Investigating a Murder with Forensic Psychology
The Open University
  • Start Date: 19 Dec, 2022
  • 4 weeks
  • Study Content: Videos


Experience what it’s like to be a detective in a murder investigation as you learn how psychology can help crack the case.

Course Fee: Free
Certificate Cost: See Fees and Eligibility

Course Description

This course is made available through the eLearnAfrica and FutureLearn partnership.

Explore applied psychology in the context of a criminal case


Psychology plays an important role in police enquiries. It can help build rapport, plan interviews, detect deception, and understand cognitive bias.


On this four-week course, you’ll explore the way suspects are dealt with during a police investigation and how psychology can help the police with their enquiries.


This immersive and engaging short course will showcase applied psychology in a highly interesting context.


Take on the role of detective to investigate a murder


You’ll become a detective investigating a murder as you join two fictional detectives working alongside a senior investigating officer.


This complex criminal case has been carefully written to be realistic by a team of academic and policing practitioner experts.


Understand the psychological skills of building rapport and identifying cognitive bias


You’ll delve into the psychological skills that can help police in an investigation. You’ll learn how to spot a liar, how to establish rapport, the impact of cognitive bias, and how to plan an interview.


This will also include investigating falses confessions and developing and assessing an interview plan.


Learn from the experts at The Open University


This interactive course has been created by the experts at The Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning, and Forensic Cognition Research Group.


You’ll learn from the specialists with a well-established network of policing practitioners.


This course is designed for anyone with an interest in policing careers, psychology, or the law.


It may also be beneficial for those interested in writing crime fiction.


Certificate cost may vary. You will be redirected to the host page for cost and payment options.

The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning.

Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 220,000 current students, including more than 15,000 overseas. The Open University is rated one of the best in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey. The OU is one of only four UK universities to have consistently achieved more than 90% in the survey’s history. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

The UK’s latest Research Excellence Framework exercise (REF 2014) places The Open University in the top third of UK higher education institutions by ‘research power’ ranking. 72% of OU research submitted was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Regarded as Britain’s major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast ‘open content portfolio’ includes free study units on OpenLearn, which has had more than 26.7 million visits, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 60 million downloads. The OU has a 41 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Frozen Planet, Bang Goes the Theory, James May’s Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

All Open University Science courses presented on FutureLearn are produced with the kind support of Dangoor Education.

This institution is available on eLearnAfrica through partnership with FutureLearn.

You may be able to download course materials after enrolling in this course. If not, all of the necessary course materials provided by the course instructor will be available on the provider's course page.
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Effective Date: September 22, 2016