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 Examiner
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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
| First-Year Seminar | |
| |
| |
| Calculus 1a with Precalculus
and Calculus 1b with Precalculus | |
| Calculus 1 |
| |
| Principles of Biology
and Principles of Biology Laboratory | |
| Introductory Physiology
and Introductory Physiology Laboratory | |
| 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 | |
| |
| Calculus 2
and Introduction to Probability and Statistics | |
| Elementary Statistical Inference
and Intermediate Statistical Methods | |
| Introductory Physics 1
and Introductory Physics 2 | |
| General Physics
and General Physics | |
| Introduction to Forensic Identification | |
| Science/Technology of Fingerprint Identification | |
| Crime Scene Investigation 1 | |
| Crime Scene Investigation 1 Laboratory | |
| Introduction to Microscopy | |
| Forensic Photography | |
| Forensic Identification Internship | |
| Crime Scene Investigation 2 | |
| Law and Evidence | |
| Latent Fingerprint | |
| Forensic Quality Assurance | |
| |
| Introductory Biochemistry | |
| Introduction to Biochemistry |
| Introductory Biochemistry Laboratory | |
| Introduction to Biochemistry Wet Laboratory | |
| The Living Cell
and The Living Cell Laboratory | |
| Advanced Cellular/Molecular Biology | |
| Advanced Cellular/Molecular Biology-Laboratory | |
| Molecular Genetics | |
| Molecular Genetics Laboratory | |
| Introductory Analytical Chemistry
and Introductory Analytical Chemistry Laboratory | |
| Physical Chemistry: Brief Course | |
| Experimental Physical Chemistry | |
| Cell and Molecular Biology Methods | |
| Introduction to Recombinant DNA | |
| Epigenetics | |
| Genomics | |
| Bioinformatics | |
| Forensic Biology | |
| Forensic Biology Laboratory | |
| General Animal Physiology | |
| Comparative Anatomy | |
| Vertebrate Microanatomy | |
| Population and Quantitative Genetics | |
| Instrumental Analysis | |
| Instrumental Analysis Laboratory | |
| Methods of Structure Determination | |
| Organic Syntheses | |
| Intermediate Inorganic Chemistry | |
| Inorganic Synthesis Laboratory | |
| Forensic Chemistry | |
| Biochemistry 2 | |
| Forensic Chemistry Lab | |
| Biochemistry 2 Laboratory | |
| Biological Evidence for Forensic Examiners | |
| Blood Stain Pattern Analysis | |
| Advanced Forensic Photography | |
| Professional Ethics in Forensic Science | |
| Professional Field Experience | |
| Directed Study | |
| Independent Study | |
| Research | |
| Medical Terminology | |
| Laboratory Medicine Applications | |
| Introduction to Pathology | |
| Drugs and Behavior | |
| Forensic Psychology | |
| Court Testimony | |
| 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 (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 Course 1 | 3 | |
| MATH 155 (GEF 3, B.S. Math Requirement) | 4 | | |
| | 16 | | 14 |
| Second Year |
|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | |
|---|
| GEF 4 | 3 | ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | |
| Advance Science requirement course 1 | 4 | CHEM 234
& CHEM 236 | 4 | |
CHEM 233
& CHEM 235 | 4 | PHYS 102 (B.S. Third Area 2) | 4 | |
| PHYS 101 (B.S. Third Area 1) | 4 | Advance Science requirement course 2 | 4 | |
| | 15 | | 15 |
| Third Year |
|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer | Hours |
|---|
| GEF 5 | 3 | FIS 302
& FIS 303 | 4 | FIS 386 | 6 |
| FIS 301 | 3 | FIS 314 | 3 | |
| FIS 335 | 3 | Forenxic Examiner Elective Course 3 | 3 | |
| Forensic Examiner Elective Course 1 | 3 | Forensic Examiner Elective Course 4 | 3 | |
| Forensic Examiner Elective Course 2 | 3 | | |
| | 15 | | 13 | | 6 |
| Fourth Year |
|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | |
|---|
| GEF 6 | 3 | ECAS Global Studies & Diversity Requirement (GEF 7) | 3 | |
| FIS 402 | 3 | FIS 406 (Capstone) | 3 | |
| FIS 404 | 3 | Forensic Examiner Elective 5 | 3 | |
| FIS 480 | 2 | Forensic Examiner Elective 6 | 3 | |
| MATH and STAT Requirement Course 2 | 3 | | |
| | 14 | | 12 |
| Total credit hours: 120 |
Major Learning Outcomes
Forensic Examiner
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.).