The Department of Psychology offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology with an emphasis on Legal Psychology. The Legal Psychology program focuses on such issues as jury decision-making, jury selection, witness memory, alternative dispute resolution, and forensic psychology. The Legal Psychology program capitalizes on Florida International University's location in the major litigation center of the Southeast United States. Legal Psychology is a young and growing field with enormous potential (see the August 1995 APA Monitor story on the National Invitational Conference on Education and Training in Law and Psychology). FIU is one of the few universities in the world with a doctoral concentration in legal psychology, and it is already well-respected in psychology-law circles. Students complete a series of courses designed to provide a thorough understanding of psychological theory and methodology as well as applied and basic research in psychology. Graduates of the program are required to demonstrate mastery of legal psychology, statistics and methodology, and a traditional area of psychological study (e.g., cognitive, social). Students also obtain significant field experience in the legal system by participating in applied research, assisting trial consultants, and through other formal training experiences. Students are expected to maintain full-time status in the program by taking at least 9 credits during both Fall and Spring semesters.

The Legal Psychology program is designed to teach students how to conduct research on psycholegal issues. Therefore, students are expected to participate in research throughout their graduate studies. Students will conduct this research under the supervision of one or more faculty members. Students are involved in all aspects of the research enterprise, including the development of hypotheses, preparation of research materials, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, presentation of the results at professional conferences, and preparation of manuscripts for publication. Students work closely with faculty and other students to achieve these goals. Students also have access to a variety of research facilities including academic computer facilities, two libraries, psychology laboratories, and video equipment. A full-time commitment to the program requires that students be actively engaged in research during both the academic year and the summer.