Forensics Minor

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The Forensics interdisciplinary minor is a 16-credit minor designed for students who are interested in how physical and psychological evidence resolve issues involving criminal behavior, crime scenes and criminal investigations. This highly popular field spans across many disciplines, drawing from psychology, sociology, criminology, political science, chemistry, biology, and philosophy.

Students are required to take the Forensic Psychology course and an introductory Science course with a forensics component (4 credits). Students can then select the remaining 9 credits from a broad array of elective courses in multiple disciplines.

In order to fulfill the minor, students are required to take no more than 3 credits of their Elective courses in any single discipline.

Required Courses (7 credits)

PSYC 3317 Psychology and the Law
BIOL 1202 Molecules, Cells, and Genes (includes DNA analysis information and forensic science laboratory exercise)
OR
BIOL 1005 Current Topics in Biology (includes forensics component)

Elective Courses (9 credits)

Select 3 courses from the following courses, with no more than 3 credits within a single discipline

PSYC 3005 Abnormal Psychology
PSYC 3032 Physiological Psychology
PSYC 3302 Human Development
PSYC 3310 Social Psychology
PSYC 3334 Psychopharmacology
PSYC 4291 Schools of Psychology
CMLGY 1306 Introduction to Crime and Criminology
CMLGY 2300 Wrongful Convictions
CMLGY 2307 Social Deviance
CMLGY 2333 Criminal Law
CMLGY 2360 Victimology
CMLGY 2701 Penology
CMLGY 3301 Women and Crime
CMLGY 3308 Law and Society
CMLGY 3309 Policy Analysis
CMLGY 3310 Juvenile Delinquency
SOCI 2318 Law and the Family
SOCI 3327 Crime and the Media
SOCI 3347 Sociology of Violence
POLS 3304 Criminal Justice
PHIL 1101 Introduction to Logic
CHEM 1201 General Chemistry I
CHEM 2221 Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 3281 Biochemistry I
BIOL 1205 Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 1206 Anatomy and Physiology II
BIOL 2003 Cell Biology
BIOL 3009 Microbiology
BIOL 3256 Genetics
BIOL 3332 Immunology

CHEM2221 Principles of modern quantitative methods in chemistry, including the study of chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics, acidity and complex formation. The laboratory work involves practical applications of inorganic and organic biochemical analysis using volumetric, gravimetric, chromatographic and instrumental techniques.
CMLGY2300 The course will examine the criminal justice system through the prism of cases in which an innocent person was convicted. It will examine the causes of proposed remedies for wrongful conviction and consider its implications for the criminal justice system as a whole. Topics will include mistaken eyewitness identification, forensic science, false confessions, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance, snitch testimony, and the death penalty. The class will explore the current debate regarding the significance of the number of wrongfully convicted people who have recently been exonerated.
CMLGY2307 What is considered deviant behavior and how do certain behaviors become deviant in the eyes of society? This class will examine the social construction of deviance and the different theoretical perspectives that explain deviance. Certain forms of deviance will be examined critically, including drug use, sexual deviance and suicide.
CMLGY2333 A basic introduction to criminal law in the United States. Emphasis is upon social factors, norms, values and social policy considerations that shape modern criminal law. Subject areas include issues such as the justification of punishment, the elements of just punishment, and the death penalty as well as the study of substantive laws of homicide, rape and other criminal acts. Attention is also given to the emergence of international criminal law and the punishment of war crimes.
CMLGY2360 This course provides an overview of the field of victimology. In this course, students will gain an understanding of the nature and extent of criminal victimization, the criminal justice system's response to crime victims, and the policy implications of victimization research. Course readings will encourage analysis of an discussion of the legal, social and political implications of criminal victimization.
CMLGY3301 This course examines the major theoretical explanations of both female offending and victimization. We will analyze the sociological, cultural, and political forces that have shaped the construction of the female offender in society. Additionally, we will examine the role of gender in shaping the female experience within the criminal justice system as a whole.
PSYC3302 A study of the growth and development of adolescents and adults with respect to social, emotional, intellectual and physical behavior; developmental characteristics, goals and personal and interpersonal factors of psychological self-support with respect to their implications concerning education and/or guidance. Fall, Spring
PSYC3317 Application of psychological principles to legal problems. Analysis and implications of court decisions. Current controversies: insanity defense, jury selection, persuasive techniques, sentencing, competency, use of hypnosis, capital punishment, psychological testing. Conducting forensic inter- views will be incorporated.
SOCI2318 An examination of American family law with special attention to the values and social policy considerations that shape and are expressed in law. The central theme is the historical transformation of family and kinship in the U.S. and the tension between the private ordering of family relationships and state supervision of family life. Topics include the laws of marriage and divorce; child custody; visitation; marital property, alimony and child support; alternative living arrangements such as gay and lesbian partnerships; adoption and surrogacy.

Forensics Minor

Course Descriptions