Degree requirements include 90 semester hours beyond the Bachelors degree. The program of studies, approved by the Legal Psychology Graduate Program Committee (LPGPC), includes: 12 hours of Statistics/Methodology; 12 hours of Legal Psychology Core Courses; 3 hours of Law or Legal Research; 9 hours of Psychology Minor Area Courses (in Social /or Cognitive Psychology); 3 hours of Psychology outside of the Major and Minor Area; 1 hour of Teaching Psychology; 6 hours of Master’s Thesis and completion of the thesis project; Qualifying Exam; at least 24 hours of Doctoral Dissertation and completion of the dissertation project. The remaining 20 hours may be earned through Supervised Research, additional Master’s Thesis or Dissertation hours, or additional courses.

1. Statistics & Methodology Courses (12 Credits)

    STA 5106 Intermediate Statistics I
    STA 5107 Intermediate Statistics II
    CLP 6436 or 6438 Psychological Assessment
    INP 6940 Strategies and Methods of Applied Psychology Research

2. Legal Psychology Core Courses (12 Credits)

Choose 4 of the following courses:
    INP 5136 Psychology of Legal Consultation
    PSY 5939 Eyewitness Testimony
    PSY 5939 Child Witnesses
    PSY 5939 Actual Innocence and Wrongful Convictions
    CLP 6395 Forensic Psychology
    SOP 6752 Psychology of Juries

3. Law or Legal Research Course (3 Credits)

Choose 1 of the following courses:
    POS 6286 Judicial Research
    CCJ 5216 Criminal Law
    CCJ 5235 Criminal Procedure
    CCJ 5285 Judicial Process and Policy
    CCJ 5286 Comparative Law
    CCJ 5288 Legal Issues for Criminal Justice Administration
    Law Course Elective approved in advance by the LPGPC (including courses at new FIU Law School)

4. Psychology Minor Area Courses (9 Credits)

Choose 3 of the following courses:
    SOP 5058 Proseminar in Social Psychology
    SOP 6441 Social Cognition
    EXP 5099 Proseminar in Experimental Psychology
    EXP 5508 Applied Cognitive Psychology

5. Psychology Course Outside of Major/Minor Area (3 Credits)

Choose 1 of the following courses:
    CLP 6168 Psychopathology Across the Lifespan
    CLP 5175 Personality Dynamics
    DEP 5315 Proseminar in Parent-Child Relations
    DEP 5608 Theoretical Perspectives in Developmental Psychology
    DEP 6117 Psychology of Caregiving
    DEP 6466 Cognitive Processes in Aging
    INP 6216 Personnel Selection
    PSY 5216 History and Systems of Psychology
    SOP 5316 Theories and Methods of Cross-Cultural Research
    SOP 5616 Social Psychology of Organizations
    Course approved in advance by the LPGPC

6. Teaching of Psychology (1 Credit)

PSY 6945 Teaching of Psychology (required for first-term Graduate Assistants)

7. Masters Thesis (6 Credits).

Students enroll in Masters Thesis (PSY 6971) credits while working on their master's thesis. Once a student registers for Master’s Thesis, the student must continue to register for at least one credit of Master’s Thesis each term until the thesis is fully completed.

8. Qualifying Exam.

A comprehensive examination usually taken in the third year of graduate student. The Qualifying Exam covers three areas: Legal Psychology, an optional minor (social or cognitive), and methodology/statistics.

9. Dissertation (24 Credits).

Students enroll in Dissertation Credits (PSY 7980) after meeting the pre-candidacy requirements (see below) and while working on their dissertation. Passing the Qualifying Exam is a prerequisite to registering for Doctoral Dissertation. Once a student registers for dissertation credit, the student must continue to register for at least three credits of dissertation each term until the dissertation is completed.