How do I know if a university is accredited?

Question

I am trying to find a list of accredited universities. Specifically schools with Forensic Psychology programs.

Answer 1

You are smart to ask. There are two things to look at, and you need to be careful, because a lot of schools claim accreditations in a slimy way. First, there are regional accreditors for the overall university, such as WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) and Middle States. These look at both the financial viability of the institution and its ability to deliver on its mission. Beyond this, many disciplines have their own accrediting bodies, and you may not be able to transfer your coursework if the department or School isn't accredited by these. For example, I teach in a business school, and we don't accept units from someone who did not graduate from an AACSB-accredited business school for business courses. I've had a lot of students say, "But my school was accredited!" and it turns out that they were accredited by a regional accreditor (or by an accrediting organization with lower standards, like ACBSP). So you need to check the university's overall accreditation, and then look to see if the discipline itself has one or more accrediting organizations, find out which is most respected, and then look for that too.

Answer 2

For forensic science, the accrediting organization is the American Academy of Forensic Science. They have a list of accredited programs, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, at their website:

http://www.aafs.org/?section_id=resources&page_id=colleges_and_universities

Carolyn Lawrence, www.AdmissionsAdvice.com