Courses

The following are descriptions of required courses in the Master of Forensic Science program. Click here for information on current course offerings and schedules.

FORSC 501: Forensic Science I
This course provides an introduction to forensic science. Specialized areas of forensics such as forensic pathology, forensic odontology, forensic anthropology and forensic entomology are introduced.

FORSC 502: Psychological, Sociological, and Legal Aspects of Forensic Science
This course introduces the participant to the psychological, sociological and legal dimensions of forensic science.

FORSC 503: Forensic Science Techniques
This course provides an introduction to crime scene preservation and investigation. Collection, preservation and processing of evidence are included.

FORSC 504: Forensic Science II
This course provides the participant with an exploration of concepts and principles related to the medicolegal investigation of injury and death.

FORSC 511: Graduate Transition Course
This course focuses on a further examination of elements from the original Forensic Science Certificate Program courses (FORSC 201, 202, 203, & 204) as well as extra elements related to these courses.

FORSC 515: Advanced Crime Scene Investigation
This course focuses on recognizing, protecting and preserving all prospective physical evidence at a crime scene. Crime scene reconstruction, involving the use of the scientific method and classical logic, will be discussed. Students will learn about crime scene photography methods, making impressions from imprints, collecting fingerprints and trace evidence, and analyzing and interpreting blood spatter evidence through lectures and hands-on experiences.

FORSC 516: Crime Scene House Practical
This course is designed to present the students with a crime to investigate from scene to grand jury. Students will be assigned to groups that include representatives from the behavioral sciences, biology/chemistry, and investigative sciences tracks. Each investigative team will be assigned a case to investigate for the duration of the course. This includes processing the scene, processing and evaluating evidence, developing victim and offender profiles, following up leads, and seeing the case through to completion in either a grand jury or court room simulation.

FORSC 520: Criminal Law and the Law of Evidence
This course introduces the participant to the criminal law codes and laws of evidence relevant to forensic science.

FORSC 521: Forensic Archaeology
Students study remote sensing techniques used to locate burials, as well as visual cues such as soil disturbance, depressions and outlines. Grave excavations with attention to recovery of trace evidence and tool impressions will be examined. Entomological specimen collection techniques and osteological issues will be addressed such as human vs. non-human elements, prehistoric vs. recent burials, and whom to call to help with skeletal identification.

FORSC 522: Violence in Society
This course explores the influence of violence in mass media on certain members of society. This course uses current research to study the development, as well as outcome, of their violent ideation and behavior.

FORSC 523: Document Analysis
It has been said that over 90% of crimes involve some kind of document evidence. This course addresses handwriting analysis, paper and ink identification, and statement analysis.

FORSC 530: Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychology is a growing and popular field of inquiry. Forensic psychology is the application of psychological insights, concepts and skills to the understanding and functioning of the legal and criminal justice system. Students examine the interaction among theories and applications of psychology and the practice of civil and criminal law. Insanity, malpractice, competency, civil commitment, violence, jury selection and expert-witness testimony will be discussed.

FORSC 531: Violence, Mental Illness and Risk Assessment
This course focuses on the physiological, cognitive, and learning factors involved in criminal behavior from a psychological perspective. This includes an examination of the relationship between mental illness and criminal behavior, especially violent behavior. Information regarding criminal behavior, violence, and mental illness is examined in terms of the assessment of risk. Risk assessment has developed as an important avenue for preventing crimes or preventing repeat offenses from an individual perpetrator. In the field of forensic psychology, risk assessment is a very important skill.

FORSC 532: Serial Offenders and Personality
This course focuses on the repeat offender, most notably the serial murderer. This course includes an examination of a variety of violent and nonviolent repeat offender crimes (i.e. serial rape, stalking, "peepers"). And concentrates on the nature of the repeat offender and the personality characteristics that tend to be associated with this type of criminal.

FORSC 533: Criminal Investigation Analysis
Behavior profiling is part of a larger discipline called Criminal Investigation Analysis (CIA). This course provides students with a theoretical and practical approach to CIA. Various aspects of CIA are discussed, such as victimology, equivocal death analysis, personality assessments, offender development and others.

FORS 540: Analytical Sciences as a Basis for Forensic Investigation
This course explores the place of analytical chemical concepts with instrumentation in the robust and dependable identification and quantification of those biological and chemical compounds that are of interest for forensic investigations.

FORSC 541: Introduction to Forensic Biology
Because of the transfer principle, biological evidence can be used to connect an assailant to the crime scene and/or to the victim. This course examines characteristics of bodily fluids that may be used to particularize information that can be derived from this evidence along with handling instruction to protect the integrity of biological evidence. The students will learn and perform the various testing methods (presumptive and confirmatory) used to identify biological traces on evidence items. The importance of, and techniques for accurate and valid reporting of scientific results will be addressed.

FORSC 542: DNA Testing, Quality Control and Lab Safety
This course content includes examination of basic principles underlying the methods used to analyze DNA. Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis of genomic DNA using polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique, and sequencing of human mitochondrial DNA will be demonstrated and taught. Students will learn to operate testing instruments, and evaluate results. Issues of laboratory safety and quality control will be addressed. Statistics used in interpreting DNA results are also examined.

FORSC 547: Forensic Chemistry
The course concentrates on the properties and analysis of controlled substances, accelerants and explosives, and the investigation of clandestine laboratories. Mass spectrometry and chromatography are the major techniques used in practical applications. Quality control, documentation, and testimony are discussed.