If you are interested in studying forensic psychology, either as a graduate or post-graduate student, this resource will be perfect for you! This article was written by the EAPL-S representative for Spain: Alexander Trinidad.
State of the Art of Legal & Forensic Psychology in Spain:
Legal & Forensic Psychology has been growing along the last two decades in Spain. A probe of it is the amount of research that it has been done around the topic and the valuable outcomes out of this research, such as, the protocol adapted to a Spanish population to assess the credibility of the testimony in the court room by Arce and Fariña (2005: http://www.papelesdelpsicologo.es/English/1247.pdf ), the Global Evaluation System (GES). However, Forensic or Legal Psychology is not yet a regulated profession, despite the great efforts of the Professional Society of Legal and Forensic Psychology (SEPJF). Although an official regulation from the Government is on the way, there are several universities with proficient postgraduate Master’s Degrees as it can be seen in the section below.
Study Legal & Forensic Psychology in Spain:
In the following section Official Master’s Degrees from Spanish Universities will be presented. It is important to remark that since Bachelor’s Degree programs in Spain last 4 years, many of the Master programs last only 1 year (full-time); apart of this, it is relevant to say that most of the Master programs are taught in Spanish. However, some might have some consideration for international students, this last point must be checked with the university before applying.
- University of Santiago de Compostela (USC): Master’s Degree in Work and Organisatonal Psychology, Legal-Forensic Pyschology and Social Intervention (http://www.usc.es/masteres/en/masters/social-science-law/workorganisational-psychology-legal-forensic-psychology-socialintervention). Contact: Ramón Arce (ramon.arce@usc.es ).
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB): Master’s Degree in Court Psychology and Forensic Psychological Assessment (https://www.uab.cat/web/postgraduate/uab-master-s-andgraduate-diplomas/uab-master-s-and-graduate-diplomas/generalinformation-1217916968009.html/param1-1648_en/param2-2014/). Contact: Elena Garrido Gaitan (coordinacion.master.forense@uab.cat).
- University of Barcelona (UB): Master’s Degree in Forensic and Criminal Psychology (https://www.ub.edu/web/ub/en/estudis/oferta_formativa/masters_propis/fitxa/F/201711424/index.html). Contact: info.il3@ub.edu
- San Vicente Mártir Catholic University of Valencia (UCV): Master’s Degree in Legal Psychology (https://www.ucv.es/oferta-academica/postgrados/psicologia/master-universitario-enpsicologia-juridica ). Contact: 0034 96 192 75 90.
- University of Granada (UGR): Master’s Degree in Legal and Forensic Psychology (http://masteres.ugr.es/psjuridicayforense/). Contact: g7@ugr.es
- Autonomous University of Madrid (UCM): Master’s Degree in Forensic Sciences (specialisation in Forensic and Prison Psychology)(https://www.uam.es/ss/Satellite/es/1242654675830/1242656801871/estudiopropio/estudioPropio/Master_en_Ciencias_Forenses.html). Contact: master.cienciasforenses@uam.es.
Main research groups and Units of Forensic & Legal Psychology:
Along the next sections it will be presented the main research groups and unit of Forensic & Legal Psychology of Spain, as well as the person in charge in each one of them. Note: If anyone has notice that a research group or unit is missing, please contact the local representative to include the references here.
- Unit of Forensic Psychology (Univeristy of Sanitago de Compostela) (http://www.usc.es/en/servizos/uforense/index.html ). Director: Prof Dr Ramon Arce. Forensic and Legal Psychology.
- Unit of Forensic and Legal Psychology (Univeristy of the Basque Country) (https://www.ehu.eus/es/web/ivac/taldea1 ). Director: Dr César San Juan. Criminal and Legal Psychology.
- Group of Advanced Studies on Violence (GEAV, University of Barcelona) (www.ub.edu/geav ). Directors: Prof Dr Antonio Andrés Pueyo (Violence and Criminal Psychology) and Prof Dr Santiago Redondo (Psychology and Criminology).
- Research Group of Criminal and Forensic Psychology (Autonomous University of Barcelona). Director: Dr Elena Garrido (http://criminologia.uab.cat/index.php/elena-garrido/ )
- Research Group of Criminology and Juvenile Delinquency (University of Castilla-La Mancha). Director: Esther Fernández (http://blog.uclm.es/estherfdez/ ).
- Unit of Legal and Forensic Psychology (Granada) (https://www.juridicayforense.com/). Founders: Prof Dr Juan Carlos Sierra (Clinical Psychology) and Prof Dr Gualberto Buela-Casal (Clinical Psychology).
- Behavior & Law Research Group (Behavior & Law Foundation (https://behaviorandlaw.com/investigacioncientifica/). Contact: Santiago Cano (scano@behaviorandlaw.com).
Professional Associations:
- Spanish Society of Legal and Forensic Psycyology (SEPJF). President: Prof Dr Ramón Arce. ( http://sepjf.org/serie-de-publicaciones/).
- Ibero-American Association of Legal Psychology (AIPJ). President: Dr José Antonio Echauri. (http://www.aipj.co/).
Academic Journals:
- The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context (https://journals.copmadrid.org/ejpalc/)
- Indexation:
- Web of Sciences: Impact Factor = 3.524 (Journal Citation Reports)
- Scopus: CiteScore = 2.44
- Scimago Journal & Country Rank: 0.76 (Q1)
- Indexation:
- Annual Review of Legal Psychology (Anuario de Psicología Jurídica) (https://journals.copmadrid.org/apj/)
- Indexation:
- Scopus: CiteScore = 0.90
- Scimago Journal & Country Rank: 0.28 (Q2)
- Indexation:
- Psicopatología Clínica, Legal y Forense (http://masterforense.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=170)
- Indexation:
- Latindex
- PSICODOC
- Indexation:
- International E-journal of Criminal Sciences (http://www.ehu.eus/ojs/index.php/inecs)
- Indexation:
- Web of Sciences: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
- Latindex
- Indexation:
Por favor, no dudéis en poneros en contacto conmigo si queréis saber más sobre
psicología jurídica y forense en España.
Un saludo,
Alexander Trinidad.