2021-2022 Graduate Bulletin

Forensic Psychology and Law, MA/JD (NYLS)

Program Director: Professor Chitra Raghavan

The Forensic Psychology MA/JD Program offers qualified students the opportunity to earn both a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology and a Juris Doctor in Law, which may be completed in as little as four years. The MA/JD Dual Degree Program capitalizes on New York Law School’s nationally renowned expertise in mental disability law and John Jay College’s highly recognized specialization in Forensic Psychology, to develop lawyers who will be uniquely trained to advocate for the mentally disabled, as practitioners, policy makers, and legal scholars.

Degree Requirements

The curriculum is composed of a combined total of 128 credits, including 42 credits for the MA program in Forensic Psychology and 86 credits for the JD program in Law. However, 12 New York Law School credits focusing on mental disability law will be credited towards both the MA and JD programs. Likewise, 12 credits from the John Jay College MA in Forensic Psychology program will also be credited to the New York Law School JD program. Consequently, due to the 24 credits applied in the dual-degree program, the actual number of credits taken will be 104, resulting in graduation for full-time students in four years, instead of five.

The 42-credit MA program in Forensic Psychology consists of 24 required credits; 15 elective credits, including 12 credits from the New York Law School Mental Health and Disability Law track and 3 credits of externship. The 86-credit JD from New York Law School consists of 41 required credits, 12 credits from the Mental Disability Law Studies, 12 transfer credits from the John Jay MA Forensic Psychology program, and 21 additional law school elective credits.

Students are required to complete their first full year of law school without John Jay MA courses during that regimen; they are likewise required to complete their first year of the MA program in Forensic Psychology (24 credits) without New York Law School course (except those counting toward the MA degree) during that period. Although students have the option of starting their degree in either of the two programs, non-transferable Forensic Psychology MA courses can be counted towards the JD unless they are begun after the student has completed the first year at NYLS.

(42 credits, including 12 transfer credits from New York Law School)

Required MA Courses

PSY 700Mental Health Professionals, Social Science and the Law

3

PSY 715Research Design and Methods

3

PSY 745Psychopathology

3

PSY 769Intermediate Statistics in the Social Sciences

3

 

PSY 731Human Growth and Development

3

or

PSY 741Theories of Personality and Counseling

3

 

PSY 760Counseling and Psychotherapy Methods

3

or

PSY 761Clinical Interviewing and Assessment

3

 

PSY 734Criminal Psychological Assessment

3

PSY 754Advanced Forensic Assessment

3

Total Credit Hours:24

PSY 700, PSY 734, PSY 754: New York Law School will accept specific John Jay College MA courses up to 12 credits, toward the JD.

Required MA Supervised Internship

PSY 780Fieldwork in Counseling I

3

Total Credit Hours:3

MA Forensic Electives

Mental Health and Disability Law Electives

Select four courses (12 credits) from New York Law School; maximum of one per semester

CRI 507Survey of Mental Disability Law

CRI 507: Required for this specialty.

Select three courses
ADV 600Advocacy Skills in Cases Involving Persons with Mental Disabilities: The Role of Lawyers and Expert Witnesses

CON 275The American with Disabilities Act: Law, Policy, and Practice

FAM 160Custody Evaluations, Juvenile and Family Law, and Mental Disabilities

CRI 280Forensic Reports, The Role of Experts and Forensic Ethics

CRI 260Mental Disability and Criminal Law

CRI 250Mental Health Issues in Jails and Prisons

CRI 275Mental Illness, Dangerousness, the Police Power and Risk Assessment

CRI 508Sex Offenders

UCI 125Therapeutic Jurisprudence

International Human Rights and Mental Disability Law

Race, Gender, Class, and Mental Disability

Trauma and Mental Disability

Total Credit Hours:15

MA Forensic Electives

Select one course (3 credits) offered through John Jay College MA program in Forensic Psychology

PSY 701Criminal Behavior

3

PSY 705Victimology

3

PSY 714Alcoholism and Substance Abuse

3

PSY 716Assessment and Counseling of the Juvenile Offender

3

PSY 718Social Science Evidence in Court

3

PSY 720Social Psychology and the Legal System

3

PSY 726Mental Health Issues in Policing

3

PSY 727Eyewitness Identification

3

PSY 742Family Violence and Disputes

3

PSY 746Empirical Profiling Methods

3

Total Credit Hours:3

MA Forensic Electives: New York Law School will accept specific John Jay College MA courses up to 12 credits, toward the JD.

New York Law School JD Program

86 credits, including 12 transfer credits from John Jay College of Criminal Justice

JD Courses

REQ 100Civil Procedure

REQ 200Constitutional Law I

REQ 250Constitutional Law II

REQ 300Contracts

REQ 400Criminal Law

REQ 650Evidence

REQ 600Lawyering

REQ 450Professional Responsibility

LWR 100Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Research

REQ 150Legislation and Regulation

REQ 500Property

REQ 550Torts

LWR 200Written and Oral Advocacy

Total Credit Hours:41

REQ 600: This course is expected to be phased out shortly and replaced with a new course in “lawyering skills.”

JD Mental Disability Law Studies Electives

Select four courses, maximum of one per semester

Required

CRI 507Survey of Mental Disability Law

Select three

ADV 600Advocacy Skills in Cases Involving Persons with Mental Disabilities: The Role of Lawyers and Expert Witnesses

CON 275The American with Disabilities Act: Law, Policy, and Practice

FAM 160Custody Evaluations, Juvenile and Family Law, and Mental Disabilities

CRI 280Forensic Reports, The Role of Experts and Forensic Ethics

CRI 260Mental Disability and Criminal Law

CRI 250Mental Health Issues in Jails and Prisons

CRI 275Mental Illness, Dangerousness, the Police Power and Risk Assessment

CRI 508Sex Offenders

UCI 125Therapeutic Jurisprudence

International Human Rights and Mental Disability Law

Race, Gender, Class, and Mental Disability

Trauma and Mental Disability

Total Credit Hours:12

JD MENTAL DISABILITY LAW STUDIES ELECTIVES: John Jay College will accept 12 credits of these online New York Law School JD Mental Disability courses toward the MA in Forensic Psychology, but only if they are taken and completed after the student has completed the first year of NYLS. Current ABA/ALLS regulations limit students to one online course per semester, though it is likely that this rule will be relaxed in the near future.

MA Transfer Credits From John Jay College

Required

PSY 700Mental Health Professionals, Social Science and the Law

3

PSY 734Criminal Psychological Assessment

3

PSY 754Advanced Forensic Assessment

3

Total Credit Hours:9

PSY 700, PSY 734, PSY 754: New York Law School will accept specific John Jay College MA courses up to 12 credits, toward the JD.

Electives

Select one course

PSY 701Criminal Behavior

3

PSY 705Victimology

3

PSY 714Alcoholism and Substance Abuse

3

PSY 716Assessment and Counseling of the Juvenile Offender

3

PSY 718Social Science Evidence in Court

3

PSY 720Social Psychology and the Legal System

3

PSY 726Mental Health Issues in Policing

3

PSY 727Eyewitness Identification

3

PSY 742Family Violence and Disputes

3

PSY 746Empirical Profiling Methods

3

Total Credit Hours:3

Additional JD Electives

Students must choose an additional 7 out of 250 other elective law school courses from groups outside the Mental Disability Law Track, including those in administrative law, constitutional law, criminal law, history, philosophy, sociology and theory of law, international law, professional skills, public interest law, tort law, and externship and clinic settings. Course offerings vary from semester to semester. The full catalogue and listings are available online at the New York Law School website, www.nyls.edu.

Total Credit Hours:21

Total Credit Hours: 86