How to Become a Criminal Psychologist

Criminal psychologists have a number of duties. They work with criminals and attempt to understand the criminal mind. This involves one-on-one meetings and trying to understand where people are coming from and why they broke the law. Criminal psychologists commonly take the witness stand in court cases in order to assist the jury in understanding the criminal’s mind. There are several steps you will need to take if you want to become a criminal psychologist.

Criminal Psychologist Education

To become a criminal psychologist, you must have an undergraduate degree in psychology. For better opportunities, earn a high GPA or Grade Point Average and demonstrate competence and merit within your field. Study well for your science courses, particularly in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics in order to fulfill prerequisite work. Earn your research hours in the field of psychology. As much as possible, try to work as an intern or as a research assistant while still being an undergraduate.

In college, you will need a bachelor’s degree in psychology. It will be very useful to focus in science since your chosen career path involves forensics. If your college or university offers courses in forensics, take them. If not, take some biology course. You must also attend graduate school for further studies –either a doctoral degree or master’s degree in psychology. The degree can either be in criminology or any other field of psychology.

Earning a doctoral degree however will greatly increase your chances of getting hired as a criminal psychologist. Earning doctoral degree either as a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Psychology in counseling, clinical, or criminal psychology will require research, practical training, dissertation, and theoretical competence. It will take 5-7 years to complete this. You can design your curriculum with an emphasis on either practical study, research, or clinical practice.

Criminal Psychologist Certification

After your studies, you must become certified by the American Board of Forensic Psychology to become a criminal psychologist. Until you become certified, you cannot work as a criminal psychologist just yet. Remember that the requirements for certification will vary depending on state. You can check online or consult with those who already work in the field of psychology to determine what the exact requirements are for your state to become certified.

In summary, you must attend college and accumulate work experience in order to become a criminal psychologist. Keep in mind that more positions from other areas in psychology or even law enforcement will increase your merit and your chance of filling a position in criminal psychology.

Criminal Psychologist Job Prospects

In 2002, a survey showed that fresh graduates of criminal psychology programs started with base salaries of $39,000 per year. It is also assumed that these salary rates have increased over the past 5 years, and will continue to rise in the near future. There are some who have reported of having a starting salary of about $42,000 per year.