Psychology and criminal justice courses, clinical, social, cognitive, criminal investigation, and developmental psychology.

Great question! The consensus of forensic psychologists with whom I've spoken is that one first must learn to be an excellent psychologist, and then acquire added skill in the area of forensics. as an undergraduate, i'd probably major in psychology, with classes in social, developmental, cognitive, learning theories, personality, and statistics. i might take a couple of classes in criminology. if you have an undergraduate class in family dynamics, that would be cool. an undergraduate class on american jurisprudence would be nice. get very competitive grades and take the GRE and advanced psych test (the miller analogies test is almost useless nowadays. while an undergraduate, do some research with an outstanding professor, publish or present the results at a conference, and get several STRONG letters of recommendation. there are several doctoral programs that have faculty with a particular interest in forensic psychology. i'd look up on psychinfo articles with content that is of interest to you, find out the schools from which the professors hail, and then explore that school further. sending emails to professors, in my opinion, in which a legitimate, brilliant question about their research is asked, can be quite flattering and perhaps, couldn't, at least, hurt your prospects for admission. after applying to doctoral programs and choosing one, take all the required classes in tests and measures, intelligence and personality testing, counseling techniques, statistics ... you should be able to get several electives. there, i'd look outside the psychology department. i'd take a class in forensic psychiatry in the medical school. i'd take a class in miranda waivers or consensual capacity assessments in the law school. i'd look at forensic accounting in the business school. i'd look at forensic social work issues in the SW school. i'd look at public policy and criminal law in the department of public policy. take lots of classes while a graduate student. next, apply to an internship site. the federal prisons have an excellent program for training interns and post-doctoral residents. if i'm still strongly interested in forensic psychology, i'd apply to the forensic programs at butler in nc and the fed system (i think they discriminate in hiring policy against anyone over 35 but they'll still hire ill and fragile 34 3/4 year olds). the important thing, in internship and post-doctoral residency, is to be gaining lots of experience in all kinds of facets of forensic work. testify in court. write all kinds of reports, from risk assessments for the schools or universities or employers, to mental status and competency exams, to forensic placement, to sex offender. by the time you've completed 4 years of college, 3 to 6 years of graduate school, 1 year of internship, and 1 to 2 years of post-doctoral residency, you might feel like you're ready to go out on your own and that the world deserves you at least a gazillion dollars a year. stay for a while, getting more and broader experience. dip your toes in private forensic practice and build up. taking classes offered by organizations such as the american board of forensic psychology may be worthwhile. it is they who hold the way to obtain diplomate status in forensic psychology. their speakers have all been absolutely fantastic! best wishes!

Think about an MS and possiblity Ph. D. in the field.

Just curious, if you don't mind. What in the world is a forensic psychologist? I like seeing forensic files and that, and know what a psychologist is, but how does one connect them together? Kind of like that old beer commercial where they combined two sports, like football golf, it seems.

Get a J.D. 1st?! ;-)

Well if your school is anything like mine, there are plannng sheets available in you department, and student advisors thats what they are there for they are probably the best people to talk to, they can give u all the information you need, good luck and happy studying