Forensic Psychology Requirements In South Africa

Forensic Psychology, a subfield of psychology, involves the application of psychological knowledge and methods to both civil and criminal legal questions. Traditionally, it has a broad definition as well as a narrow definition.

To call oneself a psychologist in South Africa you must be registered with the Professional Board for Psychology (the Board) of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a PSYCHOLOGIST (not counsellor, nor psychometrist). This is a legal requirement in terms of the Health Professions Act. Nobody may call themselves a psychologist or perform any psychologist activities unless registered with the HPCSA as a psychologist. If you aren’t registered and you do so, it is a criminal act. 

This means that it doesn’t matter if a person has a degree in psychology (eg. BSocSci, BPsych, BA Psychology, or an Honours in Psychology). You must have completed your Masters, completed an internship (and in the case of Clinical Psychologists an additional community service year), written the Board exam, and registered (and maintained registration every year) with the HPCSA to use the title psychologist. To maintain your registration, you must pay your annual fees, and participate in continued professional development by obtaining CPD points for accredited activities. 

Even if a person qualified as a psychologist overseas, and was practicing as a licensed/registered psychologist, you would still have to register at the HPCSA before you could practice as a psychologist in South Africa. 

Therefore, the starting point is typically a degree where the person has majored in Psychology. If this is a 3 year degree it would usually be necessary to do a 1 year Psychology Honours degree in Psychology (for example if you did a BA General or BSocSci and majored in Psychology as one of your two majors, you’d need to do the Psychology Honours) before applying for a Masters Degree in Psychology. If you did a 4 year BPsych degree this includes the Honours level, and you could apply directly for the Masters Degree. However, many universities discontinued the 4 year BPSych degree. You need to see what is being offered at the university where you want to study. Some people for example, do BA Social Work, or LLB, and take psychology during their degree or afterwards, up to third year, this would also allow the person to apply for Psychology Honours, because you have a degree (e.g. Social Work or LLB and 3rd year psychology). This is also an interesting way to get exposure to another field, but maintain the ability to continue with psychology to Honours and Masters Degree level. 

If you are interested in forensic psychology, doing an LLB with psychology up to third year, would be very unique. Very often the psychology content at the basic degree level, and even Honours level, is very generic and it doesn’t really matter at which university you do your B-degree or Honours degree, so don’t rule out UNISA as an option. However, at the Masters level you should investigate who the lecturers are, what their field of specialization is (hopefully one or two have an interest in forensic work and can supervise your dissertation), and try to speak to people who studied there recently to see what they thought of the Masters course. The success and quality of the course is greatly dependent on the individual lecturers who present it. Also, important to note is that an Honours Degree in Industrial Psychology won’t let you be eligible to apply for a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology. 

It is at the Masters degree level where the professional training as a psychologist takes place. It is very difficult to get into a Masters program, Universities usually take about 8-10 Clinical Masters students per year, out of a few hundred applicants. So my advice is to apply at a few places when you are ready for your Masters. Some people apply for years before getting accepted and many never get accepted and have to move on to another career.

Below are South Africa School that offer forensic psychologist and their requirements

NWU – Short Learning Programme in Forensic Psychology

Admission requirements:  Degree in Psychology with HPCSA registrationLearning assumed to be in place: Attendees should have good knowledge and insight of personality theories, psychological disorders, psychological evaluation and assessment methods, ethical code of conduct, and integrative report writing skills.

What type of education do you need to be a forensic psychologist?

Most forensic psychology positions require a doctoral degree. Most professionals in this field spend four years on their bachelor’s degree, two years on their master’s degree, and four years on their doctorate.

Is Forensic Psychology hard to get into?

Becoming successful in this field is not easy. However, for those with the energy, stamina and critical thinking skills, it can be a rewarding occupation. A few tips: Apply for forensics-related internships, such as at forensic hospitals, correctional facilities and community mental health settings.