Palo Alto University offers forensic psychology education focused on human behavior, mental health, psychological assessment, violence risk, and the relationship between psychology and law. It does not offer a crime-scene investigation, criminalistics, DNA analysis, toxicology, or laboratory forensic science program.
The university has two current academic pathways with formal forensic psychology content: an online MS in Psychology with a Forensic Psychology Track and a residential PhD in Clinical Psychology with a Forensic Psychology Area of Emphasis. Palo Alto University also operates a sizable portfolio of non-degree continuing-education certificates in forensic assessment, violence risk, child custody evaluation, correctional mental health, and mental disability law.
These options serve different professional goals. The master’s degree provides graduate-level academic study but does not meet educational requirements for clinical licensure. The PhD provides clinical psychology training and adds advanced forensic coursework, research, assessment, and practical experience. The certificates provide targeted professional education but do not confer academic credit, licensure, or authority to practice independently.
Readers comparing PAU with other institutions can also review the broader directory of California schools offering CSI and forensic education.
Palo Alto University’s forensic psychology options at a glance
| Program | Credential and format | Practical training | Primary career alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS in Psychology, Forensic Psychology Track | 36-quarter-unit MS, synchronous online evening classes | No thesis or internship; primarily didactic | Academic preparation relevant to nonclinical research, correctional, administrative, and legal-system support positions, subject to employer requirements |
| PhD in Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology Area of Emphasis | Full-time residential clinical psychology doctorate with supplemental forensic emphasis | Clinical practica, forensic practicum, psychology-law dissertation, and 2,000-hour doctoral internship | Clinical psychology, forensic assessment, psychology-law research, and licensed psychologist roles after completing licensing requirements |
| Forensic assessment and risk certificates | Non-degree, non-credit continuing education, generally self-paced online | No published supervised practicum or internship | Specialized professional development for clinicians and forensic mental-health practitioners |
| Correctional Mental Health Certificate | Non-degree, non-credit continuing education, self-paced online | No supervised correctional placement listed | Behavioral-health services and systems practice in correctional settings |
| Mental Disability Law Certificate | Non-degree continuing education, 80 CE hours | No practicum or internship listed | Legal and professional education concerning competency, risk, forensic patients, and mental disability law |
The central decision is whether the goal involves academic study, professional development, or licensed clinical practice. Someone seeking an academic introduction to forensic psychology can use the MS track without relocating or completing clinical training. An applicant planning to practice as a licensed psychologist needs doctoral education, supervised experience, examinations, and state licensure. The continuing-education certificates are narrower tools for professional development, not substitutes for either degree.
MS in Psychology, Forensic Psychology Track
Palo Alto University’s MS in Psychology is a 36-quarter-unit degree with several tracks, including the Forensic Psychology Track. The current catalog uses the term “track,” although some older university language refers to a concentration. The credential awarded is an MS in Psychology, not an MS in Forensic Psychology.
Online format and completion time
The program uses synchronous online evening classes. It is designed for part-time study and can normally be completed in six consecutive quarters, including summer. No campus residency is listed for the forensic track.
A synchronous format provides scheduled interaction with instructors and classmates, but it is less independent than an asynchronous program. Learners need to be available for evening sessions and must reside in a jurisdiction where PAU is authorized to offer online education.
What the curriculum covers
Only 5.5 of the required 36 quarter units come from the two named forensic courses:
- Introduction to Forensic Psychology, a three-credit survey of mental-health involvement in legal systems, forensic ethics, and criminal and civil applications of psychology
- Assessing and Managing Risk, a 2.5-credit course addressing risk-assessment approaches, triage, formulation, and risk-management planning
The rest of the degree builds broader psychology and research foundations. Required subjects include:
- Ethics in clinical psychology
- Research methods and statistics
- Child and adolescent development
- Adult development and aging
- Cognitive and affective bases of behavior
- Psychopathology
- Electives
The degree therefore provides broad preparation in psychological science rather than an extensive forensic specialization. The forensic component introduces psychology-law applications and violence-risk concepts, while psychopathology, research, statistics, ethics, and development provide supporting knowledge.
The curriculum is not centered on repeated forensic assessment courses, supervised evaluation, courtroom testimony practice, or field placement. It also contains none of the chemistry, biology, instrumentation, or laboratory methods expected for criminalist and crime-laboratory careers.
No internship, thesis, or clinical licensure preparation
The MS has no thesis or internship requirement. PAU describes the coursework as primarily didactic and states that it lacks an applied clinical component.
The university also states that this degree does not satisfy educational requirements for professional licensure. Graduates are not prepared through this program alone to obtain licensure as psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, or other clinical practitioners.
The curriculum may be relevant to nonclinical research, education, administrative, correctional, policy, or legal-system support positions where knowledge of psychology and law is useful. Eligibility for any particular job still depends on the employer’s education, experience, background, and professional-credential requirements. PAU does not publish evidence establishing the degree as a direct qualification for a broad list of government, advocacy, victim-services, or policy roles.
The program is not the PAU route for independent practice as a psychologist, psychological diagnosis, therapy, or psychologist-level forensic assessment.
Admissions and cost
Applicants need a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or an international equivalent. PAU recommends a 3.0 GPA. GRE scores are neither required nor considered.
For students entering in 2026-2027, PAU publishes a tuition-and-fee total of $39,816 for the 36-unit program, based on $1,106 per unit. This figure covers tuition and mandatory fees, not books, technology, personal expenses, or total cost of attendance. Later cohorts may pay different rates.
The MS works best as an academically oriented graduate program for someone who wants psychology-law coursework without clinical practice preparation. Its online evening delivery can accommodate employment during the day. The main tradeoff is forensic depth: the track includes two designated forensic courses and no supervised forensic experience.
PhD in Clinical Psychology with a Forensic Psychology Area of Emphasis
The Forensic Psychology Area of Emphasis is part of PAU’s PhD in Clinical Psychology. It is not a separate PhD in Forensic Psychology.
This route combines general clinical psychologist preparation with specialty coursework, research, assessment, and an approved forensically relevant practicum. It is the university’s academic pathway aligned most directly with eventual practice as a clinical psychologist working in forensic settings.
Doctoral structure
The PhD is a full-time, residential practitioner-scientist program. The usual sequence takes about five years:
- Three years of academic and clinical training
- A dissertation year
- A full-time internship year
The broader clinical psychology doctorate includes psychological science, statistics, research methods, assessment, psychopathology, psychometrics, psychotherapy, clinical interviewing, and practical training. Degree requirements include at least two years of practicum, an empirical dissertation, a publication or presentation, and a 2,000-hour doctoral internship.
This is a substantially different educational route from the online MS. The doctoral program trains students in clinical work and psychological assessment, then integrates forensic specialization into that foundation.
Forensic coursework, research, and practicum
The forensic emphasis adds a five-course, 15-credit sequence. The sequence generally includes:
- Forensic Psychology I
- Advanced Ethics and Professional Issues in Forensic Psychology
- Forensic Assessment
- Forensic Psychology II
- An advanced rotating forensic seminar
Advanced seminar subjects may include child custody, juvenile forensics, psychopathy, or police psychology. The precise seminar can vary.
Coursework is only one part of the emphasis. Participants must also complete a dissertation related to psychology and law and a one-year full or supplemental practicum providing approved forensically relevant experience. The combination of assessment training, specialty courses, research, and supervised field experience provides much greater preparation for psychologist-level forensic practice than the master’s track or open-enrollment certificates.
Potential professional settings include courts, hospitals, correctional systems, forensic hospitals, government agencies, private practices, universities, and research organizations. Specific duties depend on licensure, supervised experience, employer standards, court rules, and the legal scope of practice.
Admission to the PhD and later entry into the emphasis
Applicants enter the clinical psychology PhD first. They do not receive direct admission to a standalone forensic doctorate.
General PhD admission requires a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or an international equivalent. A master’s degree is not required. Current prerequisite courses are:
- Biopsychology
- Abnormal psychology
- Statistics
Each prerequisite must be completed with a grade of B or better before classes begin. GRE scores are not required. PAU permits up to 30 quarter units of eligible graduate transfer work under its stated restrictions.
Applicants can indicate a possible area of emphasis during the application process, but that preference is not binding. Entry into the forensic emphasis occurs after enrollment in the PhD and requires specified grades in foundational clinical, assessment, ethics, research, and forensic courses. PAU requires at least a B in all coursework and an A-minus average across designated courses for the emphasis.
This sequence allows the university to evaluate performance in doctoral clinical training before granting access to the forensic specialization.
Accreditation and licensure
The PhD in Clinical Psychology has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1988. Palo Alto University also holds institutional accreditation from the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
The APA accreditation applies to the PhD in Clinical Psychology. The forensic area of emphasis is supplemental training within that doctorate and is not separately identified as an APA-accredited program.
Graduating with the PhD and forensic emphasis is part of the path toward psychologist licensure, but further jurisdiction-specific requirements still apply. In California, psychologist licensure requires qualifying doctoral preparation, supervised professional experience, examinations, and other licensing steps. The area of emphasis is not a board certification or independent forensic license.
Independent practice as a licensed psychologist, including psychological-assessment work performed within that profession, requires doctoral preparation and the applicable supervised-experience, examination, and licensing requirements. Other licensed mental-health professionals may perform narrower forensic or assessment-related services when those activities fall within their lawful professional scope and applicable court, agency, and state rules. For example, California court rules permit qualified professionals from several licensed mental-health disciplines to serve as child-custody evaluators when they satisfy the relevant training and experience standards.
Doctoral cost
For students entering in 2026-2027, PAU publishes tuition and fees of $60,240 per year for years one through three. Dissertation and internship years use separate, lower-rate billing structures.
The $60,240 figure is not a five-year program total and does not include the full cost of attendance. Housing, transportation, health insurance, books, clinical-training expenses, and annual rate changes can materially affect the total investment.
The PhD requires more time, money, and in-person commitment than the MS. In return, it provides the clinical, research, assessment, practicum, and internship preparation absent from the master’s curriculum.
Continuing-education certificates in forensic psychology
Palo Alto University Continuing and Professional Studies offers several specialized certificates. These are non-degree continuing-education credentials, not graduate certificates carrying university credit. They generally include digital badges and CE hours, but they do not award a degree, confer professional licensure, or establish independent scope of practice.
Most are designed around the needs of practicing or developing mental-health professionals. Although several have no formal degree or license prerequisite, their content assumes familiarity with psychology, assessment, mental health, or clinical concepts.
| Certificate | Published scope and price | Main subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Forensic Assessment | 145 CE hours, 12 programs, $4,150 | Competency, malingering, criminal responsibility, sentencing evaluations, report writing, testimony, ethics, and cultural issues |
| Civil Forensic Assessment | Official pages contain conflicting hour, program-count, and price figures | Personal injury, civil rights, workplace and disability evaluations, testing, reports, and testimony |
| Juvenile Forensic Assessment | More than 150 CE hours, 13 programs, $4,150 | Juvenile competency, transfer to adult court, developmental assessment, violence risk, reports, and testimony |
| Violence Risk Assessment | 150 CE hours, 11 programs, $4,650 | Structured professional judgment, psychopathy assessment, risk formulation, communication, and management |
| Child Custody Evaluation | 150 CE hours, 13 programs, $4,150 | Adult and child interviewing, data integration, documentation, complex allegations, expert opinions, and testimony |
| Correctional Mental Health | 30 CE hours, 18 programs, $2,000 | Behavioral-health care in correctional institutions, juvenile justice, community supervision, and reentry |
| Mental Disability Law | 80 CE hours, four programs, $2,000 | Criminal competency, risk, police power, forensic patients, trauma, civil capacities, and juvenile law |
Published figures above reflect official pages reviewed for the 2026-2027 period. Several PAU certificate pages differ slightly in program counts, hours, or pricing, so exact totals are included only where the detailed source was sufficiently consistent.
Criminal, civil, and juvenile forensic assessment
The Criminal Forensic Assessment Certificate is the most directly focused on criminal court evaluations. Its curriculum addresses competency to stand trial, malingering, criminal responsibility, sentencing evaluations, case formulation, report writing, testimony, bias, ethics, and cultural factors. The current detailed page lists 145 CE hours across 12 self-paced online programs, with 12 months of access.
The Civil Forensic Assessment Certificate shifts the context to civil litigation and administrative matters. Topics include personal injury, civil rights, workplace evaluations, disability, psychological testing, expert reports, and testimony. PAU’s pages display conflicting prices and hour totals for this certificate, so a single current price cannot be reported reliably from the available official material.
The Juvenile Forensic Assessment Certificate addresses the distinct legal and developmental issues involved in cases concerning young people. Its subjects include juvenile competency, waiver or transfer to adult court, violence triage, adolescent risk assessment, developmental testing, ethical practice, report writing, and expert testimony.
All three are professional-development programs. None includes a published supervised evaluation practicum. Completion alone does not authorize an unlicensed learner to perform independently regulated psychological evaluations.
Violence risk and child custody evaluation
The Violence Risk Assessment Certificate provides 150 CE hours covering structured professional judgment, validated assessment tools, psychopathy, risk formulation, cultural and ethical issues, report writing, testimony, and risk-management planning. It is aimed at clinicians and forensic mental-health professionals who participate in clinical or legal risk decisions.
The Child Custody Evaluation Certificate is designed principally for licensed or license-eligible mental-health professionals involved in court-connected family assessment. Its curriculum covers interviewing adults and children, integrating data, documenting findings, forming expert opinions, testifying, managing complex allegations, and reducing professional risk.
Neither certificate includes a listed field placement or supervised evaluation requirement. These certificates add specialized knowledge to a professional’s existing preparation. They do not replace the underlying degree, license, supervised experience, competence, or appointment qualifications required for a particular service.
Correctional Mental Health Certificate
The Correctional Mental Health Certificate is adjacent to forensic psychology rather than a court-assessment curriculum. Its 30 CE hours address behavioral-health care in jails, prisons, juvenile justice programs, immigration detention, community supervision, and reentry services.
Subjects include ethics, criminogenic needs, trauma-informed care, psychopharmacology, competency restoration, restrictive housing, disability, culture, and gender. The intended audience extends beyond psychologists to medical staff, case managers, probation and parole personnel, administrators, and custody staff.
This certificate fits work involving treatment systems and behavioral-health operations in correctional environments. It is less directly aligned with expert evaluation and courtroom testimony than the criminal, civil, juvenile, risk, or custody certificates.
Mental Disability Law Certificate
PAU also maintains a live page for an 80-CE-hour Mental Disability Law Certificate priced at $2,000. Four programs address mental illness and police power, dangerousness and risk assessment, criminal law, trauma, forensic patients, civil capacities, and juvenile and family law.
The certificate is closely related to forensic psychology, but its center of gravity is legal education rather than clinical training. It can help behavioral-health professionals understand how competency, risk, expert evidence, and mental disability intersect with legal proceedings.
Its official page includes a purchase option, but the certificate does not appear in PAU’s main current certificate inventory. The page also does not identify the delivery format clearly. It is a secondary continuing-education option with a live individual listing rather than part of PAU’s clearly indexed certificate portfolio.
Forensic psychology is different from CSI and criminalistics
PAU’s use of “forensic” refers to applications of psychology within legal and correctional systems. Coursework concerns mental health, behavior, psychological assessment, ethics, risk, competency, legal decision-making, and expert communication.
Crime-scene and laboratory careers require different preparation. A crime scene investigator may need instruction in evidence recognition, scene documentation, photography, fingerprints, evidence recovery, chain of custody, and reconstruction. A criminalist or forensic laboratory scientist generally needs extensive chemistry or biology, laboratory methods, quantitative analysis, instrumentation, and other natural-science coursework.
PAU’s forensic psychology programs do not provide those CSI or laboratory foundations. They are also unrelated to digital forensics, forensic anthropology, DNA analysis, toxicology, or forensic chemistry. No current program in those specialties was identified at the university.
Choosing the appropriate PAU route
The online MS fits an applicant seeking graduate study in psychology and law without clinical practice preparation. It offers a structured six-quarter format, evening classes, research and statistics, psychopathology, and introductory work in forensic psychology and risk. Because the program has only two designated forensic courses and no internship, it is better aligned with academic study and possible nonclinical research, administrative, correctional, or legal-system support work than with independent practice as a psychologist. Qualification for a particular position depends on that employer’s requirements.
The PhD emphasis is the relevant PAU route for applicants planning to become clinical psychologists and develop forensic expertise. Its value comes from the entire clinical doctorate: assessment training, research methods, practica, dissertation work, internship, and the 15-credit forensic sequence. Applicants need to plan for residential, full-time study and the additional supervised-experience, examination, and licensing steps required for psychologist practice.
The assessment and risk certificates are most useful as targeted continuing education. Criminal assessment focuses on competency, responsibility, malingering, and sentencing. Civil assessment addresses personal injury, disability, employment, and civil-rights matters. Juvenile assessment adds developmental and youth-court issues. Violence risk concentrates on structured assessment and management, while child custody addresses family-court evaluations.
Correctional mental health serves a different role. It covers care delivery and systems practice in custodial and community-corrections environments. The Mental Disability Law Certificate is more legal than clinical, with substantial attention to competency, dangerousness, forensic patients, and juvenile proceedings.
Choose among these routes according to the professional scope required. The MS provides non-licensure graduate study in psychology and law. The PhD supplies the doctoral clinical foundation required for eventual independent practice as a licensed psychologist, including psychologist-level assessment work after all licensing requirements are met. Other licensed mental-health professionals can perform narrower forensic services where their professional scope and applicable court, agency, and state rules permit them to do so. PAU’s continuing-education certificates can deepen specialty knowledge, but they do not replace the degree, license, supervised experience, or legal authority required for professional practice.