Welcome to Forensic and Investigative Psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University. I am extremely thrilled to welcome you to this BPS accredited course. I hope you find it applied, exciting and valuable for your future careers. Our team look forward to working with you all, and watching you develop your knowledge, skills, confidence and competence in forensic and investigative psychology.

Lisa Farren
Course Director

Key dates

Academic Calendar: Trimesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays. 

Welcome and induction

Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to your course and student life at CCCU, helping you to feel confident and prepared for your studies right from the very start.

It is important to check your Welcome Schedule for all the activities you are required to attend during the week.

If any of your welcome activities are in groups, your course team will contact you before your arrival to let you know which group you will be in.

Your teaching timetable 

UniTimetables provides an overview of all teaching activities on a course. Your individual timetable will be available via MyTimetable and is personalised to show you what modules and groups you are expected to attend.

Your individual student timetable can only be produced once you have engaged with online registration and created your computing account. It is essential you complete these tasks when invited, so that your course team can assign you to your teaching activities and publish your individual timetable.

Find out more about all aspects of timetabling for new students including user guides.

Welcome

Before you commence on the course, you will be invited to take part in CCCU Welcome Week Activities and your Course specific Induction Day. You will be sent more information about Welcome Week and your Induction Day closer to the time.

Full-time students will be required to engage with teaching sessions 2 days per week across the three trimesters, whilst part-time students attend 1 day per week in Year 1 (across Trimesters 1 and 2) and Year 2 (across three trimesters). For more detail on the Academic Calendar, please see: CCCU Academic Calendar C - Trimesters). Teaching days are normally on a Thursday and Friday, however these days can be subject to change. You will be notified in advance if such changes occur. Outside of teaching days, you are recommended to keep an additional 2-3 days dedicated to course related activities, such as: self-directed reading, engage with audio/video recordings, completing your assessments and building upon your forensic psychological knowledge. Please see below an overview of the course structure; please note two modules, 'Forensic Assessment Treatment and Professional Practice' and 'Investigative Psychology' are delivered across both Trimester 1 and Trimester 2.

Trimester 1

Full Time Students

Part-Time Students (Year 1)

Part- Time Students (Year 2)

Understanding Criminality and Offending Behaviour

Understanding Criminality and Offending Behaviour

Research Methods and Statistics

Research Methods and Statistics

Investigative Psychology

Research Project

Investigative Psychology

Forensic Assessment Treatment and Professional Practice

 

Forensic Assessment Treatment and Professional Practice

 

 

Research Project

 

 

Trimester 2

Full Time Students

 

Part-Time Students (Year 1)

 

Part-Time Students (Year 2)

 

Forensic Assessment Treatment and Professional Practise

Forensic Assessment Treatment and Professional Practice

Applied Research Methods and Statistics

 

Investigative Psychology

 

Investigative Psychology

 

Research Project

 

Criminal Justice and the Investigative Process

Criminal Justice and the Investigative Process

 

 

Applied Research Methods and Statistics

 

 

Research Project

 

 

 

Trimester 3

There are no taught sessions in Trimester 3, it is when you will complete your dissertation and poster.

To be awarded the BPS Stage 1 Qualification in Forensic Psychology (QFP) you must obtain a minimum pass mark of 50% for ALL modules that contribute to the MSc Forensic & Investigative Psychology. Only students who hold BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) (either via a BPS accredited undergraduate psychology degree or MSc Psychology conversion course) as well as Stage 1, can progress to the Stage 2 QFP. Course and Module Handbooks will be available via Blackboard (the university’s virtual learning environment where staff post information relating to your course of study) when you start in September. These handbooks outline the content of the course, teaching sessions and assessment requirements/deadlines.

 

Getting started

Whilst you are waiting for the course to start you may wonder “what else can I do?”

If you are not engaged in a role linked to forensic psychology, you might want to consider applying for volunteering roles with services such as:

You could watch documentaries about prisons and forensic psychology:

You can also keep up-to-date via our school social media channels:

Your welcome and induction will be w/c 16th September 2024 - we look forward to meeting you then.

Community

On the social side, the Student Union (CCSU) has a huge range of clubs and societies – all of which have unique social calendars of their own and offer endless opportunities to make lifelong friends and discover new hobbies. And you can always create your own society and cultivate your own community!

CCSU will be hosting their Welcome Fayre on Wednesday 18th September 2024. Make sure you keep checking the CCSU website for further details and how to get involved.

We understand that you may be nervous about your first few weeks on campus but rest assured - you'll be joining a nurturing and supportive environment where diversity, equality and individuality are part of everything we do.

You can find out more about our welcoming community and making friends here.

If you are an International Student joining us then please see our International Student Support pages for further information and guidance.

 

Pre-course reading

To help you enjoy your leisurely summer holidays, please see below some recommended books that you may find helpful in preparing for the course. They are not mandatory but are a good reference point to start with.

Recommended Texts

  • American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychology Association: The Official Guide to APA Style. 7th Edition. Washington, US
  • Bassot, B. (2020). The Reflective Journal. 3rd Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. London. UK.
  • Canter, D., & Youngs, D. (2009). Investigative Psychology. Offender Profiling and Analysis of Criminal Action. Wiley, West Sussex, UK.
  • Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics. 5th Edition. SAGE. London. UK
  • Katz, L. (2018). Palgrave study skills. Critical Thinking and persuasive writing for postgraduates. Palgrave.
  • McGuire, J. & Duff, S. (2018). Forensic Psychology – Routes through the system. Palgrave.
  • Scott, A. (2019). Forensic Psychology (Macmillan Insights in Psychology). Red Globe Press. UK.
  • Smyth, T.R. (2004). Palgrave study skills. The Principles of writing in Psychology. Palgrave.

International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.