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Academics

Academics » Undergraduate Majors and Minors » Forensic Chemistry

Forensic Chemistry

General
What is Forensic Chemistry?
Forensic Chemistry is the science of examining trace evidence using a chemist’s sophisticated instrumentation and set of analytical techniques to exactly determine:

• What substance(s) or material(s) comprise the evidence
• Whether the evidence comes from a particular individual, their possessions, or their home or workplace
• If the evidence comes from a specific location

The major in Forensic Chemistry provides a student with the knowledge and skills to examine and analyze evidence using a chemist's sophisticated instrumentation and set of analytical techniques. The curriculum emphasizes not only the recognition of physical evidence, but also the methods to determine its true identity and perhaps its origin. Our program offers students hands-on experience with many of the newest and state-of-the-art instrumentation. This education can provide students with employment opportunities within local, state, and federal agencies that utilize these skills. Our students are also well prepared to enter the forensic chemistry field or graduate school to specialize their specific field of interest.

I WANT TO BE A CSI – IS THIS THE RIGHT MAJOR TO CHOOSE?

Yes. Most of the scientists on the CSI television shows would need to have a forensic chemistry background to do the work depicted.

Required Courses
Department of Physical Sciences

Career Opportunities
Crime-Lab Chemist at a federal agency, a private lab, or for the state police – doing the following type of work:

• Identifying drugs seized as evidence
• Determining levels of poisons in the body (toxicology)
• Collecting and analyzing fire and bomb debris
• Determining if hair and fiber found at a crime scene can be tied to both the victim and the suspect
• Applying chemistry and physics to interpret blood patterns at crime scenes

Graduate School – Master’s or Ph.D.

• Chemistry
• Forensic Science

Research Facilities (new technologies, standards compliance, testing)

• ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms)
• DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)
• DOJ (Department of Justice)
• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
• INS (Immigration & Naturalization Services)
• NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology)
• USPIS (United State Postal Inspection Service)

Wildlife Forensics

• Proving illegal killing of endangered species
• Insuring compliance with state and federal game laws

Objectives
Students who have graduated with a major in Forensic Chemistry will be able to solve crime related laboratory problems. They also will be prepared to enter forensic chemistry laboratories, industry, and graduate school.