General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Departmental Requirements for the B.S. in Forensic Chemistry
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 Chemistry
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Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone course. Forensic Chemistry majors must complete FIS 406.
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Writing and Communication Skills Requirement: The Forensic Chemistry 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 Chemistry 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, or in any course listed in the "STEM Foundations" or "Forensic and Investigative Science Major Requirements" areas below. 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 the FIS 386 Forensic Identification Internship internship course for a minimum of 3 hours of credit.
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Benchmark Expectations: For details, go to the Forensic and Investigative Science admissions tab.
Curriculum Requirements
| UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS | 19 | |
| First-Year Seminar | ||
GEF: Number of credits will vary depending on overlap | ||
| COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS | 4 | |
Global Studies & Diversity Requirement | ||
| Calculus 1 | ||
| Calculus 1a with Precalculus and Calculus 1b with Precalculus | ||
| DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS: | ||
| 1- STEM Foundations: | 23 | |
| Principles of Biology and Principles of Biology Laboratory | ||
| Introductory Physiology and Introductory Physiology Laboratory | ||
| Calculus 2 | ||
| Introduction to Probability and Statistics | ||
| Introductory Physics 1 and Introductory Physics 2 | ||
| General Physics and General Physics | ||
| 2- Forensic Chemistry Major Requirements | ||
| Chemistry | 24 | |
| Fundamentals of Chemistry and Fundamentals of Chemistry 1 - Laboratory | ||
| Principles of Chemistry 1 and Principles of Chemistry 2 | ||
| Fundamentals of Chemistry and Fundamentals of Chemistry 2 - Laboratory | ||
| Introductory Analytical Chemistry and Introductory Analytical Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Physical Chemistry: Brief Course and Experimental Physical Chemistry | ||
| Physical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Forensic and Investigative Science | 26 | |
| Introduction to Forensic Identification | ||
| Crime Scene Investigation Overview | ||
| Introduction to Microscopy | ||
| Forensic Chemical Analysis | ||
| Forensic Chemical Analysis Laboratory | ||
| Professional Internship Preparation | ||
| Forensic Identification Internship | ||
| Law and Evidence | ||
| Analysis of Seized Drugs | ||
| Analysis of Seized Drugs Laboratory | ||
| Forensic Quality Assurance | ||
| Forensic Chemistry Electives: | 8 | |
| Select two of the following sequences: | ||
| Trace Evidence Examination and Trace Evidence Examination Laboratory | ||
| Arson and Explosives Analysis and Arson and Explosives Analysis Lab | ||
| Analytical Forensic Toxicology and Analytical Forensic Toxicology Laboratory | ||
| Capstone Experience | 3 | |
| Court Testimony | ||
| General Electives | 13 | |
| Number of General Elective may vary depending on overlap | ||
| 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 (GEF 2; B.S. First Area 1) | 4 | BIOL 117 & BIOL 118 (B.S. First Area 2; GEF 8) | 4 | ||
| CHEM 115 & 115L (B.S. Second Area 1; GEF 8) | 4 | CHEM 116 & 116L (B.S. Second Area 2; GEF 8) | 4 | ||
| FIS 201 | 3 | MATH 156 | 4 | ||
| MATH 155 (B.S. Math Requirement; GEF 3) | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 15 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| GEF 4 | 3 | ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | ||
| CHEM 233 & CHEM 235 | 4 | CHEM 234 & CHEM 236 | 4 | ||
| PHYS 101 or 111 | 4 | FIS 202 | 3 | ||
| STAT 215 | 3 | PHYS 102 or 112 | 4 | ||
| General Elective | 1 | General Elective | 1 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer | Hours |
| CHEM 215 & 215L | 4 | GEF 5 | 3 | FIS 386 | 3 |
| FIS 314 | 3 | CHEM 341 & CHEM 342 | 4 | ||
| FIS 340 & FIS 341 | 4 | FIS 460 | 3 | ||
| FIS 385 | 1 | FIS 461 | 1 | ||
| FIS 480 | 2 | General Elective | 2 | ||
| 14 | 13 | 3 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||
| GEF 6 | 3 | GEF 7 | 3 | ||
| FIS 404 | 3 | Forensic Chemistry Elective 2 | 4 | ||
| FIS 406 | 3 | General Elective | 4 | ||
| Forensic Chemistry Elective 1 | 4 | General Elective | 4 | ||
| General Elective | 1 | ||||
| 14 | 15 | ||||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||||
Major Learning Outcomes
Forensic Chemistry
Upon graduation from the Forensic Chemistry major, students will be able to:
- Apply scientific methodology and evaluate techniques in the collection, processing, analysis, and evaluation of forensic evidence.
- Assess and defend data generated during forensic investigations
- Present scientific data in written, verbal, and visual formats.
- Demonstrate the professionalism and high ethical standards demanded by the justice system and the forensic science community.