You will need a degree in Criminal and forensic science. Here, you will study both science and criminal justice. In this major, you will learn how to reconstruct crimes and analyze physical evidence such as blood, DNA, fingerprints, and other evidence and how to use it in a court of law. You will also learn how to use many laboratory tools to collect and test data.

Forensic science programs will teach you how to “listen to the dead.” Both crime scenes and crime victims can provide you with clues as to what happened, how it happened, when it happened, and most importantly: who did it. You will learn how to examine trace details such as skin, hair, and clothing fibers, as well as DNA, blood, and fingerprints and, in the case of a murder investigation, wounds, patterns of blood loss, and the amount of decay. You will learn how to analyze all of these in order to reconstruct an accurate scenario and determine who did the crime. However, bear in mind that forensic science is not just about murder investigations; the skills you learn will also help you determine whether a crime was committed in the first place.