Studying our Forensic Science and Criminology BSc (Hons) course will equip you with the knowledge and skills in the combined areas of biological and chemical sciences, criminological theory and the criminal justice system. To build the foundations of your study, you will be given a broad understanding of core scientific areas including Human Anatomy and Physiology, Molecular Genetics and Chemistry for Forensic Scientists where you will get to explore topics such as structure and relationship between body parts, patterns of genetic inheritance and the structure of molecules. To equip you with the research and practical skills for this course, our Skills for Forensic Scientists unit will teach you to record, analyse and report data from experiments as well as the key skills you need for investigation of a crime scene, including photography, evidence selection and exhibit packaging. In Evidence Examination Skills you will learn how to conduct a basic search of exhibits for evidence of interest and to complete your casefile notes. Moreover, you will learn how to examine biological evidence that could be encountered at a crime scene in our Biology in Forensic Science unit.  

This is a crucial part of forensics, as biologists can support a range of investigations from preserving, recovering and analysing biological samples such as blood, saliva and hair, and using bones and teeth to help identify a body. Aside from human samples, you will also learn to examine and analyse a range of biological evidence using animals and plants to aid forensic investigations in our Animals and Plants in Crime unit. Other key evidence types, such as paint, firearms, digital evidence and documents analysis will be covered in Crimes Against Property where you will investigate how forensic techniques are used to identify class and individual characteristics of trace and physical evidence in order to reconstruct events of the crime of to form associations between people and crime scenes. To further develop your knowledge in DNA and drug evidence you will take Forensic Analysis to introduce you to the scientific principles and practical skills needed for these key evidence types. 

To add to this, Evaluation of Evidence will equip you with the basic statistical methods to critically evaluate and communicate your scientific findings in the form of expert witness statements and presentation of evidence in a court environment. You will also undertake Suspicious Death Investigation during which you will develop the skills needed to build a biological profile when the deceased is unknown and to estimate the post-mortem interval. In areas of theory, you will be given an Introduction to Criminology by examining theoretical approaches used to explain crime, deviance and offending behaviour, and you will explore this in more depth in our Theorising Crime, Punishment and Justice unit to analyse and evaluate concepts of crime, justice and punishment used for crime control. More specifically, you will address and challenge low-level crimes in the areas of business, politics and finance that are committed by people in power or of a high social status in our Crimes of the Powerful unit.  

Aside from this, you will also explore the complex world of Cybercrime to identify emerging issues in the field such as cyber terrorism, cyberbullying and cyber hate as well as the rationale behind it. You will also consider crime, disorder and social harm in urban areas such as within neighbourhoods, gated communities and housing systems in our Urban Crime unit. Finally, you will undertake a research project in your final year that will give you the opportunity to plan, design and execute a piece of research into a topic of your interest that is relevant to your field of study. Depending on your main area of research interest, you can select to take either the criminology-based SASS Change Maker Research Dissertation or the Forensic Science Research Project if you would prefer a lab-based project. To help you with this, our Skills in Science unit will equip you with a range of skills you need for your research and for a career in science. In addition, you will also have the opportunity to undertake a Professional Practice Year (Life Sciences) that will provide you with valuable career-related experience while allowing you to build on your professional skills.