What career pathways are there after studying Investigative Psychology?

Maria Ioannou

Professor of Investigative and Forensic Psychology

Hello! My name’s Maria Ioannou, and I’m a Professor of Investigative and Forensic Psychology at the University of Huddersfield. I'm also the Course Leader for MSc Investigative Psychology and MSc Security Science and Director of the Cyberpsychology Research Network.

Investigative Psychology is the systematic science developed from early ‘offender profiling’ contributions by psychologists and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to police investigations and court cases. This sub-discipline, which was developed by Professor David Canter, has become an increasingly pivotal area of psychology. At Huddersfield, our Investigative Psychology MSc degree offers in-depth expertise in all aspects of Investigative Psychology, with a strong research emphasis, helping equip students with the expertise to conduct crime research projects in diverse professional contexts. The MSc is taught entirely online on either a part-time or full-time basis by our research-active academics. Studying this course can open doors to many different exciting careers in crime and investigations – and beyond. While there are lots of different careers graduates pursue after studying this discipline, I explore just some of the main career pathways in this blog, however, this list isn’t exhaustive. 

1) Investigative Psychologist 

Investigative Psychologists aim to understand criminal behaviour and support the police and other law enforcement organisations in solving crimes. As an Investigative Psychologist, you’ll uncover patterns in criminal behaviour and motivations to develop theories about the characteristics of criminals. There are three stages of Investigative Psychology: collecting information, making inferences, and seeing how police decision-making can be supported. Investigative Psychologists in the UK can be employed across various sectors and organisations, such as law enforcement agencies like the police, government bodies in national security or counterterrorism, charities focused on crime prevention, higher education institutions, or companies that specialise in risk assessment or security.

2) Forensic Psychologist

Forensic Psychologists typically focus on applying psychological principles within the legal system. Their responsibilities commonly include conducting assessments, delivering expert testimony, and administering treatment or interventions for individuals entangled in legal affairs. A key distinction between Investigative and Forensic Psychologists is that an Investigative Psychologist doesn’t know the criminal typically, and their work aims to uncover offenders. In contrast, a Forensic Psychologist will know who the criminal is, and their work aims to help answer legal questions arising in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic Psychologists are employed in government organisations such as courts, mental health facilities and correctional institutions, legal companies, higher education institutions, and not-for-profit organisations. Some set up a private practice where they offer services to organisations. In 2024, Forensic Psychologists earn on average £50.3k per year (Lightcast, 2024). 

A man smiling in a court room with a laptop

3) Crime/Intelligence Analyst  

Crime and Intelligence Analysts analyse information to understand and prevent crime. Analysts help decision-makers within law enforcement find the best way to reduce crime on a local, regional, and national scale. They are influential in how police best protect their local areas and support police investigators in solving crimes. In this role, you’ll interpret and analyse data using specialist software, create strategies, and give presentations to senior law enforcement leaders. The average salary for a crime analyst in the UK is £37,653 per year (Talent.com, 2024). 

In this video, you can hear from one of our graduates who discusses how the Investigative Psychology MSc benefited his career as an Analytics & Evaluation Manager at Merseyside Police. 

4) Behavioural Investigative Adviser (BIA) 

BIAs (Behavioural Investigative Advisers), often known as offender profilers, analyse the behaviour and actions of an unknown perpetrator from a behavioural science angle. BIAs carry out predictive offender profiling, crime scene analysis, and offence linkage, supporting the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO). A BIA provides guidance and support to law enforcement agencies such as the police during criminal investigations, particularly those involving complex or serious crimes. 

5) Researcher (in academia or other sectors)

Academic researchers study and research a particular subject, becoming matter experts and advancing field knowledge. They usually work in universities, colleges, and research institutions and centres. Academic researchers aim to publish work in peer-reviewed journals, author books and reports or contribute to chapters in multi-author books. Quite often, academic researchers have teaching duties and other academic responsibilities at their institutions too. In 2024, the average salary of a Lecturer is £34,798 per year (Indeed, 2024), and a Professor earns an average of £57,591 per year in the UK (Talent.com, 2024). Researchers can also work outside academia, employed by private sector businesses, the Government, and non-profit organisations. Researchers will collect data or information on a particular area using research methodologies and publish/share their findings to advance knowledge and understanding, similarly to academic researchers.  

Tom Williams

Current PhD student and Investigative Psychology MSc graduate

“The Investigative Psychology MSc offered an in-depth understanding of Investigative Psychology, emphasising research skills and equipping me to pursue a PhD. For someone who has always preferred practice over theory, it melded together the perfect balance of research curiosity and real-life application. Seeing behind the curtain of research and watching it applied to criminal cases sparked a curiosity within me that propelled me to not only take on the MSc but pursue a research career too.”

After completing Investigative Psychology MSc, our graduates have gone on to work in diverse legal and forensic contexts across a range of industries and sectors. They’ve often progressed quickly to senior levels as Crime and Intelligence Analysts, Behavioural Investigative Advisors, Forensic Lecturers and Researchers. Studying Investigative Psychology can open doors to many exciting careers – and in this blog, I have named just a few of them.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the course and how it can enhance your career, please visit the course page. 

If you have any questions about our Investigative Psychology Master’s, please submit an enquiry here. 

To hear what Investigative Psychology MSc graduate, Tom Williams, enjoyed most about studying the discipline, visit his blog.