PsyD Forensic Psychology Personal Statement Examples

US Criminal Justice System

My academic and life journey has been challenging, requiring exceptional determination and diligence for constant advancement along my chosen career path towards earning the PsyD Degree focused on Forensic Psychology, and beyond. My goals are extremely ambitious, but I am confident that the qualities that have brought me to this point, together with my enormous passion for forensic psychology, will inspire and enable me to distinguish myself in my chosen field. I seek to make significant contributions to the U.S. criminal legal system through research, acting as a consultant in trial preparations, and as an expert witness. I also hope to teach at some point and pass on my skills, knowledge, and passion to the next generation of forensic psychologists.

My undergraduate grades were less than ‘stellar 'because I pursued a full-time career in Finance while an undergraduate student in psychology. Since I began my MA program, however, Forensic Psychology has been my top priority and the center of my world. I have never regretted abandoning the world of finance for what I look forward to in lifelong learning devoted to forensic psychology.

My GPA of 4.0 reflects the arduous work that I put into my master's program, as does my Academic Excellence award. I was also offered a fellowship in the UK which involved research into eyewitness testimony and sequential line-up presentations. I am the author/co-author of four research papers related to criminal justice issues from the perspective of Forensic Psychology--my central passion.

I can think of few more worthwhile pursuits than to labor to ensure that the innocent go free and the guilty do not, and to minimize failures to achieve these ends which have such dreadful results, not only for those personally involved but for society. My research interests were confirmed. by one study looking at the first 250 DNA exonerated cases in the US, 190 (76%) of them were the result of misidentification. I hope to investigate this phenomenon at length in a search for clarification concerning the limitations and biases of human memory. I am concerned that little research has been undertaken into the ways that individual preferences can translate into group decisions. I hope to shed light on how inaccurate consensus memories might be formed by a jury and influence the verdict.

Jury Bias Research in Forensic Psychology

I acquired my first university teaching experience in the UK when I gave a presentation on ‘Juror Bias and Death Qualification’. Although my teaching experience is limited, I have long observed and noted the techniques employed, and the character traits demonstrated, by the best of the teachers that I have encountered. An excellent teacher is a first-class communicator across media. They have clear measures of success and constantly monitor progress. They are approachable and encourage debate. The exceptional teacher loves his subject with an unmistakable and contagious passion. I intend to emulate these teachers in my own career.

I have several interests and hobbies including criminology and literature, especially the works of Alighieri, Aurelius, Hawking, Nietzsche, Freud, and Machiavelli. I am an art-lover with a special interest in Blake, Botticelli, da Vinci, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and Raphael. I cannot claim to be widely travelled but thoroughly enjoyed the three months I spent working at the Queen Margaret University in Scotland, UK and have spent holidays in France and Switzerland. I have happily studied, worked, and socialized with people of many ethnic and social backgrounds and enjoy learning about other cultures.

Any criminal justice system, no matter how well-designed, is affected by human imperfection, but this does not remove the obligation to improve the system until it is as near perfect as possible. ‘Ironing out’, as far as possible, the impact of human imperfection on that system is part of the process and is the part that with which I hope to engage. There are clearly so many aspects to the intersection between theory and practice in this vitally key area of life that we cannot hope to fully investigate them all in several lifetimes. It is important to identify those matters which have the greatest detrimental effect on the administration of justice and to prioritize them for investigation and action. I certainly consider jury group dynamics and wide variations in witness reliability as two of the major matters to be investigated with the aim of arriving at a deeper understanding of how and why things go awry.

Cultural differences are also a matter that might usefully be considered for research, sensitive though this area is. For instance, it is, in certain communities, regarded as grossly impolite to disagree with someone perceived as one’s social superior even if you believe that they are mistaken in what they are saying. Such cultural norms can be disastrous in a courtroom, especially when others involved may well be unaware of the cultural background giving rise to surprising or even contradictory testimony.

To summarize: I have an excellent grounding in Psychology and Forensic Psychology; I have significant research experience; I have some teaching experience; I have demonstrated determination and diligence in my academic achievements to date (barring my initial faltering). However, my main recommendation is a genuine fascination and passion for the specialty and a determination to be a ‘leading player’ in the field for the benefit of many.

PsyD Forensic Psychology Personal Statement Examples