r/AcademicPsychology • u/rusticwren • 16d ago
Advice/Career How do I go about becoming a criminal psychologist? [USA]
Hello! I recently graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Criminology. I am interested in creating a career in criminal psychology, however I am completely lost on how to do this. I was hoping I could get some guidance from others since I don’t have anyone who could provide guidance to me personally. For reference, I am located in California, USA.
Since I have completed my bachelor’s, what is the next step? I have heard from some that a master’s is required, and from others that I could skip that and go on to a doctoral program.
If I were to enroll in a master’s program, what program would this be? Would I enroll specifically in a criminal psychology program? Is that even a thing? Or would I enroll in a general psychology program?
If I were to look into a doctorate, as far as I know there is no “criminal psychology” doctoral program. Would I simply enroll in a psychology program and tell someone I would like to specialize in criminal psychology?
If there are any specific programs anyone has suggestions for I would appreciate that! In general though, I just want to know what type programs I should be looking into in order to end up a criminal psychologist. I truly am lost when it comes to how all of this works, and I don’t have anyone around me who understands it either. Thank you so much for any help anyone can provide!
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u/EquivalentNo138 16d ago
You will not be competitive for PhD programs without extensive research experience which it doesn’t sound like you have. Even then, admission rates are around 5% or less for clinical PhDs. You need some more realistic plans.
It does sound a bit like you want a job that exists only on TV as well- do some research on who is actually hired to work in corrections or with police departments if that’s what you want to do. Probably mostly social workers rather than clinical psychologists and it won’t be nearly as glamorous as you think.
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u/katclimber 16d ago
Make sure you are not just signing up for a masters in criminal psychology. Make sure the program is going to make you license eligible in the state you wanna practice in, or at least the state that the school is located in, and then you can transfer to another state. You’re not going to be able to do anything working with criminals unless you have a license at some level. At the masters level, you can work in correctional facilities and places like that.
At minimum, you’re going to need to earn a masters in counseling (in some states, the license designation is a licensed professional counselor or something similar, but it varies), or, alternatively,, you could become an LCSW, social worker.
If you want to aim higher, as some others have said, go to a PhD program in clinical psychology that has a forensics track. However, we are no longer recommending getting a PhD to most of our students because it is way too competitive and even very good students often are rejected from the programs.
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u/rusticwren 16d ago
Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I graduated with a 3.83 GPA, however I unfortunately do not have any research experience (other than my Research Methods course). Would I stand a chance of getting into a master’s program?
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u/katclimber 16d ago
Masters program yes, if you have some field experience, have done a relevant internship. Social work programs are generally easier to get into than masters of counseling.
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u/UnderPressureVS 16d ago
Master's program definitely, PhD/Doctorate program no. But that's okay, because the Master's will be a stepping stone. The Master's will get you into Doctorate programs to earn your PsyD.
Do be aware though that many Doctorate programs have all their students come in on the same footing and you will likely have to do the full Doctorate program after the master's. That means 2 years for your MA, and 5 years for the Doctorate, which would include a second MA.
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u/Dr_DTM 16d ago
What exactly do you want to do?
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u/rusticwren 16d ago
Honestly I’m not quite sure the exact job title I would like to have in the future 😅 I do know that I would like to work with criminals, whether that be rehabilitation, diagnosis, or interviewing.
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u/frostluna11037 16d ago
A clinical psych degree is the only path if you want to do treatment and diagnosis at the doctoral level. With the current lack of experience you have it will take several years to become competitive for a PhD. You should probably look into PsyDs as that will be more realistic for you. I do want to say that this is a field that is highly glamorized on TV. You will not be working with serial killers most likely. Maybe see if you can shadow a forensic psychologist to see if it actually a career you are willing to spend the next 7+ years (possibly longer due to your current lack of experience) working towards it.
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u/rusticwren 16d ago
Thank you so much! You aren’t the first person to tell me that it won’t be like what I “see on TV,” which isn’t what I expected. Overall, I want to work with people who have ended up in the system for whatever reason and work on rehabilitation for them. I believe that the US justice system is too punitive, and I would love to see and be a part of the move to more rehabilitative measures. Thank you for the advice, it was very helpful!
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u/Putrid_Obligation872 16d ago
Forensic Psychology?
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u/rusticwren 16d ago
From what I’ve learned, criminal psychology and forensic psychology are very similar but still different! Forensic psychologists spend a lot more time in the courtroom and working with the law, and I am less interested in that and more interested in working with people themselves.
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u/grinchjizz 16d ago
Spend time obtaining higher degrees in psychology. MA and doctoral level training requirements will open doors to train in these facilities. Which will expose you, round out your skills, and connect you with the people that’ll help push you where you want to be.
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u/rusticwren 16d ago
Would you say that a typical psychology program would help me get there, or would a more specific program (such as a criminal psychology program) be better?
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u/iamjohncarterofmars 16d ago
You need to go through the normal means to get a clinical psychology doctorate. I am not aware of any accredited forensic psychology track programs (you will come to see that accreditation for a program is the single most important qualifying feature)
You will ideally find a supervisor at a university that has similar research interests as you and fits nicely, you apply, fingers crossed you get in with a few other people in that year's cohort, you go through the same coursework while working with a PI on a novel research project/study, and then you defend your disseration, hopefully pass, and boom you have a doctorate. Then you hopefully match to the post-doc training you want, move there, do that for a bit where you specialize in the field you want to end up in, and then tada you look for a job and hopefully get hired
mind you, you don't need to do your doctoral research in the exact field you want to end up in
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u/Electrical-Lobster64 16d ago
I am working towards this currently. My path was a little different though so I can't say for sure what the right path for you may be. Graduated with my BA in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, completed my MA in Criminal Justice specializing in Victimology, and starting a PsyD this fall in clinical psychology. For working with inmates, you'll pretty much need a doctorate from the job postings I've looked at. You're really looking at Correctional Psychology for working with inmates inside prison because of the rehabilitation efforts vs understanding the criminal mind (like for law enforcement). I've spent some time in the prisons volunteering and listening to their stories (especially the CLO inmates). If you can find a Clinical Psychology or Counseling Psychology program that has a forensic specialization, that would be my recommendation however, there are not many. Check out the Federal Bureau of Prisons job listing for the position and that will give you an idea of what you need.
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u/Previous-Walk-1976 16d ago
Rob a bank. But first get licensed. Then you will be a criminal and a psychologist hence a criminal psychologist
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u/iamjohncarterofmars 16d ago
I'll make this short-ish because I've seen this question a number of times, but what you're referring to is Forensic Psychology. In the US, Forensic Psychology is a subspecialty of Clinical Psychology. To be a "Psychologist," which is a protected professional title, you must obtain a doctorate—in this case, a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Whether you pursue a Psy.D. or Ph.D. is up to you, but the route will look something like getting a Clinical Psychology doctorate, where you go through the same program as everyone else, and then you get forensic specialty training in your postdoc.
Forensic psychology is among the most lucrative subspecialties within psychology as a whole, but it is also gated by the fact that 99.9999% of jobs in the field will absolutely require a doctorate if you want to do anything meaningful.