At this time, I cannot think of any schools with a major in “forensic psychology”.
The study of “pathology” is usually done in medical school–although I am not certain of that.
You may need to determine whether you want to study psychology, biology, or chemistry. Criminology would be a fairly easy major to locate.
Probably not size wise, but it appears to have the programs she would want and I thought of it because of her interest in choral groups for non majors and she just sounds like someone who wants to be widely involved and from sitting in on info sessions for the school and the way she has responded to questions, it popped into my mind.
I’m having fun researching this one. Looks like John Jay is the best school for what you want educationwise, but does not remotely fit your other criteria. Florida Institute of Technology, appears to be another good undergrad program but the school is also small. I started to get more hits when I researched schools that had both criminal justice and psych majors. It does sound like forensic psych is something that you get a masters in after having an undergrad degree in a related major (psych, criminal justice, criminology). Might be something to consider.
Check out Flagler College in St. Augustine FL. It might have what you want. And it’s a great small town. Small college but really a neat place.
University of New Haven offers a forensic psychology concentration with its psychology major. It’s actually outside the city of New Haven (in West Haven) and has a contained campus. Would be a safety for you. New Haven is a great city and offers a lot for a college student.
thank you so, so much! This has really helped !
I was originally looking at Tennessee Knoxville, but I kind of ruled it out because of size. However, you bring up a really great point about smaller schools within it or the honors college, so I’ll definitely look back into it, thank you!
thank you!
When I first opened this thread, I thought of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) which has or had recruiting connections with the FBI & offers Forensic Chemistry. (Used to be a full scholarship program, but that may have changed during the past 2 years)
Of course, forensic chemistry is a much different area of study than forensic psychology & criminology, but Ole Miss should be considered if any majors are of interest to you as you will almost certainly be offered a scholarship or two.
To be a forensic pathologist you do have to go to medical school. If that isn’t something you are willing to pursue then you need to look at other options. Forensic psychologists have at least a masters degree and many have law degrees or are psychologists as well. For this you would need to major in something (or take lots of courses in) psychology, or criminology, or do pre-law type courses.
I don’t have specific colleges in mind but keep open to the larger state universities. The honors programs make them seem much smaller in many cases.
It seems that if you aspire to a career related to forensic psychology, then you should pursue psychology broadly as an undergraduate, while also emphasizing courses and seeking research opportunities in cognitive and social psychology.
You absolutely want to have Penn State main campus on your list. It’s not a safety for you, and it’s huge, but it’s got a leading forensic science program, plus perfectly fine psychology, and I think you will get in. Luckily, it is also in-state for you. If you want to go into forensic psychology, first you need a BA in psych, then a PhD (possibly with a master’s degree at a different institution before the PhD, possibly at the same institution as the PhD). If you decide on forensic pathology, you’re gonna want med school, (would be interesting to med schools if you had forensic science from a respected college as your undergrad degree), then a pathology residency and possibly forensics fellowship.
Lots of schools have psychology. Not as many have forensics. So I’d look at schools with top forensic science programs, and also have psychology, and are fairly selective, and choose your list that way. In addition to Penn State, check out U Central Florida. Texas A&M.
I know you want a smaller school. But if the department is small, you will get that intimate feel from it, plus all the benefits of being at a big school, meaning lots of course and major choices, in case you change your mind, and all sorts of classmates studying all sorts of things. And I know you have money for college. But you still would greatly benefit from going public in-state, because you may also be paying for med school, which is expensive, and even if you wind up in a fully-funded PhD program, it’s still nice to have some extra money for a better standard of living.
The schools that have undergrad forensic psychology degrees are not selective, are not going to help you to get into PhD psychology programs, which is what you’ll need to really become a forensic psychologist. Places like John Jay CUNY, U of New Haven are not selective, you’ll be the smartest, highest achieving person there, not what you want.
Are you thinking of a career in the FBI or are you interested in writing crime novels?
People have shared good advice given the information you offered, but here are my thoughts -
You need to think more about you really want, or at least how you lean.
I would suggest visiting rural, suburban and city colleges in PA. I would make sure you get a feel for small, medium and large schools and what they are like. For geography, you need to further determine what getting away means, and how far and which states.
Once you get that straight, I would layer in your area of study - and build a list.
Most students who just want to “get away and experience someplace different” actually find the schools first, then see if the area they are in appeals to them compared to other options. I’ve seen it be the last determinate prior to committing to a school fairly often. It works out well TBH.
That can work, but not the approach I have seen work best. Narrowing down schools forces a student to be introspective. It is an accomplishment in itself.
My kid who wanted to go away…narrowed down where she wanted to go geographically, and the size school she thought would work for her that also had her likely majors and major EC activities.
Then she looked for colleges in the geographic areas she determined fit her criteria…and chose where to apply and matriculate.
This worked very well for her.
I’ve definitely seen kids choose a geography first, but those tend to know where they want to go (general area/region) - or more often - how far they want to be away (or not).
Those who “just want to go somewhere” are those who pick schools first and consider locations after acceptance and finances leave the remaining choices.
Most kids want to stay within 1-4 hours of home. Some want to head “warmer” or “to the mountains.” Others have relatives near X, Y, or Z. A few want to see CA, NYC, or DC. Then there are those who just want to go “somewhere.”
It’s all good and they all have options. The OP merely has to decide which group they align with.
Exactly, key is deciding on something from my experience.
The students who want medium and suburb always make me the most nervous, and there are a lot of them. Ambiguity on geography, too - just too much risk.
There’s TCU - there’s one road running throughout campus but other than that it’s completely pedestrian and self-contained. Fort Worth is also a decent-sized but definitely not overwhelming city - it’s like a big city that doesn’t know it’s a big city. The only religious requirement is one Religion class which doesn’t have to be on Christianity - world religions and geography of religion are very popular. About 10k undergrads so great size. You should hopefully get a bit of merit money too.
There is nearby SMU as well, which has no religious requirement whatsoever, but Dallas is definitely not a small-medium sized city.
It’s in the northeast, but don’t think anyone’s mentioned Syracuse yet.
There’s also Gonzaga all the way out in Spokane, WA. University of Denver. Creighton could be a low match.
I don’t get this at all.
At our school the vast majority have to put finances first - what can they afford? Then they couple it with a desired field or major. For those who want a geographical location or restriction, that comes into play. All of these combine with where they can get in (grades/stats/etc).
Anyone who doesn’t care about geography can just leave that out of the search and decide upon it after acceptances and finances come through. If their search engine and NPC come up with AZ or TX or ME, it’s fine. They can delve into what the professors in their fields are researching or various college opportunities that might not be found everywhere. I find it more helpful when they are less restrictive TBH. I’m not sure how it adds a greater risk. It’s not like they’re going to apply to 100 schools just because they don’t care where they go.