COURSE CURRICULUM

The Forensic Biology BS (120 hours) is a science-heavy degree that trains students to work in crime labs by combining biology, chemistry, physics, and forensic investigation skills with legal and criminal justice knowledge. In the general education part, students complete basic university requirements like English composition, mathematics, natural sciences with lab work, humanities (literature, philosophy, history), and social sciences (psychology, sociology, economics), which build communication, critical thinking, and analytical foundations. The major-specific training begins with core forensic science courses such as introduction to criminal justice, survey of forensic science, and introductory forensic science labs, where students learn how evidence is collected and analyzed. A key requirement is crime scene documentation (with lab), which teaches how to properly photograph, record, and preserve evidence, followed by forensic quality management as a capstone course that focuses on lab standards, reliability, and professional forensic procedures. The forensic biology section then goes deeper into life sciences, requiring biology sequences, genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry, which explain how DNA, cells, and biological evidence function at a scientific level. Students also take specialized courses like forensic biology I and II, and choose advanced biology electives such as cell biology, immunology, entomology, or population genetics depending on interest. Chemistry and physics requirements are also significant, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physics with labs, along with statistics or biostatistics, because forensic analysis depends heavily on quantitative data interpretation. Additional forensic electives allow students to specialize in areas like fingerprint analysis, forensic photography, firearms identification, toxicology, arson investigation, digital forensics, anthropology, and courtroom testimony. Internships or field study options provide real-world experience in labs or investigative agencies. Overall, this degree prepares students for careers as DNA analysts, serologists, forensic lab technicians, crime scene analysts, or for further study in forensic science, biology, or law enforcement-related fields.