Curious about studying Forensic Science - BSc (Hons)at University of Staffordshire? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Stoke-on-Trent Campus
Full Time
Sep 2026
3 Year
Get hands-on experience of Forensic Science, from processing crime scenes and undertaking laboratory analysis to presenting your findings in court. Develop the scientific, practical and professional skills needed to pursue a career in forensic science and related fields. On our BSc (Hons) Forensic Science with a Placement Year degree, you’ll explore the science behind crime investigation and learn how evidence can help answer questions about what happened, how it happened and who may have been involved. Forensic science is a practical discipline, so you’ll spend significant time developing your skills through hands-on activities. You’ll work in specialist crime scene facilities and forensic laboratories, applying scientific theory to realistic forensic scenarios. You’ll learn how to document, recover, examine, analyse and interpret evidence, using recognised forensic approaches and industry-relevant equipment. As well as scientific and technical knowledge, you’ll develop skills in communication, research, digital technologies, critical thinking, teamwork and professional practice. You’ll also learn about quality assurance, ethical practice and the importance of working to professional standards – helping you understand what it means to work as a forensic scientist or investigator. Our award-winning Staffordshire Forensic Partnership provides opportunities to engage with the forensic sector, including through practitioner input, guest lectures, live briefs and potential placement and work experience opportunities. Through global collaborations you will have opportunities to engage with forensic professionals and gain insight into current practice and research. The previous version of this course was fully accredited by the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, providing independent recognition of the quality and professional relevance of the degree. We shall be seeking full accreditation of this new course in July 2027. On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: *BSc (Hons) Forensic Science*
This module will enable you to consider a range of factors, challenges, issues and mistakes that can and have influenced criminal justice outcomes and explore how change can overcome and improve these outcomes in both UK and international contexts. You will consider and explore real-world cases from criminological, policing and forensic perspectives by working with students from related courses and staff with subject expertise in these specific criminal justice sectors. As a result, you will be able to consider the contribution of professionals in your subject areas as well as those of others who all work together to deliver justice in society.
This module will provide you with a fundamental understanding of crime scene processing. During the module you will practise digital photography, utilising our Crime Scene House to give you a real world setting to develop your skills. Alongside which we will give you the knowledge and skills you need to be able to protect a scene and fully document it through sketching, measuring and logs in addition to photography. You will also be introduced to the collection and appropriate methods of packaging for items of evidence. All of these skills will provide an excellent basis for a potential future career as a Crime Scene Investigator.
This module incorporates the fundamental aspects of biology to support the biological aspects contained in later levels of your degree. The basics of the diversity of life will be covered, including DNA as the central dogma of molecular biology and the unifying mechanism in all life. Students will learn the fundamentals of inheritance starting with the structure, replication and organisation of DNA within the genome. How information flow is regulated and translated into a form useable by a cell will be addressed and the module will culminate with consideration of the vertical transmission of genetic material (reference to Mendelian principles) and introduction to population genetics.
An introduction to forensic science will provide the students with a core understanding of the role of a forensic scientist in both criminal and civil cases. The module will review real cases to highlight forensic techniques, the development of the rules governing expert witnesses, a general understanding of the legal system and the reasons for the procedures to be followed in scene / evidence management. The use of real cases will allow the students to appreciate and understand why the various procedures are required and need to be followed, by both showing failures in cases as well as successes.Completion of the module will provide the student with a solid basis to proceed into more detailed forensic science or scene management roles.
Utilise forensics in practical scenarios; understand how the laboratory translates into the real-world. Build scientific models of data and apply them to what you see experimentally. This module will introduce you to the biological, chemical, mathematical and computational tools you need to succeed as a forensic scientist.
Chemical analysis is crucial to modern forensic investigations, as such this module will introduce students to a range of current and state-of-the-art in analytical techniques. A thorough understanding will be gained of the theory and application of chromatographic techniques with different detection methods. Similarly, the theory and role of molecular and atomic spectroscopic techniques in qualitative and quantitative analysis will be addressed, along with other specialist techniques.Students will gain hands-on experience of the preparation of samples for analysis and then generate practical data from their use of the analytical equipment. As such students will develop a range of laboratory skills allowing them to interpret the analysis of a variety of forensic evidence.
Forensic Genetics and DNA-profiling: Basic genetics (classical, molecular and population) relevant to forensics - patterns of inheritance (nuclear and cytoplasmic), alleles and polymorphisms. Detection of polymorphisms, genes in populations. Genetic material and its isolation from diverse sources. The practical content includes some basic techniques of molecular biology related to DNA analysis and genotyping, including purification and gel electrophoresis of nucleic acids, hybridisation technology and the polymerase chain reaction.
This module gives students step-by-step guidance and support to produce a group project proposal that outlines how their cross-discipline team would investigate and respond to a current problem or issue faced in the criminal justice, police or forensic science industry/sector. The module also equips students with the practical skills & competencies to retrieve, analyse and write up both quantitative and qualitative data.
Marks and traces are a key forms of evidence seen in criminal investigations. This very practical based module will provide you with the knowledge and skills to analyse a variety of evidence types using a range of techniques. This module will cover marks and traces such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, toolmarks, fibres and glass. You will explore their use in casework, understand the methods used to analyse samples and learn to interpret this evidence for the courts. You will learn to apply your skills to mock cases, in which you analyse samples and report results. The practicals and assessments are based on real-world workplace activities and provide you with the skills needed to be a forensic scientist/investigator.
This module will put into practice the knowledge and skills you have developed in earlier modules and enables you to experience all aspects of the ?crime scene to court? process.Working as a small team, you will go to the crime scene house and, wearing full personal protective equipment, process a range of different mock crime scenes, collecting all the relevant evidence and documenting your actions. You will also analyse the evidence collected in those scenes using the appropriate laboratory equipment and writing scientific reports on the outcomes. For your final assessment, as well as a scientific report you will also create a court report which you will then be cross examined on in a mock court setting.
You will gain an understanding of the England and Wales legal system, with a particular focus on the role of the forensic scientist within this system. You will gain a good understanding of Criminal Law, and understand how an offence is defined, with a view to ensuring that your forensic strategy is relevant to the court of law and is therefore more impactful. You will gain experience of what it is like to be in a court of law and the roles and responsibilities of an Expert Witness. You will also understand the governance and regulations surrounding the production of expert witness statements and be able to produce expert witness statements yourself.You will also gain a greater understanding and appreciation of how probability is used in a court of law and pertaining to the criminal investigation. You will gain an understanding of Bayes Theorem and Case Assessment and Interpretation and will gain practical experience of applying these principles in a range of case studies.
You will devise, plan, execute and report on a substantial piece of independent research work in forensics. The topic will be selected from a list of research projects or you can design your own topic. It will normally include experimental work or fieldwork. The module will allow you to develop skills in defending your work through a viva-voce examination. You will need to select, deploy and adapt techniques, critically interpret and evaluate data, and present your findings both in writing and orally. As part of the viva voce examination you will be expected to give a concise verbal summary of your project, its findings and the significance of the research.
In this module you will discuss new and emerging technologies and concepts in forensic science and forensic investigation. All sessions will be interactive, with the opportunity to discuss your ideas with academic staff and experts from the field during an expert panel discussion.You will attend and participate in a modern forensics conference at the university, where you will present your knowledge of a new and emerging technology or concept in forensics and to present your ideas for the future of the discipline, which will be assessed in an evidence based summary. You will also be assessed on your conference presentation and your abstract and biography, which will form part of the conference proceedings.
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