Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum Hi Egg, first of all congratulations on getting a university place. Forensic science degrees are hugely over subscribed at the moment, thanks to shows like CSI. I dont know what the courses are like at the universities you've mentioned. I do know Keele run a degree course which is meant to be good. The brother of a friend of mine has got an offer with them for next year. If you want to work as a lab tech you dont necessarily need to do a BSc in Forensics. A degree in Biology or Chemistry is equally good. It's even possible to apply for junior lab roles with your A level results. If scene of crimes analysis is more your thing the police run their own 9 week residential course to qualify as a SOCO. Last time I checked it was being run at Leeds but be warned it's hugely expensive. But they do train you in every aspect of evidence recovery from crime scene sketching and photography to ballistics. Alternatively there are other specialisms with relevance to crime scene recovery and criminal investigation such as Forensic Archaeology, Botany and Criminal Psychology. I recommend you have a look through The Forensic Science Service website. They have a small section on qualifications, an extensive book list sorted by specialism and some good case studies.
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum you know i was reading your post and i was like: mmm, whose egg, thats a funny name, mmm OH ITS ME. that website is really good, it answered loads of questions on the FAQ page, and some questions i didnt even know i had :lol: Thanks for the help!
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum hey everyone. im pretty new to all of this. email me and such. i love csi las vegas!
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum Right! This thread has halted! Sooo, i will start a new line of discussion, or a few : I'm English, as it says to the left, and i know absolutely nothing about american education, so i would like to know some things! How long a forensic science degree last? In England it lasts 3 years from when you are 18. I'm doing a year in industry between the second and third years, hopefully in America , so my course will last 4 years in total Do you have forensic science courses at your top universities? In England the top unis are oxford and cambridge, and neither of them do forensic science. Does, umm, harvard do it,e.g.? Do you have straight forensic science degree courses or are they more specific, or is it like in england, where there are postgrad courses which tend to last a year, in Forensic anthropology, for example? Also, a general question, how many unis are there usually per state? Does it vary? When people apply to uni do they apply to lots or just to one? We apply to between 4 and 6, 6 is the maximum. Do you tend to stay close to home or not bother with distance? Here, we don't tend to stay close, we mostly just go to the uni that is best for the course. Is it the same in america? Are there lots of unis that do forensics? Here there is only like 30, out of about 150. I suppose this narrows down the choice, making it easier to choose, although it means there isn't any league tables, so we can't tell so easily which unis are good for the subject or not, you know? Do most people go to university, or does it vary by state? It tends to vary in England, i go to a grammar school, and it's pretty much 98% going to uni! But i know that at other schools, and other areas, university isn't so popular. At my school, going to uni is pretty much a given, people ask what you are doing at uni not whether you are or not! Oooo very interested in this one, how much does it cost per term? It's roughly £3000 in England Man! I'm full of questions! I started writing thinking of just 2! :lol: Ooo i know, what about other countries? Same questions for them! Thanks
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum I am not sure if this belongs in the Welcome thread or in its own thread. I haven't gone into this field but can answer some of the questions. The size of the states and the populations vary so the number of universities in each state will vary, too. Here in West Virginia, two that have forensics courses are West Virginia University in Morgantown (northern part of the state getting close to Pittsburgh, PA) and Marshall University in Huntington (western part of the state near Ashland, KY).
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum sorry i was waffling! My post evolved from forensics questions to general uni stuff! I have just discovered recently that they are thinking of introducing/have introduced a forensic science A level (in the UK obviously) does anyone know anything about it? Is it really like an A level in law, where it isn't really needed, etc? (i work at a solicitors )
Hi! I also just joined this website. I'm fascinated about using science to investigate things.... learning science just as what they teach in school is so boring.... I'm havinga hard time adjusting to this forum site but I'll get used to it. No worries.
Thought I'd pop in and say hi! First of all... Hunter I love your avatar. Really love it...Same goes for eggy , can I call you eggy? Your postername is quite long. I live in Sweden, forensic science aren't that big around here as it is in the US. I'm probably the only one who knows anything about fingerprinting and gsr (not GSR). My friends are getting weary but so far they've managed... :devil: SpoonHead I'm also new, and even though I've been lurking here for over 6 months, I don't get everything. Takes some time, I agree.
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum Given your interests, the nice thing about conducting ballistics exams is that you would get to shoot things ... mostly water (ballistics recovery tank), cotton (cotton box bullet recovery system) and paper (gsrs and distance determinations). Not sure that you'd be using much of your physics education though. Comparing spent bullets and cartridge cases to specific firearms is one of those apprenticeship-gained skills that you learn at the side of an expert --- usually over a period of at least 2-4 years --- and then confirm your knowledge and expertise by passing a fairly intense series of proficiency tests. I'm sure there must be some ballistics experts with degrees in physics, but I don't think I've ever met one. The vast majority of the ballistics examiners I've met in the US and other countries were/are forensic scientists/cops, virtually all of whom went through some variation of the apprenticeship training ... and constantly update that training by reading about firearms & ammunition, and attending workshops and other training updates. It's interesting work, but (and I speak from experience here), you really have to not mind staring through the lenses of comparison scopes for hours on end.
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum Of course you can! Was that the "I'm Grissom and this is my Weasel" one? I loved it too. :lol: All credit goes to Adzix. This post has nothing Forensics related....mmm I confirmed my choice of university last night! Scary stuff, no turning back now. :s
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum That was the one! Love the new one too. Just wait until I have my 100 posts...MWAHAHAHAH! Adzix won't stand a chance. :devil: Oh, good luck! Which uni did you choose?
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum What exactly is forensic theology? Never heard of it before. Has it anything t do with religion? In that case I could use it to incorporate forensics in my confirmation class... Or is it some kind of psychology branch? Dealing with cults and collective suicides? Kind of like the CSI episode Shooting Stars ? At least I think that was it. Didn't see the entire episode, but I think that it was some kind of Scientology-cult-something. Thought I could start another topic: Which CSI show is the most realistic one looking from the scientific point of view? And why? I would write my own answer here, but I am dead at the moment. Need coffee!! Ok, I've already had two cups today but STILL!! Cheers!
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum I wasn't sure where to bring it up, but I figured that this thread was as good as any. I just wanted to mention that next week is National Laboratory Week (April 22-29). So if you happen to have any contact with anyone working in a lab, wish them a happy Lab Week. I was fortunate ( ? ) enough to get the task of doing the display window for our lab. The theme: CSI: Laboratory. (I couldn't resist)
Re: Welcome to the Forensic Science Forum Hey there, I'm Christel, 22, from Holland.. lets see if I can learn some stuff around here