what degree do i need to be a criminal profiler?

Answer 1

Master of Science in Forensic Science normally.

If you are looking at Criminal Psychiatrists you should be a qualified doctor of medicine and should have undertaken postgraduate training in psychiatry.

For Criminal Psychologists you normally will have both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in your specialist area and may have secured chartered status through the governing body that oversees your professional development.

Police officers who undertake profiling work have usually studied psychology as a postgraduate.

Answer 2

This question has been well answered already so I just would like to add one thing. You may have seen profilers on TV and these are FBI Special Agents with special training in criminal behavior. That means you have to be a FBI Special Agent first and also have enough experience to qualify to work for the BSU (or ISU – Investigative Support Unit). The next closest thing I can think of to criminal profiler is forensic psychology, which normally requires a doctorate degree in psychology or psychiatry with specialization. However, they are not criminal profilers since they are not in law enforcement. If you are familiar with some of the TV show characters, such as Dr. Huang (Law and Order SVU), Fox Mulder, Megan Reeves (Numb3rs), all they all work the FBI as Special Agents. I was disappointed to learn of these facts because I wanted to be a criminal profiler also. However, if you still want to go for a profiler position, they come from various backgrounds and I suggest you check out the FBI's website on their recruiting needs.

Answer 3

Honestly, all the self-proclaimed "criminal profilers" that come from academia suck.

Your typical Ph.D. is a researcher and a teacher, but usually not a good "profiler" and hardly knows anything about criminal investigation.

If you want any chance of becoming a "profiler," it would be doing homicide/sex crime investigations with your local police agency as a detective. No, there aren't really positions titled "criminal profiler" (except in a few places like the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit and in the Virginia State Police). Most places just don't have jobs with that job title.

Anyway, a good degree would be in the social sciences, like psychology, sociology, or forensics. Good experience would be working as a patrol officer, then becoming a detective (detectives aren't hired as detectives, they are hired as patrol officers). As you gain knowledge of investigative techniques, you will be better able to "profile" individuals.

Most of the time, profiling isn't a science, it is more of an investigator's experience and intuition, but then the great lord threw all these psychologists with Ph.D.'s and highly prestigious degrees from these highly prestigious universities into the mix and they try to make it more of a science with statistics that determine the probability that an offender has certain characteristics and whatnot.

Bottom line, mix in both worlds. Get a Master's or Doctorate in psychology/forensics and get plenty of real-world experience. Then over time, become an expert in your field and start labeling yourself as a "criminal profiler."

But don't expect to have that as a job title. You will most likely need to settle for professor, detective, clinical/counseling psychologist, special agent, or so on.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!