Forensic Psychology Diploma Course

Are you interested in the psychology of the criminal justice system? Determind to find out what lies behind criminal behaviour? Then this is the course for you.

Forensic psychologists are concerned with the application of psychology to the criminal justice system, and with understanding the psychological processes related to criminal behaviour. They are sometimes known as 'criminal psychologists' or 'investigative psychologists'.  

Forensic psychology is often perceived as concerning criminal investigation and profiling.  While this is one aspect it is not the only one, forensic psychology also relates to the assessment and treatment of criminal behaviour.  Forensic psychologists work not only with prisoners and offenders but also other professionals involved in the judicial and penal systems.

Distance Learning Support

At Start Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly and supportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive your course and will be valid for 12 months. All our tutors are highly qualified with extensive experience in supporting distance learning students. You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for marking assignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course.

Entry Requirements

Start Learning’s validated course in Forensic Psychology is open to anyone and no prior knowledge is needed although a reasonable level of literacy is presumed. In addition an intelligent interest in the social-scientific study of crime would be an advantage.

At Start Learning we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.   

Recommended Hours of Study

We recommended you spend approximately 110 hours of your time studying for this course. The pace of study is completely up to you. To give an example, if you dedicate 2 hours a week to the course it would take you a year to complete but if you could spare 4 hours a week you could complete it in six months.

Course Contents

Module 1 Introducing Research Methods

Module 2 Introducing Basic Statistics

Module 3 Psychology and Violent Crime

Module 4 Serial Killers

Module 5 Crime and Substance Abuse

Module 6 Child Abuse

Module 7 The Evidence of Children

Module 8 Criminal Responsibility and Psychiatric Defences

Module 9 Mental Disorder as a Defence

Module 10 Eyewitness Testimony

Module 11 Psychology in a Correctional Setting

Module 12 Psychology and Police Selection, Recruitment and Training

Module 13 Police Stress

Module 14 The Decision to Assist

Module 15 The Research Proposal and the Research Project Report 

Qualification

Upon successful completion of this course you will gain a Forensic Psychology Diploma Certificate from National Awarding Body Ascentis.

Awarding Body Information

Ascentis is a Qualifications & Curriculum Authority (QCA) approved national awarding body that designs user-friendly qualifications and supports these with the highest possible standard of customer service. Ascentis is therefore able to offer a comprehensive ladder of opportunities to centres and their learners, starting at Pre-Entry programmes and progressing to QAA-recognised Access to HE qualifications or professional Further Education Teaching Certificates.

Assessment

Completion of the research based learning activities accompanying each module contributes 70% of the assessment for the award of the Forensic Psychology Diploma.  The last module of the course requires the student to produce a research proposal based on activities carried out during the course.  The student will be required to plan, conduct and report on a research project of their choice.  The report will be approximately 5,000 words, that is 15 x A4 typed pages of 1.5 spacing.  This research will account for the final 30% assessment for the diploma.

Language of Course

English