Colorado Technical University

What College Degrees Would I Need To Become A Forensic Scientist?

Specifically a career in Serology. Explain to me: What classes I would need to take. How long would I have to be in college. And what college do you recommend for education in this career. Thanks and I'll be voting a best answer.

Public Comments

1. Obviously you need to take a lot of science classes, such as Organic chem, Biochemistry, etc.. There are specific courses that emphasize on your area of specialty. You really need at least a Masters to get anywhere. A pH.D would be better. I'm not sure where you are from but Chaminade.edu and vcu.edu are some universities that offer degrees for forensic science. I'm in the process now, finishing my B.S in Bioscience with a concentration in forensic DNA.
2. Science and maths are always helpful before applying to this ype of degree. A forensic science degree is typically 4 years. University of Guelph is recommended, as it is comprehensive yet very inexpensive. Hope this helps...
3. you have to take all your requirements,plus law enforcement, contact your local school or police station they can hep,i do know you well be in school for 8 years,there is alot that goes into the field you want
4. There are quite a few colleges that now offer majors specifically for forensic science. The programs that I know of are at Baylor University in Waco, TX, University of North Dakota, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Baylor University recently changed their forensic science major to more of a "forensic antrhopology" type major becuase they specialize in that greatly. They are rated one of the top colleges in the country for this degree though. They get to do some amazing things, including going to the Texas/Mexico border and identifying remains of immigrants that tried to come over....once the remains are identified they return them to the families so they can have a proper burial. They also are sometimes called to help do tests on local homicides etc as they have amazing equipment at the college. I have quite a few friends that are going to school there and majoring in this. They absolutely love it! They take a lot of science classes like chemistry, biology, and physics. Additionally they take very specific classes pertaining to forensic science such as: antrhopology, osteology, crime scene investigation, intro to forensic science, forensic psychology, genetics, criminology, etc. At Baylor it only takes 4 years to get the BS in Forensic science (I put a link to the 4 yr degree plan below (2nd link)) The University of North Dakota program is much like Baylors. They focus on taking the same sort of classes and giving a good introduction to what you will need to know. I placed the link to the forensic science dept page as well as the 4 yr degree plan for them as well below. Another option opposed to going and getting a BS in forensic science is to major in biology, chemistry, or psychology and then go on to get your masters in forensic science. There are a few schools available that offer the MS degree for forensic science. Until recently, this is what most people did as they did not have many schools offereing the BS in forensic science. Most likely, you will want to get you masters anyway, so keep this as an option as well. If you are really interested in this, go ahead and email some of the people in charge of the programs at the schools I listed. I have emailed them before (I was going to major in Forensic Sci at Baylor, but then changed my major) and they were always friendly and helpful abotu the information. I hope that this helped. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions and I will see if I can help! Good luck!!!!