Degree Requirements
Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.S. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.S. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences pages.
Departmental Requirements for the B.S. in Forensic Biology
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Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone course. Forensic Biology majors must complete FIS 406.
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Writing and Communication Skills Requirement: The Forensic and Investigative Science Bachelor of Science is a SpeakWrite Certified ProgramTM. SpeakWrite Certified programs incorporate and develop students' written, verbal, visual, and mediated communication skills across the curriculum.
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Calculation of the GPA in the Major: To graduate with the Forensic and Investigative Science major, students must achieve a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 in all FIS courses with no grade lower than a C- in any FIS course. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat.
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Internship Requirement: All students are required to successfully complete an internship for 3 hours of credit.
Curriculum Requirements
| UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS | 19 | |
| First-Year Seminar | ||
GEF: Number of credits will vary depending on overlap | ||
| COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS | ||
Global Studies & Diversity Requirement | ||
| Mathematics Requirement | 4 | |
| Calculus 1 | ||
| Calculus 1a with Precalculus and Calculus 1b with Precalculus | ||
| Science Requirement | ||
Please see the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences' Bachelor of Science (B.S.) tab. | ||
| Biology Requirement | 8 | |
| Principles of Biology and Principles of Biology Laboratory | ||
| Introductory Physiology and Introductory Physiology Laboratory | ||
| Chemistry Requirement | 16 | |
| Fundamentals of Chemistry and Fundamentals of Chemistry 1 - Laboratory | ||
| Principles of Chemistry 1 and Principles of Chemistry 1 - Laboratory | ||
| Fundamentals of Chemistry and Fundamentals of Chemistry 2 - Laboratory | ||
| Principles of Chemistry 2 and Principles of Chemistry 2 - Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Mathematics and Statistics Requirement | 6 | |
| Select one of the following pairs: | ||
| Calculus 2 and Introduction to Probability and Statistics | ||
| Elementary Statistical Inference and Intermediate Statistical Methods | ||
| Physics Requirement | 8 | |
| Introductory Physics 1 | ||
or PHYS 111 | General Physics | |
| Introductory Physics 2 | ||
or PHYS 112 | General Physics | |
| Forensics Biology Requirements | 20 | |
| Introduction to Forensic Identification | ||
| Crime Scene Investigation Overview | ||
or FIS 302 | Crime Scene Investigation 1 | |
| Biological Evidence for Forensic Examiners | ||
| Introduction to Microscopy | ||
| Forensic Identification Internship | ||
| Law and Evidence | ||
| Forensic Quality Assurance | ||
| Advanced Science Requirements | 18 | |
| Introductory Biochemistry | ||
or BIOC 339 | Introduction to Biochemistry | |
| The Living Cell and The Living Cell Laboratory | ||
| Advanced Cellular/Molecular Biology | ||
| Molecular Genetics and Molecular Genetics Laboratory | ||
or GEN 371 | Principles of Genetics | |
| Forensic Biology and Forensic Biology Laboratory | ||
| Forensic Biology Electives * | 17 | |
| Cell and Molecular Biology Methods | ||
| Introduction to Recombinant DNA | ||
| Epigenetics | ||
| Genomics | ||
| Bioinformatics | ||
| Comparative Anatomy | ||
| Vertebrate Microanatomy | ||
| Population and Quantitative Genetics | ||
| Introductory Analytical Chemistry | ||
| Instrumental Analysis | ||
| Instrumental Analysis Laboratory | ||
| Methods of Structure Determination | ||
| Physical Chemistry: Brief Course | ||
| Experimental Physical Chemistry | ||
| Physical Chemistry | ||
| Physical Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Physical Chemistry | ||
| Physical Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Forensic Chemistry | ||
| Biochemistry 2 | ||
| Forensic Chemistry Lab | ||
| Biochemistry 2 Laboratory | ||
| Science/Technology of Fingerprint Identification | ||
| Forensic Photography | ||
| Advanced Forensic Photography | ||
| Professional Ethics in Forensic Science | ||
| Professional Field Experience | ||
| Directed Study | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Research | ||
| Medical Terminology | ||
| Laboratory Medicine Applications | ||
| Drugs and Behavior | ||
| Forensic Psychology | ||
| Capstone Experience | 3 | |
| Court Testimony | ||
| General Electives: | 1 | |
| Number of Electives may vary depending on course selection. | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| FIS 191 | 1 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 | ||
| BIOL 115 & BIOL 116 (B.S. First Area 1; GEF 2) | 4 | BIOL 117 & BIOL 118 (GEF 8; B.S. First Area 2) | 4 | ||
| CHEM 115 & 115L (GEF 8; B.S. Second Area 1) | 4 | CHEM 116 & 116L (GEF 8; B.S. Second Area 2) | 4 | ||
| FIS 201 | 3 | Math and Stat Requirement 2 | 3 | ||
| MATH 155 (B.S. Math Requirement, GEF 3) | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 14 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| BIOL 219 & BIOL 220 | 4 | ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | ||
| CHEM 233 & CHEM 235 | 4 | CHEM 234 & CHEM 236 | 4 | ||
| PHYS 101 (B.S. Third Area 1) | 4 | PHYS 102 (B.S. Third Area 2) | 4 | ||
| STAT 215 (Math and Stat Requirement 2) | 3 | FIS 202 | 3 | ||
| General Elective | 1 | ||||
| 15 | 15 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer | Hours |
| GEF 4 | 3 | BIOL 310 | 3 | FIS 386 | 3 |
| BIOL 324 & BIOL 325 | 4 | BIOL 432 & BIOL 434 | 4 | ||
| FIS 305 | 3 | Forensic Biology Elective 1 | 4 | ||
| FIS 314 | 3 | GEF 5 | 3 | ||
| 13 | 14 | 3 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| FIS 404 | 3 | AGBI 410 or BIOC 339 | 3 | ||
| FIS 406 (Capstone) | 3 | FIS 480 | 2 | ||
| Forensic Biology Elective 2 | 4 | Forensic Biology Elective 4 | 3 | ||
| Forensic Biology Elective 3 | 3 | Forensic Biology 5 | 3 | ||
| GEF 6 | 3 | GEF 7 | 3 | ||
| 16 | 14 | ||||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||||
| * | Six (6) credits must be in FIS.Only three (3) combined credits of FIS 491, FIS 492, FIS 495, and FIS 497 may count toward this requirement. |
Major Learning Outcomes
Forensic Biology
Upon graduation from the FIS major, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate the ability to take data generated during a forensic investigation and prepare for trial.
- Demonstrate competency in the collection, processing, analysis, and evaluation of evidence.
- Develop a portfolio of evidence (Resume, portfolio file, course work activities, notes etc.) detailing activities, accomplishments, certifications and relevant learning experiences that will allow the student to standout in a competitive forensic job market.
- Demonstrate the application of acquired knowledge, skills and capabilities in professional environments (e.g., internships, professional meetings, interviews, graduate school etc.).