• Interest in the preconditions of deviant behavior and social deviance

If you intend to pursue a career in criminal law (e.g. as a psychology expert witness), here is what you should bring into the mix:

• A high sense of responsibility, especially with regard to decisions in the future profession that can have far-reaching social consequences for the individuals concerned (e.g. custodial sentences, loss of parental custody, etc.).
• The ability to express yourself clearly, even in stressful situations.
• The ability to deal in detail with the experience and behavior of people who display and/or have shown forms of experience and behavior that are sanctioned in a social, criminal, or moral context.
• Professional neutrality towards perpetrators and victims.
• Willingness to deal with, for example, violent or sexual content.

Entrance requirements for the Master of Science degree program Psychology – Legal Psychology (M.Sc.) are:

• Proof of a bachelor’s degree in psychology from a higher education institution in Germany or an equivalent degree obtained in Germany or abroad in a subject area that does not differ significantly.
• Passing a subject-specific scholastic aptitude test.

If you have not yet received your bachelor’s degree certificate by the application deadline, but have earned at least 135 credits in your bachelor’s program, you must apply by the set deadline with a transcript (certified copy issued by your university) of all coursework and exams completed to date, including your average grade to date.

Applicants who have not obtained a university entrance qualification at a German-speaking institution or a degree in a German-speaking course must provide proof of sufficient German language skills. These must correspond to the level DSH-2 of the “German Language Proficiency Examination for Admission to Higher Education for Foreign Applicants” and must be proven by the time of enrollment at JGU.

Good to know: The legally binding basis for selection, admission and enrollment is the text of the entrance requirements as specified in Section 2 of the currently valid examination regulations and, where applicable, in the appendix.

You can find more information in the examination regulations.

Course sequence

• Advanced statistical methods
• Advanced diagnostics (preparation of expert witness reports, test theory)
• Clinical psychology (fundamentals of neuroscience, mental disorders over the course of a lifetime)
• Specializations in the fundamentals and practical application (two elective seminars each)
• Criminal psychology
• Forensic case seminar
• Testimony psychology and family law issues
• Project in legal psychology (planning and implementation of subject-specific research project)
• Internship in legal psychology (minimum duration 6 weeks)

You will also select a minor subject, consisting of a lecture and a seminar. You may select one of the following areas as a minor: economics, law, psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, sports science, or computer science.

Stays abroad

Would you like to live abroad for a semester or a year? Do you want to learn another language and get to know a new culture? Or gain a different perspective on your particular subject? A stay abroad provides you with the perfect opportunity to achieve this and is possible with every degree program – either self-organized or by taking advantage of one of the popular exchange programs. This is made possible by various cooperation agreements and partnerships with foreign universities.

For more information on this topic, please visit our websites on studying abroad. Visit our student exchange platform for an overview of cooperating universities in your field.

This program of study does not require you to spend time abroad, but you nevertheless have the opportunity to do so.

Internships

As a part of your program of study, you will complete an internship that lasts at least six weeks and that consists of practical work in the field of legal psychology. It is recommended that you complete this internship during your third semester of studies.

Voluntary internships are another good opportunity to obtain more in-depth insight into a professional field.

An internship allows you to discover whether everyday life in a particular occupation suits your career expectations and interests. You can gain qualifications for a professional field and acquire important professional and personal skills to start a career. An internship helps you both shape your career path, and mold the remainder of your course sequence – in particular by selecting specializations that suit your practical experience.

You can find further information and relevant internships on the Career Service website.

As a graduate of this degree program you have been provided with the best possible tool set to start your career in the field of legal psychology.

You possess both scientific and practical knowledge in all legal psychological standard problems in connection with expert witness work (forensic psychology) as well as the treatment of offenders. In addition to that, you have insight into further legal psychological issues (police psychology, decision behavior of judges and expert witnesses) and knowledge of basic diagnostic procedures in legal psychology and case conceptualization.

With these subject-specific requirements, you will have an array of exciting professional opportunities from which you can select:

• Expert witness work (as an independent expert witness in court),
• Treatment of offenders (penitentiaries, forensic psychiatry),
• Police and justice,
• Youth welfare services,
• Counseling contexts (e.g. victim support),
• Research

Not sure what to do after graduation? Don’t worry!

A university degree generally does not prepare you for a single profession but qualifies you for a wide range of career paths – for example, in research, in a typical profession related to your field of study, or in one of many other academic fields.

This is why career orientation is also part of your studies. Gaining practical experience is key, and you can do so through internships, working student positions, part-time jobs or voluntary work, for example.

JGU’s Career Service will support you throughout the entire process with information, advice, workshops and numerous events – from career orientation and working on your profile and skills to finding your dream job and successfully applying for it.