Master of Science - Investigative Forensic Psychology

Unlike other courses that focus on offender assessment and rehabilitation, this degree will examine the theoretical and investigative aspects of forensic psychology.

Students will benefit from using BU's superb facilities, all designed to mimic the situations they will encounter in their career. These include BU's on-campus Crime Scene Training Centre, mock courtrooms and psychology testing suites with the latest eye-tracking and face-processing equipment.

This course considers all aspects of forensic psychology, preparing students for every step of the criminal justice process from the crime scene to the courtroom. As well as the underlying theories regarding the psychology of investigations and considering areas such as how face-processing can assist identification of individuals, they will explore different offence types – sexual offending, murder and violent crime, group offending, and different forms of cyber-crime.

Students will be expected to investigate and scrutinise violent mocked-up crime scenes to provide investigative evidence, learning how to present expert witness testimony in a mock court.

Students will evaluate victims, witnesses, suspects and offenders, environment, geography and time, working with practitioners who create fieldwork, case studies and exercises based on their real experiences.

Guest speakers sharing their knowledge will be an integral feature of the course. Course Leader Dr Terri Cole will also share her own experiences as a behavioural investigative adviser and serious crime analyst. Dr Cole worked for a number of years with police forces providing offender profiling, crime scene assessment and offence linkage advice in relation to serious sexual offences and murder. She brings her expertise and experience together to focus on crime scene behaviour and how psychology can assist investigations on the course.