MLFP Course Descriptions

P200 - Introduction
to Legal and
Forensic Psychology

Familiarizes students with the interrelated fields of psychology, law, and forensic studies. Emphasizes clinically relevant legal topics (insanity defense; competency to stand trial) and includes critical thinking about issues that arise when psychologists are involved in legal proceedings.
(first year - required)

P202 – Data Analysis
and Statistics

Statistical techniques to facilitate inferences in psychological research, including fundamentals of statistical inference and methods for analyzing data.
(first year - required)

P208 - Research
Methods

In-depth examination of issues relevant to designing and evaluating research in psychological science. Topics address casual inference, ethical issues surrounding the responsible conduct of research, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, reliability and validity of measurement, and non-experimental procedures.
(first year - required)

P215 - Psychology
and Law

An interdisciplinary approach to research in psychology, law, and/or criminology. Examines how psychology is applied to the civil and criminal justice systems, how case law shapes this application, and how legal decisions affect the direction of psychological research.
(first year - required)

P219 - Forensic
Neuropsychology

Introduces key concepts in clinical neuropsychology as applied in legal/forensic settings. Instruction focuses on neuropsychological concepts underlying brain-behavior relationships and their assessment in forensic case examples; and ethical/legal issues in brain injuries/diseases impacting higher mental functions (e.g., memory).
(second year - elective)

P222 – Forensic
Assessment

Explores the various ways in which clinical psychology is relevant to the law, and how forensic psychologists can meaningfully contribute to the adjudicatory process. Examines legal, scientific, and ethical issues that arise when psychologists are involved in legal proceedings.
(first year - required)

P224- Children
and the Law

Examines how psychology research and practice can inform several areas of law and social policy affecting children, adolescents, and families. Topics include education, mental health, reproductive rights, and delinquency.
(first year - elective)

P225 - Forensic
Geropsychology

This course is designed to introduce key concepts in geropsychology as it is applied in forensic settings. Course concepts will be taught primarily through forensic case examples, which will include a variety of issues specific to older adults that are commonly encountered in a forensic setting.  Topics covered will include the introduction to basic concepts in geropsychology, as well as the role of cognitive disorders and dementia, elder abuse, susceptibility to scams, guardianship, diversity, and other older adult issues in a variety of forensic contexts.    

P227 - Sex and the Law

This course will focus on topics related to sex crimes with significant legal debate and discussion, such as the age of consent, sex work, and registration as a sexual offender. The course will also investigate how psychological theory and research can be applied to legal issues related to sex crimes. 
(second year - elective)

P228 - Psychosis and the Law

This course provides an in-depth examination of the intersection of serious mental health concerns related to psychosis and the law. The general goal is to equip students with critical thinking skills that will facilitate the careful consideration of the myriad of factors that bring people with psychosis to interact with the justice system or otherwise disadvantage this vulnerable group.
(second year - elective)

P242 – Legal Reasoning
and Jurisprudence

Overview of the law and legal process as well as the history and assumptions underlying modern legal reasoning. Issues related to procedure and evidence as well as key jurisprudential perspectives are discussed.
(first year - required)

P251 - Clinical Interviewing
and Treatment in a Forensic Setting

Students receive an introduction to clinical interviewing, learn details of strategic, solution-focused therapy, and think critically about issues that come at the interaction of psychology and the law. Students are not "license-eligible" at end of this course.
(second year - elective)

P252 – Law and Behavior:
Compliance and Enforcement

Provides sophisticated insight into the different ways through which law shapes behavior. Addresses both the economic amoral rational choice theories, as well as ideas from social psychology, criminology, and sociology about the moral, social, and unconscious dimensions of compliance.
(second year - elective)

P253 – Master of
Legal and Forensic
Psychology Capstone

Focuses on macro-level writing topics such as developing a meaningful research question, conducting a thorough review of relevant literature, and presenting a clear and convincing research-based argument.
(second year - required)

P254 – Mental Health
and the Law

Explores the history of criminalization of persons with mental illness. Topics include challenges and needs of persons with mental illness; civil and outpatient commitment; law enforcement responses to persons with mental illness; and mentally ill offenders in jails and prisons.
(second year - elective)

P255 – Violence,
Anger, and
Psychopathology

Overviews the prevalence of violence as a criminal and public health problem. Topics include violence within families and intimate partner relationships, traumatic origins of violence, the development of a violence-prone personality, the association of anger and violence with psychopathology.
(second year - elective)

P256 - Family and
the Law

Examines sociological and legal perspectives on the relationship between family life and law, with a focus on three distinct but sometimes interconnected domains: the child welfare system, the criminal justice system, and the immigration system.
(second year - elective)

P281 – Race
and the Law

Explores how race and other markers of social identity shape outcomes within the criminal justice system. Students examine how race, ethnicity, and national origin intersect with rules governing the policing, trials, and punishment.
(second year - elective)