School of Chemical and Physical Sciences brochures Forensic Science brochure 2019 | Page 10

10 | FORENSIC SCIENCE
Degree Content
This section gives a brief indication of the
content of each of the programmes listed earlier.
BSc Forensic Science (Single Honours)
UCAS Code F415
Due to the ever changing nature of crime the forensic scientist needs to have a broad
understanding of many areas of Forensic Science. Our BSc Forensic Science course
is a three-year single honours programme that will provide you with an outstanding
grounding in Forensic Science.
Year 1
The aim of the first year is to bring all
students, from a variety of different
backgrounds, to the same level of
understanding in core chemistry, practical
laboratory skills and to introduce some
of the core areas of forensic science.
In the autumn semester you will study
the two “principles” modules which will
cover the core Chemistry required for
the course and provide an introduction
to Forensic Science.
Alongside these you will also study the
Understanding Crime and Cybercrime
modules. The former of these will
provide a context for crime from different
perspectives and highlight different
approaches used to measure crime.
The Cybercrime module will provide
you with an understanding of digital
infrastructures, such as the internet,
and how these are used to facilitate
crime. This module will also introduce
the techniques that are used to collect
digital evidence. In the spring semester
you will study two core forensic modules
and there is elective space that gives
you some choice in your studies.
The two forensic modules in this
semester are Forensic Analysis and
Forensic Identification. The Forensic
Analysis module focuses on the key
spectroscopic techniques used by
the forensic scientist in the analysis
of chemical substances and the basic
statistical methods needed for data
analysis and interpretation of results.
keele.ac.uk/forensic
The Forensic Identification module is
more biological in nature and includes
the study of protein biology, DNA,
genetic markers and an introduction into
biological sample preparation
and analysis.
Year 2
In the second year the focus is to develop
the core themes within the forensic
discipline which are directly relevant
to professional practice and related
evidence types. In the autumn semester
you will expand your understanding of
chemical separation techniques and
spectroscopic analysis such as Gas
Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry
(GC-MS) in the Spectroscopy and
Advanced Analysis module. In the
Forensic Anthropology module, you will
discover how we investigate skeletal
remains to determine the identity of an
individual and their possible cause of
death. You will also learn how we obtain
and interpret DNA profiles from biological
material in the Forensic Genetics module
and how to investigate questioned
documents in the Forensic Document
Analysis module. In the spring semester
you will study the chemistry of illicit drugs
and their effect on the body as well as
how these are identified in the Drugs
of Abuse module. In the Criminalistic
Methods module you will investigate
marks and impressions left at the crime
scene such as blood spatter patterns and
fingerprints and how these are analysed
and imaged for use as evidence.
You will learn how we investigate the
changes after death and how insects
can be used to determine the possible
cause and time of death in the Forensic
Taphonomy module and how we can
gather evidence from a range of digital
devices in the Digital Forensics module.
Year 3
In the third year you will study additional
core areas of the subject as well as
undertaking a year long team research
project and an individual dissertation
project. This year you will also undertake
a ‘crime scene to court’ project as part
of the IEPE module that will allow you
to gain experience of the entire ‘forensic’
process from the collection of evidence
at a crime scene to its presentation in
court. In addition to this you will also
study the pharmacology and toxicology
of a range of different drugs and poisons
in Forensic Toxicology and the chemistry
of combustion applied to explosives
and arson in Evaluation of Evidence:
Explosives and Arson module. These
modules are delivered in the autumn
semester. In the spring semester you will
study how geophysics is used to detect
buried remains together with aspects
of forensic archaeology in the Forensic
Geosciences module. You will also
learn how you analyse glass, paints
and fibres along with forensic ballistics
in the Advanced Topics in Forensic
Analysis module.