, 72 credit hours are needed. Students are required to complete at least seven semesters of practica (“Practicum Sites - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). Similar to John Jay, the practica are to be completed while taking coursework. In addition to general clinical training, the program trains students to become legally informed clinicians who are experienced in applying clinical psychology to legal issues (“Forensic Emphasis - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). SHSU offers a
This PsyD program also has APA accreditation. Students have many opportunities for financial assistance including, scholarships, graduate student instructorship, research assistantship, or clinical externship worth $16,000 or more per year (“Funding - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). Students who apply to this program must have at least a bachelor’s degree, in addition to completing the program application, and providing GRE scores, official transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a personal essay and resume (“Application Requirements - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). The recommended GPA requirement is a 3.6. Students who enter with either a BS or BA can complete the Master’s degree program in the first two years of doctoral study. Just like the other two programs, all students are required to be enrolled as full-time students. This means a full-time course load of at least six credit hours during the fall, spring and summer semesters. In total, 72 credit hours are needed. Students are required to complete at least seven semesters of practica (“Practicum Sites - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). Similar to John Jay, the practica are to be completed while taking coursework. In addition to general clinical training, the program trains students to become legally informed clinicians who are experienced in applying clinical psychology to legal issues (“Forensic Emphasis - Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program - Sam Houston State University,” n.d.). SHSU offers a