Forensics
We offer two forensic science degree courses:
Clive Bridge Toyota UK Corporate Affairs Director hands the keys to Professor John Coyne our Vice Chancellor
Plus a selection of two day short courses:
- Achieving ISO17025 in DNA and Trace Evidence Recovery
- Achieving ISO17025 in Finger and other Mark Development Techniques
- Achieving ISO17025 in Finger and other Mark Identification
We are working in partnership with Forensic Focus Ltd to offer you these courses which are aimed at achieving ISO17025 in specific areas of Forensic Science and Police Scientific Support. Find out more and book your place.
Accredited courses
Our forensic science courses are fully accredited by the Forensic Science Society and endorsed by Skillsmark. This means that the courses are delivered to a recognised high standard. If you study BSc (Hons) Forensic Science you'll be eligible for Associate Membership of the Royal Society of Chemistry when you graduate.
Practical experience thats second to none
Forensic science is a very hands on discipline, so you won't just sit in a classroom - you'll do loads of practical work too to gain valuable experience.
"The court experience has allowed me to gain an insight into how the criminal justice system works and has heightened my confidence." Hayleigh Affleck, who studied BSc (Hons) Forensic Science with Criminology
You'll use the very latest techniques to critically evaluate crime scenes in our crime scene car and our crime scene house. As the house has CCTV, your tutor can observe you at work. It's a shared facility with Derbyshire Constabulary, so you can be confident it's of industry training standard.
You'll analyse samples in our specialist labs that contain all the equipment you'll need.
We hold a Class A drugs license, which means that you will actually test real drugs to provide you with a realistic learning experience.
We hold firearms and demonstrate their use to show you how ballistics evidence can be interpreted for vital investigative work. This hands on training is as close as possible to a real life scenario, ensuring you're ready for your career in forensics.
We'll offer you the opportunity to visit a post mortem.
You'll undertake fire investigation training exercises with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, something that's quite unique to Derby, but vital in forensics training.
You'll learn to present evidence in our replica courtroom to prepare you for real case scenarios.
Experienced professionals
You'll be taught by experienced current and former forensic scientists who have worked for the Metropolitan Police and the Forensic Science Service. We have specialist expertise in firearms, entomology, blood spatter analysis and fingerprint analysis. We also have good links with organisations such as Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service.
You can make a difference
Forensic investigation changes lives for both the victims and perpetrators of crime. It's a rewarding and exciting career to choose as new technologies and developments constantly change and improve investigative techniques.
Sonica Devi, a recent graduate, has made a real difference to forensic investigation into drug use. She developed a novel method using gas chromatography techniques to help identify cocaine at picogram levels (one million millionth of a gramme). Sonica's breakthrough makes it possible to detect exceptionally small quantities of substances.
