Azusa Pacific University does not offer a standalone forensic psychology degree. Its primary forensic psychology pathway is a concentration within the university’s 133-unit Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology. PsyD candidates who complete the designated coursework, forensic practicum, and research requirements can also receive an internal Certificate of Completion in Forensic Psychology.
APU also offers a traditional Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice with an elective course in forensic psychology. That bachelor’s program provides broader preparation in policing, courts, corrections, criminology, and related justice-system subjects. It is not a forensic psychology major or concentration.
Neither pathway is designed for crime-scene investigation or laboratory criminalistics. APU’s forensic psychology curriculum centers on psychological assessment, behavior, court proceedings, competency, risk, family and juvenile matters, and expert testimony. Anyone seeking training in fingerprints, crime-scene photography, physical evidence recovery, forensic chemistry, or DNA analysis will need a different type of program.
APU’s forensic psychology options at a glance
| Program | Forensic content | Practical training | Format | Primary career direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Psychology PsyD with Forensic Psychology Concentration | Advanced forensic assessment and family forensic psychology, plus forensic research and practicum | At least three years of clinical practicum, forensic practicum, dissertation, competency examination, and a minimum 1,800-hour doctoral internship | Campus-based in Azusa; normally five to six years | Clinical psychology practice with added preparation for forensic assessment and court-related work |
| BA in Criminal Justice | One elective, CJ 450: Forensic Psychology for Criminal Justice Professionals | An elective criminal justice internship is available | Traditional undergraduate program at the Azusa campus | Criminal justice and justice-system careers, with limited exposure to forensic psychology |
The PsyD concentration is the direct forensic psychology pathway. The Criminal Justice BA is adjacent to the field and offers only one elective specifically devoted to forensic psychology.
Readers comparing APU with other institutions can also review the broader directory of California schools with CSI and forensic-related education.
Clinical Psychology PsyD with a Forensic Psychology Concentration
The Clinical Psychology PsyD is a practitioner-scholar doctoral program offered at APU’s main campus in Azusa. It requires 125 units of core study and eight elective units, for a total of 133 units. APU reports a normal completion period of five to six years.
Forensic psychology is an elective concentration within this broader clinical doctorate. Applicants do not enter a separately admitted PsyD in Forensic Psychology. They first enter the Clinical Psychology PsyD and complete its clinical, research, assessment, practicum, dissertation, and internship requirements.
The concentration’s position inside a clinical doctorate defines its purpose. It prepares psychologists to apply assessment and clinical knowledge in legal settings. It is not designed to prepare evidence technicians, criminalists, forensic chemists, latent print examiners, or crime-scene investigators.
Clinical and forensic curriculum
The PsyD core includes psychopathology, psychological assessment, intervention, research design, psychobiology, cognitive and personality assessment, ethics, diversity, family systems, professional consultation, and dissertation work. This broad clinical foundation precedes and supports the specialized forensic material.
The formal 2026-27 catalog lists two courses for the forensic concentration:
- PPSY 771: Forensic Assessment
- PPSY 773: Family Forensic Psychology II
PPSY 771 addresses mental health assessments used in legal contexts. Its subjects include competency, criminal responsibility, violence risk, sex-offender risk, death-penalty mitigation, and personal injury evaluations. These are psychological and legal assessment topics rather than physical evidence analysis.
PPSY 773 covers family-court assessment, psychological autopsies, expert testimony, and related forensic practice. The course includes a mock court exercise in which participants present findings and undergo attorney cross-examination. That experience is directly relevant to psychologists who may later write reports, explain assessment conclusions, or testify in court.
APU’s current course descriptions also identify two additional courses:
- PPSY 770: Introduction to Forensic Psychology
- PPSY 772: Family Forensic Psychology I
PPSY 770 introduces criminal, civil, and family forensic psychology. PPSY 772 addresses juvenile competency, juvenile risk, child custody, and parental fitness.
The current catalog contains an unresolved curriculum inconsistency. Its formal concentration requirements name PPSY 771 and PPSY 773, but the course descriptions refer to PPSY 770 through PPSY 773 as a four-course sequence. The descriptions also retain prerequisites connecting the courses in sequence. The published requirements therefore establish PPSY 771 and PPSY 773 as the formally listed concentration courses, while the catalog does not clearly explain how PPSY 770 and PPSY 772 operate in the current study plan.
The catalog says four units within a concentration are sufficient to complete that concentration, although the PsyD requires eight elective units overall. The remaining elective units can be completed outside the concentration.
Certificate of Completion in Forensic Psychology
APU uses both “Forensic Psychology Concentration” and “Certificate of Completion in Forensic Psychology” in its current materials. These do not represent two separate admission routes.
The certificate is an internal credential earned within the Clinical Psychology PsyD. The formal requirements include the designated forensic coursework, participation in forensic psychology research, and completion of a forensic psychology practicum.
This certificate is not a standalone graduate certificate open independently of the PsyD. It is also not psychologist licensure, professional board certification, or an external certification in a forensic specialty. Its value comes from documenting concentrated study and supervised experience within the clinical doctorate.
Practicum, internship, research, and dissertation requirements
The practical commitment is substantial. APU requires at least three years of clinical practicum, and its program page reports that PsyD candidates complete at least 1,500 hours of practicum training. The five-year plan calls for at least 15 to 20 practicum hours per week while coursework is underway.
The forensic concentration adds a forensic practicum and participation in forensic psychology research. These requirements give the concentration more depth than a coursework-only emphasis. They allow doctoral candidates to connect forensic assessment concepts with supervised professional settings and research activity.
The doctorate also requires:
- A clinical competency examination
- A dissertation
- A minimum 1,800-hour, full-time doctoral internship
- Thirty hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed psychologist
- At least 10 percent of the required personal psychotherapy sessions completed in person
The practicum hours and the 1,800-hour doctoral internship are separate training components. The internship generally occurs after the earlier clinical practica and represents a full-time, yearlong commitment.
Completion of the concentration does not guarantee a forensic internship or postdoctoral placement. It does, however, provide a defined academic and practicum framework for pursuing advanced work involving forensic assessment, family court, juvenile matters, competency, risk, or expert testimony.
Campus schedule and time to completion
This is a campus-based doctoral program, not an online forensic psychology degree. The standard five-year plan requires classes at least two days per week, along with occasional workshops, practicum responsibilities, research, dissertation work, and internship training.
APU also permits a reduced-load six-year plan beginning in the third year. The maximum time to finish the degree is eight years unless the university approves an extension.
Graduate coursework transferred into the PsyD does not shorten the program’s overall length. Applicants entering with a related master’s degree may receive credit where permitted, but they still move through the cohort and training sequence.
The practical demands make the program difficult to combine with full-time employment. Weekly practicum hours, daytime clinical placements, dissertation work, and the full-time doctoral internship all limit scheduling flexibility.
PsyD admission requirements
Applicants may enter with either a bachelor’s or master’s degree. A psychology degree is not mandatory, but academic background affects prerequisite requirements.
Those whose previous degree is unrelated to psychology must complete the following courses before starting the PsyD:
- Introductory psychology
- Abnormal psychology
- Introductory statistics
Regular admission generally requires a minimum 3.0 GPA. Application materials include official transcripts, two academic references, a curriculum vitae, and a five-to-seven-page essay. Finalists complete an interview.
One cohort begins each fall. APU publishes a December 1 priority application deadline and a January 15 regular deadline.
The admissions structure reflects the program’s clinical purpose. Applicants need preparation for doctoral-level psychology, research, assessment, and supervised practice. An undergraduate criminal justice degree can provide relevant legal-system context, but it does not replace the required psychology and statistics foundation.
Tuition and the full financial commitment
For the 2026-27 academic year, APU lists PsyD tuition at $1,165 per unit. Based on 133 units, the university publishes $154,945 in base tuition.
That amount is tuition rather than total cost of attendance. It excludes applicable university fees, books, housing, food, transportation, personal expenses, and other training-related costs. Required personal psychotherapy creates an additional expense unless covered through another arrangement. Practicum placements, internship applications, relocation, commuting, and professional materials can also affect the actual financial commitment.
The program’s five-to-six-year duration has a financial effect beyond billed tuition. Clinical placements and the yearlong internship can reduce the time available for outside employment. A realistic budget therefore needs to account for both direct educational expenses and the demands of full-time professional training.
Accreditation and California psychologist licensure
Azusa Pacific University is institutionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The Clinical Psychology PsyD is accredited by the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation.
APA accreditation applies to the Clinical Psychology PsyD as a whole. The forensic concentration and internal certificate are not independently APA-accredited programs.
APU reports that the PsyD curriculum fulfills California’s graduate educational requirements for psychologist licensure. Earning the doctorate is only one part of the state licensing process.
According to the California Board of Psychology, licensure also requires 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience, including at least 1,500 postdoctoral hours. Candidates must complete specified prelicensure coursework, pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology and the California Psychology Law and Ethics Examination, and satisfy fingerprinting and other application requirements.
The forensic concentration does not create a separate forensic psychologist license. It adds forensic study and practice to a qualifying clinical psychology doctorate. Graduates still need to complete the state’s supervised experience, examination, and licensing process before practicing independently as psychologists.
BA in Criminal Justice with a forensic psychology elective
APU’s traditional BA in Criminal Justice is an active, campus-based undergraduate program requiring 51 major units. Its curriculum covers criminology, policing, courts, corrections, juvenile justice, victimology, race and crime, research methods, statistics or quantitative reasoning, and a senior capstone.
The forensic component is CJ 450: Forensic Psychology for Criminal Justice Professionals. It is one option within a 15-unit elective block, not a required course or formal concentration. Its topics include psychological issues relevant to eyewitness testimony, interrogation, juries, competency, insanity, and dangerousness.
CJ 460, Criminal Justice Internship, is also available as an elective. The current program materials describe field experience as part of the department’s educational approach, but the BA does not include the clinical practica, supervised psychological assessment, forensic research, dissertation, or doctoral internship required in the PsyD.
This route works better for someone seeking broad undergraduate preparation for the justice system while gaining limited exposure to forensic psychology. It does not qualify a graduate to practice psychology, conduct clinical forensic assessments, or use the title of licensed psychologist.
The degree also lacks the laboratory science sequence needed for many criminalist and crime-lab positions. Its curriculum is centered on criminal justice institutions and policy rather than chemistry, biology, instrumentation, or laboratory methods. It should likewise not be confused with field CSI training in evidence recognition, photography, fingerprint processing, scene documentation, and evidence recovery.
Undergraduate tuition and academic requirements
Traditional undergraduate tuition for 2026-27 is $22,990 per semester for enrollment between 12 and 18 units, or $45,980 for two semesters. Enrollment below 12 units or above 18 units is charged at $1,916 per unit.
These figures represent tuition, not the full cost of attendance. APU’s published cost-of-attendance estimates separately account for fees, books, housing, food, transportation, personal expenses, and loan fees.
Within the Criminal Justice major, undergraduates must maintain at least a 2.0 major GPA, earn a grade of C or higher in required courses, and complete at least half of the major credits at APU. Undergraduate admission is rolling.
APU previously offered a Criminal Justice BA bachelor’s completion program, but its dedicated program page labels that option “Cease to Admit to Sunset.” It is no longer accepting new students. The active option discussed here is the traditional BA at the main Azusa campus.
What APU does not currently offer
The current program inventory does not identify a standalone forensic psychology bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate, minor, or independently admitted certificate. APU’s undergraduate psychology programs also do not list a defined forensic concentration or track.
No current APU credential was found in:
- Crime-scene investigation
- Criminalistics
- Forensic biology or chemistry
- Forensic anthropology
- Evidence technology
- Latent print examination
- Forensic toxicology
- Digital forensics
- Forensic nursing
That scope makes the choice relatively clear. APU’s direct forensic option is for doctoral clinical psychology practice connected to courts and legal questions. Its adjacent undergraduate option is a broad criminal justice degree with a single forensic psychology elective.
Choosing between APU’s two routes
The PsyD concentration fits a defined professional goal: becoming a clinical psychologist and building added competence in forensic assessment, court-related evaluation, family and juvenile matters, risk, competency, and expert testimony. It requires a doctoral commitment, extensive supervised training, a dissertation, an internship, and the separate California licensure process.
The Criminal Justice BA serves a different purpose. It provides an undergraduate education in the justice system and can include one course examining the relationship between psychology and law. It may support later applications to graduate psychology programs when paired with the necessary psychology prerequisites, but it is not abbreviated preparation for professional forensic psychology practice.
Neither option is suitable for a laboratory criminalistics goal. Future criminalists generally need much more chemistry, biology, quantitative science, and laboratory work. A field CSI goal calls for courses in evidence recognition, documentation, photography, fingerprints, scene processing, chain of custody, and report writing. Those subjects are not the focus of APU’s verified forensic psychology offerings.
APU is therefore best evaluated as a clinical psychology institution with an embedded forensic concentration, not as a forensic science or CSI school. The PsyD offers the depth needed for doctoral psychological practice, while the Criminal Justice BA provides only an introductory bridge between behavioral concepts and the justice system.