Become a Psychologist

If you're interested in how psychology intersects with the criminal justice and court systems, consider a minor in forensic psychology.

The forensic psychology minor is a collaboration between the Department of Psychology and the School of Criminal Justice. Students learn about the legal system and the workings of the court from both the legal and psychological perspectives. Issues covered include:

• What theories are used to explain crime?
• Will an eyewitness's testimony be believed?
• How do juris function as a group?
• How does the court evaluate competency to stand trial?
• What is the legal definition of competency and why is it important?

Other subjects students will explore include:

• evidence
• insanity defense
• criminal profiling
• personality theory
• mental health and the law

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Requirements

The minor requires 21 credit hours: three psychology course, three criminal justice courses, and one elective.

If you are a psychology major pursuing the forensic psychology minor, you cannot count courses towards both the major and the minor.

Psychology Courses

Take both of these courses:

• PSY 3331 Social Psychology
• PSY 3335 Forensic Psychology

Take one of these courses:

• PSY 3315 Abnormal Psychology
• PSY 3316 Personality Psychology

Criminal Justice Courses

Take all of these courses:

• CJ 1310 Introduction to Criminal Justice
• CJ 2360 Fundamentals of Criminal Law
• CJ 3329 Forensic Evidence

Elective Courses

• ANTH 3380 Forensic Anthropology
• CJ 4340 Crime Theory & Victimization
• SOC 3343 Criminology

Prerequisites

PSY 1300 or its equivalent is a prerequisite for all of the psychology courses in this minor. For non-psychology majors, 1300 will satisfy the social science requirement of the General Education Core Curriculum at Texas State.