Forensic Psychology, BA Dual Admission / Accelerated Program Leading to Forensic Mental Health Counseling, MA
The Forensic Psychology Dual Admission / Accelerated Program Leading to the MA in Forensic Mental Health Counseling is intended to attract qualified and achieving students from the John Jay undergraduate psychology major who have the desire to become licensed mental health counselors, with a strong interest in working with forensic populations in such settings as jails and prisons, juvenile detention centers, hospitals, clinics, social service agencies, probation and parole offices, child protective services and courts. Qualified undergraduate students may enter this accelerated program in their junior year and graduate with the bachelor’s degree in forensic psychology while taking fifteen credits of graduate courses towards the master’s degree in forensic mental health counseling. Students then continue on to matriculate in the master’s program.
Forensic Psychology BA. The program is designed for students who are interested in the relationship between psychology and the criminal justice system. The mission of the Forensic Psychology major is to enhance students’ understanding of individual behavior, in terms of its biological, cognitive, social and emotional components and their interaction, and its effects on the broader community. Students will learn to employ an empirical approach to understand human behavior. The major prepares students for a number of careers and graduate work in psychology, social work, law enforcement, or other criminal justice professions.
BA in Forensic Psychology learning outcomes. Students will:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the historical and theoretical foundations of psychology, as well as key concepts, content, and research methods in the major sub-disciplines of psychology and in the field of “psychology and the law”.
- Demonstrate appropriate information literacy, including the ability to perform effective database searches.
- Demonstrate the ability to design an ethically appropriate psychological research study and analyze and interpret basic research data.
- Gather, read, synthesize and critique primary source psychological and psycho-legal literature.
- Communicate effectively through oral and written presentations and demonstrate appropriate use of APA style.
- Critically and skeptically evaluate psychological information and extend this critical thinking to one’s own work and all aspects of life-long learning.
- Demonstrate an appreciation of contextual influences on individual behavior and diversity of perspectives, including those related to race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, nationality and culture.
- Recognize professional ethics inherent in different aspects of psychology, including forensic psychology.
- Demonstrate an appreciation of how psychology relates to real-life professional and personal situations.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the scope and entry qualifications of professional and graduate programs in psychology.
Description, mission and learning outcomes of the MA in Forensic Mental Health Counseling. The MA Program in Forensic Mental Health Counseling has the following two primary missions in educating its students: 1) To prepare students for a career as professional mental health counselors, with the commensurate skills in interviewing, counseling, and assessment, based upon established principles and research regarding human development, personality, learning, psychopathology, and counseling. 2) To prepare students to develop a forensic specialization within mental health counseling, through courses and externships, for work in such settings as jails and prisons, family courts, juvenile detention centers, probation and parole offices, and social service agencies that assess and counsel adolescents and adults at risk for future criminal behavior.
Learning Outcomes, within the context of the primary mission. Students will:
- Articulate the intersection between law and mental health counseling
- Describe specialized areas in mental health counseling
- Explain personality theory within the context of forensic counseling
- Apply the principles of research methods and statistics to forensic counseling issues
- Apply counseling theory to practice
Credits Required.
| Forensic Psychology BA Major Courses |
31-40 |
| Forensic Mental Health Counseling MA Courses |
60 |
| General Education |
42 |
| General Undergraduate Electives |
23-32 |
| Total Credits Required for BA/MA Degree |
165 |
Undergraduate Major Coordinator. Professor Sylvia Mazzula, Department of Psychology (212.237.8794, smazzula@jjay.cuny.edu)
Undergraduate advising resources. For advising questions, contact psychologyadvising@jjay.cuny.edu
Graduate Program Director. Professor Chitra Raghavan, Department of Psychology (212.237.8417, craghavan@jjay.cuny.edu)
Admission. To apply students should have between 60-80 credits, be majoring in forensic psychology, have completed statistics (STA 250 or the equivalent) and research methods (PSY 311), and have an overall GPA of 3.5 or above. For additional information on applying, contact Professor Chitra Raghavan, Department of Psychology at the information above.
Additional information. Student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or above in the undergraduate portion of the program. Once the bachelor’s degree is earned, students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in the master’s portion of the program. Failure to maintain the required GPA may result in the student being withdrawn from the accelerated program. The student would then be required to fulfill any remaining undergraduate major requirements to earn the bachelor’s degree. In addition, the MA degree requires a year-long supervised internship experience in an appropriate setting.
FOUNDATION COURSES
Required
Note: PSY 101 can be taken as part of the General Education Requirements in the Flexible Core: Individual and Society area.
Select one depending on Math placement
Advisor's recommendation: MAT 108 or MAT 141 satisfies the Required Core: Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning area of the Gen Ed Program. Students can place out of this requirement or use a higher level math course to satisfy the requirement such as MAT 241 Calculus I or MAT 242 Calculus II or MAT 243 Calculus III.
Total Credit Hours: 3-6
PART ONE. Core Courses
Required
Total Credit Hours: 22
Part Two. Core Electives
Select one
Required
| PSY 741 | Theories of Personality and Counseling | 3 |
Note: Students complete PSY 741 as part of the graduate program.
Total Credit Hours: 6
PART THREE. General Psychology Electives
Required
| PSY 700 | Mental Health Professionals, Social Science and the Law | 3 |
| PSY 755 | Introduction to Forensic Mental Health Counseling | 3 |
Note: Students complete PSY 700 and PSY 755 as part of the graduate program
Total Credit Hours: 6
PART FOUR. Capstone Requirements
Select one Undergraduate Capstone course
| PSY 421 | Forensic Social and Experimental Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 425 | Seminar in Forensic Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 476 | Seminar in the Psychological Analysis of Criminal Behavior and the Criminal Justice System | 3 |
| PSY 485 | Advanced Undergraduate Research Experience in Psychology | 3 |
Select one
PSY 701 or PSY 755 will be taken as part of the graduate program.
Total Credit Hours: 6
UNDERGRADUATE ELECTIVES
Students must complete 23-32 credits of electives to fulfill the undergraduate portion of the degree program. Students have free choice of electives for the additional credits. Students may opt to complete a minor with their elective credits.
MA in Forensic Mental Health Counseling
Required Core Courses
| PSY 700 | Mental Health Professionals, Social Science and the Law | 3 |
| PSY 715 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| PSY 731 | Human Growth and Development | 3 |
| PSY 741 | Theories of Personality and Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 745 | Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSY 755 | Introduction to Forensic Mental Health Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 758 | Clinical Instruction | 3 |
| PSY 760 | Counseling and Psychotherapy Methods | 3 |
| PSY 761 | Clinical Interviewing and Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 765 | Group Dynamics and Group Treatment | 3 |
| PSY 769 | Intermediate Statistics in the Social Sciences | 3 |
| PSY 795 | Introduction to Assessment | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 36 |
Required Supervised Internship
| PSY 780 | Fieldwork in Counseling I | 3 |
| PSY 781 | Fieldwork in Counseling II | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 6 |
Forensic Mental Health Thesis Track Electives
Required for Thesis Track
| PSY 737 | Descriptive and Statistical Data Analysis in Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 738 | Advanced Research Methods | 3 |
| PSY 791 | Prospectus Seminar | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 0-9 |
Forensic Mental Health Electives
| PSY 701 | Criminal Behavior | 3 |
| PSY 703 | Violence and Aggression | 3 |
| PSY 705 | Victimology | 3 |
| PSY 707 | Counseling and Rehabilitation of the Offender | 3 |
| PSY 708 | Crisis Intervention and Short-term Counseling | 3 |
| PSY 714 | Alcoholism and Substance Abuse | 3 |
| PSY 716 | Assessment and Counseling of the Juvenile Offender | 3 |
| PSY 718 | Social Science Evidence in Court | 3 |
| PSY 720 | Social Psychology and the Legal System | 3 |
| PSY 722 | Evaluation and Counseling of the Sex Offender | 3 |
| PSY 726 | Mental Health Issues in Policing | 3 |
| PSY 727 | Eyewitness Identification | 3 |
| PSY 729 | Terrorism | 3 |
| PSY 730 | Ethical Issues in Forensic Mental Health | 3 |
| PSY 733 | Dissociation and Trauma | 3 |
| PSY 734 | Criminal Psychological Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 739 | Clinical Crime Scene Analysis | 3 |
| PSY 742 | Family Violence and Disputes | 3 |
| PSY 746 | Empirical Profiling Methods | 3 |
| PSY 748 | Empirical Crime Scene Analysis | 3 |
| PSY 751 | Intellectual and Cognitive Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 752 | Projective Personality Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 753 | Objective Personality Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 754 | Advanced Forensic Assessment | 3 |
| PSY 766 | Personality Profiles of the Homicidal Offender | 3 |
| PSY 773 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 3 |
| PSY 774 | Advanced Issues in Victim Counseling and Psychotherapy | 3 |
| PSY 779 | Brain and Behavior | 3 |
| PSY 790 | Psychology Seminar in Selected Topics | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9-18 |
Non-thesis students complete 18 credits of electives; thesis students complete 9 credits of electives. Students who wish to pursue a specialization in Victim Counseling can select PSY 705, PSY 708, PSY 733, PSY 742, PSY 773 and PSY 774 to complete their electives. Students wishing to do the CASAC Track can select CRJ 714, PSY 714 and PSY 730 as electives. See the MA in Mental Health Counseling in the Graduate Bulletin for more information.
All departmental courses numbered 800-899 also satisfy forensic mental health counseling elective courses.
Total Credit Hours: 60
Total Credit Hours: 165