Forensic Investigations, Minor

About the Minor

The minor in Forensic Investigations provides students who have a major interest in science, criminal justice, psychology, education, or sociology with the opportunity to explore the field of Forensic Investigation for their own satisfaction or application to a career goal.

Requirements

(24 credits as listed below)

Forensic Science

FS101 Criminalistics I

This is a natural science course with a separate laboratory component. The course focusses on Criminalistics which is broadly defined as the science that develops a system of special procedures, methods, and means for collecting, studying, and evaluating legal evidence used in criminal proceedings for the purpose of preventing, exposing, or investigating crimes. Due to the nature of many of the topics that will be discussed, the social aspects of the science topics will also be discussed. As the semester progresses students learning will progress from crime scene investigation and legal aspects of evidence to laboratory considerations and finally to how forensic scientists analyze and interpret evidential data in order to present results within the court system. All of the major sciences (chemistry, biology, physics) play a pivotal role in Forensic Science so students will learn science fundamentals in an accessible applied format.