So I really like psych but I also really like law and criminal justice and things like that. I was wondering if majoring in forensic psychology is a good major for someone who wants to work in corrections and a corrections counselor or even a parole officer. Endgame would be FBI but that is a little bit of a reach. Would love opinions on this.
Typically, one doesn’t major in forensic psychology as an undergraduate. It’s too specialized. You’d major in psychology, and then study clinical psychology (or perhaps another subfield) as a graduate student at a program that had a specialization in forensic psychology and/or psychology and law.
My sister-in-law is a correctional officer and she has a bachelor’s and a master’s in criminal justice. (Her long-term goal is to become a parole officer.) Psychology, sociology, or other social sciences are probably also decent choices. Some colleges have forensic science majors, and that may be a good choice too, depending on their focus. (Her university had a forensic science major and that was a large amount of the reason she went, but she decided instead to major in criminal justice.)
Yes you can “specialize” in forensic psych in the sense of taking any electives offered in that area along with the required classes.
In theory, yes. In practice, many undergraduate psychology majors don’t have enough classes in forensic psychology to allow you to do that. However, if you attended a college that had a criminal justice and/or forensic science major, you could essentially create your own forensic psychology major (or major in psychology and minor in one of the other fields).
Oh thanks. The college I committed to actually does have a forensic psychology major so I’m all set. Thanks!
To clarify it’s a forensic psychology specialization program
To clarify it’s a forensic psychology specialization program