Forensic Psychology MSc

Course overview

The on-campus course starts in September, the online course starts in January.

The course is designed to meet the requirements for stage 1 towards becoming a Chartered Forensic Psychologist (for students who also have the required Graduate Basis for Chartership). It aims to provide you with a thorough grounding in the theory, themes, issues and practical skills we consider to be central to forensic psychology.

• It is aimed at people who are embarking on, or who wish to continue in, a career associated with forensic psychology in a range of forensic settings.
• You will have an opportunity to study a range of topics associated with forensic psychology, including offending behaviour and the Criminal Justice System. You will also explore the theories, research and practice related to intervention with diverse client groups, with a specific focus on violence and sexual offending.
• Throughout the course you will investigate what makes people think, feel and act in ways that lead to crime, and how our Criminal Justice System can respond to this. This course also offers coverage of legal approaches that we consider to be relevant to psychology.

What you'll study

The content and assessment strategies are the same on the full-time on-campus and part-time online versions of the course. Full-time students study all eight modules in year one. Part-time online students study four modules per year.

Five core modules are taken alongside students studying Forensic Psychology and Mental Health MSc. You will also study three specialised pathway modules solely for students enrolled on the Forensic Psychology MSc. Please compare the specialised topic areas covered to pick the most appropriate course for you.

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

How you'll learn

Our teaching and learning strategy is designed to encourage your participation and deepen your understanding of specific subjects, for example, by debating and discussing contemporary topics, such as the role of family factors in offending behaviour and the ethics associated with risk assessment. Alongside this curriculum, your course will also provide you with an opportunity to develop what we consider to be a range of globally relevant practice-based transferable skills, including effective communication and dissemination, criticality, reflection, synthesis, and evaluation of ethical issues. The module design covers these essential elements of skills development whichever mode of study suits you best.

Study on campus   September start

On the full-time, on-campus version of the course, teaching and learning follows the traditional campus-based model of delivery, including face-to-face lectures and the expectation of full attendance during term-time.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, online classes and tutorials and independent study and learning. If you are someone who wants to immerse yourself in the student experience on campus, on a full-time basis and take advantage of everything Coventry has to offer, then this is the mode of delivery for you.

On-campus learning consists of ‘face-to-face’ teaching time and other campus-based activity that will normally take place two days per week over one year. This is usually up to six hours of classroom time a week, depending on the semester you are in. In addition, you will have 10 hours of one-to-one supervision across the year, to support you with your empirical project and guide your studies. You will have access to recorded content, have directed reading and be required to engage in independent study. You will be studying for 60 credits per semester.

Please note that each module credit requires 10 hours of study, thus a 20-credit module requires 200 hours of study. This includes campus-based teaching and independent study. Self-directed study includes completing the recommended reading that accompanies your lectures and working on coursework assignments. This is a full-time course that requires full engagement for success. We recommend anyone with significant commitments outside the university considers studying the part-time online course.

Explore our campus

Study 100% online   January start

All teaching and learning materials are provided online, in a semesterised format, over a two-year period. This version of the course provides flexibility and part-time continuing professional development, potentially (but not limited to) practitioners who are already working in forensic psychology settings. Our current staff have experience in delivering high-quality online provision and understand how online learning is substantially different when compared with face-to-face courses (staff may be subject to change).

Online content and library access is provided, and there is the opportunity to be part of a learning community in order to discuss topics online with course tutors, as well as access resources, including online journals and ebooks, through the library. Students are encouraged to engage with each other in online forums and share formative learning opportunities together to enhance the experience.

The online delivery mode is semesterised and structured, but also offers a degree of flexibility as to your preferred time to study. You can access materials any time of the day or night, seven days a week. The course material is presented online and contains interactive activities. You will be allocated a named staff member who will be your main point of contact (staff may be subject to change). You can also interact with students and staff through forums and peer-feedback activities. You will be studying for between 20 and 40 credits per semester, depending on the stage of the course.

Please note that each module credit requires 10 hours of study, thus a 20-credit module requires 200 hours of study including engaging with online materials and independent study. You will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of an average of approximately 17 hours each week. However, this will vary depending on the demands of individual modules with some requiring more self-directed study, some less. Self-directed study includes online engagement with the learning materials, recommended reading that accompanies your learning, and working on coursework assignments. There is no requirement for students studying this course to attend campus. This is a part-time course that runs over a period of two years. We recommend this option for anyone with significant commitments outside the university. Request further information about part-time study.

Part-time students study the following modules in year one: Ethics and Research Methods in Forensic Psychology; Risk Assessment and Management in Forensic Settings; Leading and Creating Organisation Health and Wellbeing; and Offending Behaviour and the Criminal Justice System. In year two the following modules are studied: Interventions with Different Client Groups; Professional Practice in Forensic Psychology; The Legal Process; and Dissertation Module.

How online learning works

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

Assessment

During the course you will study a range of mandatory modules that carry between 10 and 40 credits each, and then complete a 40-credit dissertation. You will be assessed using approaches such as case studies, risk assessment report, video log, reflective practice, literature review and empirical reports. Some of the assessments have elements linked to real world tasks. We aim to provide guidance on how to tackle each assessment during the course.

For an MSc award, you are required to complete 180 credits, including the 40-credit dissertation, i.e. you must pass all modules on the MSc Forensic Psychology to achieve this qualification. As the course is accredited graduates must achieve a minimum of 50% pass mark on first attempt for all modules contributing to the accredited MSc degree (BPS Standards for the Accreditation of Masters and Doctoral Programmes in Forensic Psychology). Graduates who do not meet this requirement will exit with a non-accredited award of MSc Forensic Psychological Studies. To achieve the necessary number of credits for all non-accredited awards, graduates must achieve a minimum of 40% pass mark for all modules contributing to the award. Please see Accreditation and Professional Recognition section.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Facilities

The on-campus course will take place at our Coventry University main campus in buildings such as the Alison Gingell Building or the Richard Crossman building which hold a range of innovative teaching rooms⁴.