What education and training is required to become a criminal psychologist?

Answer 1

Training to Become a Criminal Psychologist

The first step to becoming a Criminal Psychologist is to complete a 4-year bachelor degree in psychology. That requires keeping your grades above a C at all times and completing 120 credit hours of coursework, as well as a 500-hour internship. In order to qualify for work in the field, you must also complete the master degree program, and chances of gaining meaningful employment in the field increase greatly when a doctorate degree is earned.

Requirements to enter the 2-year master degree program are rigorous and the competition is great. You must have good grades on your transcript (the higher, the better), a solid personal essay, and more than three professional letters of recommendation. If you are accepted, you will enter one of the most challenging curriculums available. Upon graduation from the masters degree, candidates must pass their state's certification exam, gain certification, and work under a skilled criminal psychologist before venturing out on their own.

In order to vastly increase one's chances of gaining employment in the field, acquiring a doctorate degree is highly preferred. That requires another 4 years of criminal psychology training at an accredited school.