MSc Investigative Forensic Psychology

Core units:

• Investigative Psychology: The theoretical and practical understanding of investigative psychology, focusing on serious crime investigations. You will initially explore the roles psychologists can play and general theories regarding why people commit crime, and subsequently specific theories as applied to different crime types including murder and violent crime, serial and sexual offending, group offending and cyber-crime. Indicative learning will include interviewing, eye-witness testimony and decision making.
• Behaviour Analysis of Serious Crime: Providing you with the theory and practical understanding of behavioural analysis in serious crime investigations such as murder and serious sexual crimes. The unit includes topics such as offender profiling and offence linkage and highlights the work done by researchers and analysists in this domain.
• Professional Practice & Court Skills: This unit is designed to equip students with the necessary skills to undertake professional practice in the field. It will provide students with the experience, theoretical understanding, and practical skills needed to effectively present material in courts. Teaching includes the structure of the UK criminal justice system, the roles of different court personnel, and witnesses, as well as the preparation and structure of reports.
• Introduction to Research Methods: This unit covers theoretical foundations of and methodological issues involved in conducting psychological research, and provides an introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches. 
• Current Issues in Policing: The unit aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of key concepts in UK policing, including core legislation, influential cases that have shaped policing practices, and current challenges in policing delivery. It explores recent developments such as evidence-based policing and collaboration with researchers, highlighting their role in modernising practices. Through in-depth case studies, students will analyse the evolution of policing, lessons from both successes and failures, and the application of research in driving improvements.
• Research Project: In this unit you will complete a research project appropriate for your programme and write up a dissertation, working independently under supervision of a member of staff who will be allotted after you start the course. You will be expected to engage in discussions with your supervisor in order to choose a topic suitable for a postgraduate dissertation. There will be a range of obligatory and optional teaching sessions to ensure you gain relevant research skills.

Optional units (you have to choose one):

• Advanced Qualitative Methods: The unit explores qualitative research and analysis approaches to understand and interpret a range of textual, aural, and visual data. The unit aims to prepare students for undertaking independent research using advanced qualitative research techniques and tools.
• Advanced Quantitative Methods: This unit covers the theoretical background, the performance, and the interpretation of range of statistical techniques intended for analysing data from psychological research. 

Students on this programme have the opportunity to engage with the Voluntary Research Apprenticeship scheme, working alongside a member of staff in their laboratory on a course-related topic of research. Our staff have a large amount of expertise in the field, for example having previously worked as a Serious Crime Analyst for the police, making this a great opportunity for students to further develop their knowledge. 

The normal requirements for embarking upon this course are:

• A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject or equivalent.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow. Some of these are based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (three years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55% 
• Nigeria:  Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:4 
• China:  Chinese Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with 65% or above 
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0 
• Ghana: Bachelor's degrees from University of Ghana or Legon with a grade of 2.00 or above, or from Cape Coast with a grade of 2.5 or above
• USA: US Bachelor's degree (four years), with a 2.5 GPA or above
• Vietnam:  Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 6.5/10, or 2.25/4, or a Master’s degree/Thac si. 

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level. 

We are looking for applicants to show evidence of your motivation to study the main topics of this course on your application form.

You should also include any relevant work or voluntary experience on the application form.

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

The applied nature of this course will appeal to both new graduates and experienced professionals looking to expand their opportunities in fields such as crime analysis, policing (locally or with agencies such as the National Crime Agency), court work, victim services, insurance agencies, secret services, social work, emergency services, academia, research and policy implementation (College of Policing, Ministry of Justice). 

Graduates from this course have gone on to a rich variety of job roles, including researcher/analyst for the Office of National Statistics, Police Constable, Civilian Investigator, Serious Crime Analyst at the National Crime Agency, Assistant Serious Crime Analyst at the National Crime Agency, some specialist policing roles (for example in County Lines Team), taking 999 calls, and Ministry of Justice (HM Courts & Tribunals Service).

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Master’s, you can look at our range of doctoral programmes.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity.
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions.
• Support for finding placments (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information. 
• Travel costs, for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding information can be found on our website.
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately. 
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if your required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• Expenses relating to research projects.
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full time fee.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries to eligible students who are beginning their studies at BU. Please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/funding for details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.

Dr Sweeting’s research focuses on sexual misconduct within the police. This research is focused on understanding why a minority of police officers abuse their positions for sexual purpose and also the broader issues of sexual harassment and sexism within the police. Recently, Dr Sweeting has also been researching domestic abuse perpetrated by police officers, psychometric testing as part of the police recruitment process and offending narratives of police officers involved in sexual misconduct.  Prior to joining academia, Dr Sweeting was a Dorset Police Officer (2004-2021) and, in 2017, she was awarded a College of Policing bursary to study MSc Investigative Forensic Psychology at Bournemouth University.

Dr Davies' research is based around sexual violence and her focus is on understanding factors related to police outcomes. Despite an increase in the reporting of rape, convictions in England and Wales have fallen significantly in recent years. Previous research has found high rape myth acceptance among police officers. Given that the police act as gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, subscribing to rape myths may have significant effects upon victim attrition and conviction rates. Dr Davies was part of a stuy that explores police officers’ use of rape myths and how these may impact investigations and prosecutions. 

Professor Jan Wiener, based in the Department of Psychology, is a co-leader of the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre at Bournemouth University and leads the Key Transferable Skills unit. His research interests focus on navigation and wayfinding in typical and elderly populations and those with degenerative disorders, using behavioural experiments, virtual reality techniques and eye-tracking.