Forensic Psychology Degree Programs

Our No. 1 school took the top spot in the distance education enrollment category, with more than 41 percent of students taking at least some of their courses in the virtual classroom. On-campus flexibility is on the menu here as well, thanks to a selection of weekend and evening courses and alternative payment plans for tuition expenses.

The campus-based forensic psychology programs at Tiffin include an undergraduate major in forensic psychology and an M.S. in criminal justice with a forensic psychology concentration. While there are no fully online degrees for forensic psychology students at Tiffin University, the Ohio institution does offer an online Master of Science (M.S.) in general psychology and an online M.S. in criminal justice with a concentration in criminal behavior.

The City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice ran away with the No. 1 ranking in our affordability category, charging students a 2015 average of $6,810 for tuition and fees. The New York City school also reported the largest percentage of forensic psychology students among its student body, awarding more than 550 degrees in forensic psychology alone.

The selection of forensic psychology degree programs at John Jay is among the most diverse in the country. Along with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) in forensic psychology, students may choose an 18-credit postgraduate certificate or four-year graduate program that leads to a joint M.A. and Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in the field.

This Vermont school is the smallest on our list — fewer than 500 degrees were awarded here in 2015 — but academic opportunity is high. Castleton University posted the highest admission rate of any school we surveyed, granting enrollment to nearly 97 percent of applicants, and its affordable cost of tuition and fees gave it the No. 2 spot in that category.

If you're looking for the first step on your path to a forensic psychology career, Castleton has you covered. The B.A. study plan in psychology features an available undergraduate concentration in forensic psychology that includes courses in social psychology, criminal psychology, psychological testing and juvenile delinquency.

The B.S. in forensic psychology at the College of Saint Rose is offered through the department of psychology but closely resembles a double major in psychology and criminal justice. Students are free to choose the basic degree plan or opt for one of two specialized tracks: a clinical concentration that provides additional psychology training or a legal concentration designed to better prepare you for law school.

Honors students at this Albany, New York, institution also have the option to enroll in a research concentration that provides a strong foundation for academic work at the graduate and post-graduate levels. Saint Rose also had the top graduation rate among schools that made our list, as well as a comfortable admission rate of nearly 82 percent.

Student-faculty ratio numbers are a good guideline for how much time professors can spend on collaboration and mentorship with individual students, and the Florida Institute of Technology stood out above the rest in that category. The 8:1 student-faculty ratio at this Atlantic coast school represents a lighter load per professor than any other school on our list.

The B.A. study plan in forensic psychology aims to help students develop an understanding of crime prevention and analysis techniques while learning what it means to work as a liaison between law enforcement, social services and legal agencies. The curriculum for the senior year of the program includes an intensive field internship and research project.