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Russell Sage College has received New York State Education Department approval to launch a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Psychology program beginning fall 2024.
Forensic psychology blends courses in psychology, criminal justice, and law in one degree program and sets students up to pursue the graduate degree work needed should they want to become forensic psychologists. Students can also use the degree to enter numerous fields, including law enforcement and corrections, victim advocacy, policymaking and research, or community organizations. Or they may choose to pursue graduate programs or law school.
Until 2024, The College of Saint Rose was the only on-campus forensic psychology bachelor’s program in the greater Capital Region and one of the top awarders of bachelor’s degrees in forensic psychology in the country. Saint Rose closed at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.
“This program is a natural fit for Russell Sage, which has a strong undergraduate program in Criminal Justice, Law, and Behavioral Science and graduate programs in Forensic Mental Health, Mental Health Counseling and Community Psychology, and the one-of-a-kind online master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections,” said Russell Sage President Christopher Ames.
“The recent addition of our Criminal Investigation Resource Center, where students assist law enforcement with real cold cases, provides exciting Engaged Learning opportunities for these students. And our location in the capital of New York state affords students countless internship and job opportunities in the field.”
Students in the forensic psychology major can earn internship credits in the college’s Criminal Investigation Resource Center (CIRC), where students work on real cold cases and provide law enforcement with case assistance, training, research, or outreach. Students from all majors can apply to join one of CIRC’s five units, including the Unresolved Homicide Unit, Unresolved Sex Crimes Unit, Missing Persons Investigation and Resource Unit, Crime Analysis Program, or Continuing and Professional Training Unit. The center is one of only two of its kind in New York state.
The forensic psychology program director is Associate Professor Christina Lane, a criminologist and director of the Criminal Investigation Resource Center at Russell Sage, who came to the college after co-founding the Cold Case Analysis Center at Saint Rose with Chris Kunkle, a forensic psychologist who is now associate director of the CIRC at Russell Sage.