If you are interested in a career in forensic science, you will need to earn a degree from pne of the accredited forensic science colleges. Although there are Associates degree programs, it is best to get a Bachelors or Masters Degree from a university that is accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC). The Bachelors degree programs usually take at five years to complete.

Before choosing an FEPAC accredited forensic science school, be sure to check out all of the available programs. Different programs have different focuses, and are aimed toward preparing people for different forensics jobs. Bachelor’s degrees are usually meant for those who wish to work in a lab but not supervise. The Masters program at SUNY Albany is focused on preparing people to work in DNA labs, while the forensic science degree at Cedar Crest College is more focused on crime scene investigation.

Those wishing to get a forensic science degree would do well to start preparing while they are still in high school by taking as many science classes as they can, and participating in things like debate clubs to get their oral skills up to par. If there is no Bachelors degree program in Forensics available to you, get a degree in Biology or Chemistry.

In order to gain admittance into one of the colleges that result in a forensic science masters degree, students must have taken classes such as Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Calculus, Physics, Biostatistics and Immunology. They need to have taken the GRE exam and have a Bachelors degree. Work experience in forensics is helpful. At Cedar Crest College, those accepted to the Masters program that doesn’t have work experience need to take three extra courses: Crime Scene Reconstruction and Pattern Analysis, Trace Evidence and Microscopy, and Forensic Molecular Biology and Population Statistics.