criminal psychologist

[tegelma3]

because I am both really interested in psychology and criminal justice I was looking into a criminologist.. does anyone know the education requirements? can you find a job with just a masters or do you have to get your doctorate.. much appreciation! 

[Ilspflouz]

because I am both really interested in psychology and criminal justice I was looking into a criminologist.. does anyone know the education requirements? can you find a job with just a masters or do you have to get your doctorate.. much appreciation! 

 

Criminologists and forensic psychologists (what 'criminal psychologists' are usually called) are quite different. Most forensic psychologists do things like evaluating defendants for insanity, being expert witnesses, etc. They usually study things like how mental health issues are handled by the justice system, or individual factors that lead to crime and recidivism. Criminologists on the other hand, usually study the different causes of crime (usually going beyond the individual level to also look at things like policy, societal influences, etc), and the effect crime has on society, some also study the justice system's response to crime and its effectiveness. Which of these concentrations are you interested in? Figuring that out would be your first step. Traditionally, criminologists and forensic psychologists have PhDs, so that is what I am going to describe here. You CAN get an MA/MS (Master of Arts or Master of Science) in psychology/forensic psychology or criminology/criminal justice. Doing so may or may not allow you to complete your career goals depending on what you want to do.

 

The most common ways of becoming a forensic psychologist involve getting a PhD or a PsyD. The PhD route requires you to obtain a doctorate in clinical psychology and specialize in forensic psychology. PhD programs in clinical psychology are insanely hard to get into - in many cases they are harder than medical school. Most are combined MA/PhD programs that involve 5-7 years of schooling during which you complete coursework, clinical work (seeing patients), and a dissertation. Once you have completed your doctorate, you then go on to complete a one year clinical internship, and sometimes another 1-2 year post-doctoral internship. You would need to complete your clinical internship (and possibly some of your clinical work during your PhD) at forensic sites (e.g. prisons, hospitals for the criminally insane, etc) or with forensic patients. You also would need to find programs that had professors involved in research that has some sort of forensic aspect (and that you are interested in) who could "mentor" you during your PhD. There are a limited number of programs in the country where professors are engaged in this type of research, so this would narrow your options of schools a bit.  PhD programs are research intensive, and most programs train you to be a researcher first and a clinician second. So if you don't like research, this option might not be for you. However PhD's are usually fully paid for (tuition waiver and stipend). In contrast, a PsyD is not paid for and can be very expensive. It is a doctorate that you often have to pay for yourself through loans. Sometimes scholarships or grants are available but it is not the norm. However, PsyD's focus on training you to be a clinician, not a researcher. So some people click with that option more. PsyD's are less research intensive, and are considered more of "professional" versus an "academic" degree. I don't know very much about how PsyD programs are structured so I can't comment on how PsyD programs themselves differs from a PhD. But I do know that they usually require about 5 years of schooling. Both Clinical PhD's and PsyD's can see patients and diagnose mental illness.

 

Criminologists on the other hand cannot see patients or diagnose mental illness. However they do allow you to research/learn about the causes and effects of crime. Many criminologists, in addition to conducting research work with government agencies, police departments, and policymakers to help them evaluate and develop new services for dealing with crime (forensic psychologists sometimes do this too, but it is less common as they are focused more on individual causal factors). There are also some criminologists and social psychologists that look at individual factors  (e.g. things like personality traits) relating to criminal behavior and things like aggression. Criminologists often get PhD's in criminology or criminal justice, but I have also seen criminologists with PhD's in sociology, and a couple even with PhDs in community/social psychology. Getting a PhD in any of these programs requires you to do a 1-2 year master's degree and 3-5 years of doctoral study. Some programs allow you to get an MA as part of your PhD, while others will not admit you without an MA first. 

 

You can get an MA/MS in forensic psychology or criminology/criminal justice. There are certain schools around the country that offer specific forensic psychology masters degrees. I believe some of them qualify you to be able to see patients at the end of your degree as long as you pass the licensing exam. However, it completely depends on the state you are in if you can practice with only a master's degree in psychology. Not all states will allow you to do so. Keep in mind that if seeing patients is really all you want to do, or you want to work for a court --- you should DEFINITELY look into getting a Masters in Social Work (MSW). Many states allow people with MSWs to practice independently, while people with MAs in psychology are sometimes required to practice under the supervision of a PhD level psychologist. The reality also is that many prisons/courts and community mental health (CMH--what many people in the justice system will be referred to) often prefer to hire MSWs because they can pay them less. Many schools also offer masters degrees in criminal justice/criminology. These can prepare you to work in the justice system or for government agencies, or work as a social science research analyst. They will not prepare you to deal with patients who are criminally insane. 

 

Sorry for the wall of text! I have a bachelors in psychology and just spent years preparing for a forensic psych career only to realize after applying to programs that I am more interested in criminal justice/criminology. So I think my advice is really just make sure that you think long and hard about what the end goal is. Get as much information as you can about all of the options available to you so you can make an educated decision. Volunteer where you can. Because I know way too many people that thought they wanted to do one career, got into it and then figured out crap...this is not what I wanted at all. What do you actually want to be able to DO? Do you want to focus on mental illness and how it relates to crime? Do you want to work with mental health patients who happen to have committed crimes? Clinical forensic psychology is probably a good option. Or do you want to focus on crime itself in any context and its causes/effects? Criminology/Criminal Justice is probably a good option. Or do you want to how other individual factors (personality, individual environment, etc) relate to criminal behavior? Social/Community Psychology with a Forensic emphasis might be a good option. Feel free to message me or reply if you have any questions about the two fields and how they can intersect. 

Edited May 5, 2015 by AliasJane2342

[tegelma3]

ah yes thank you this helped! i think i will probably get a masters in social work.. my dream job is actually to become an investigator but it would make me feel more comfortable having a major that can get me a job as that or a job if that falls through.. I just want to be safe and I would love to study criminals themselves but I know I don't want to go to doctoral school.. I'm kinda up in the air still only because a major of social work sounds so boring compared to a major in criminal justice.. Ive just read a lot online where sometimes it can be hard to find a job in the criminal justice field and if my degree falls through I would like a degree that is limitless i feel social work or sociology can benefit me for both. 

[Criminologist]

Most people getting a Criminal Justice Masters are already working in the field (ie. as a cop) and just doing it to get a pay raise, or they are a traditional student going to a research-focused program to prepare for a PhD program, maybe 'cause they majored in something other than criminal justice as undergrad and need the coursework to prepare. 

 

It's generally not a good idea to get a criminal justice masters if you have little to no work experience in the field and are looking to start a career in the field, like criminal psychologist, or federal law enforcement agent. A lot of young people think having a masters in criminal justice will make them qualified for these positions but that is just a dream.

 

Almost no job in the criminal justice system actually requires you to have a degree in criminal justice or does the major give you an advantage. Work experience trumps education in the criminal justice field any day.

[Ilspflouz]

ah yes thank you this helped! i think i will probably get a masters in social work.. my dream job is actually to become an investigator but it would make me feel more comfortable having a major that can get me a job as that or a job if that falls through.. I just want to be safe and I would love to study criminals themselves but I know I don't want to go to doctoral school.. I'm kinda up in the air still only because a major of social work sounds so boring compared to a major in criminal justice.. Ive just read a lot online where sometimes it can be hard to find a job in the criminal justice field and if my degree falls through I would like a degree that is limitless i feel social work or sociology can benefit me for both. 

 

If becoming a criminal investigator is what you want to do, then that is great! But keep in mind that becoming a criminal investigator is a much, much different job than a social worker. Both help people, but they do it in very different ways. Becoming a criminal investigator would mean you could work on crime scenes, conduct police investigations, etc. You can help people by solving crimes. Basically you would be a detective. This would require you to go to police academy or FBI academy, and work your way up through the force to become a detective. I don't think it is necessary to have a bachelors degree to enter police academy, but I think it is necessary to have one to enter the FBI academy. You probably will want to double check me on that. At academy, you then learn the skills you need to prepare you to become an investigator, and when you graduate you can begin working either as a cop or an agent. As I understand it, there are often jobs available for police officers or FBI agents. The point just is that a criminal justice degree does not mean that you will get one of these jobs. You certainly will NOT get one of these jobs without going to academy. 

 

Social workers need to get a BSW (bachelor's in social work) or both a bachelor's in something and an MSW. Like I said above, a master's in social work allows you to see clients to help them with mental health problems or personal issues. You would also work with them to help them find services that can help them improve their quality of life (e.g. if someone is homeless helping them find housing, if they are in an abusive relationship helping them find services for domestic violence victims, etc). You can work with criminals conducting therapy or mental health assessments in prison systems or by working for the courts. But most social workers do NOT work for the court system. Social workers cannot work on crime scenes or police cases. There are often social work jobs available working with very high risk populations (child protective services, the homeless, etc), but these jobs have very high burnout rates. Also, social workers are very often overworked and the positions often do not pay well. You have to really be passionate about your job and helping others to stay in the social work field. So if you feel social work is boring, it might not be a good choice for you. Social workers often do very emotionally draining, but necessary jobs.

 

A bachelor's/master's in sociology could allow you to work on social science data or teach at the community college level (if you have a masters). I am not sure what else you could really do with it. But these jobs are often difficult to get. I work on social science data at the moment and am surrounded by people who have MA's in sociology, work here temporarily, have been trying to find a permanent job, and are having a hell of a time.

 

Basically, just understand that getting a degree in really ANY social science field (some people would say really in any field at all) means that you will potentially have a difficult time finding a job. In the social sciences (psych, criminal justice, sociology, etc), often your degree is just a checkbox. Jobs are out there, but your ability to get hired is much more based on the experience you have (as zhanggar said above) than it is on your degree. To have a good shot at getting a job (or getting into grad school), you need to get all the experience you can that is related to your field while in undergrad through internships/volunteering/etc. Most of it will be probably be unpaid, and it is definitely an extra burden on top of your classes. But you will thank yourself when you get out of school and are able to find a job while your classmates that have few outside experiences are struggling. This is a harsh reality that many students don't necessarily realize until they graduate and are trying to find a job. Trust me, I'm living it right now.