BE4061 - Introduction to Forensic Science (2024/25)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2024/25 | ||||||||||||
| Module title | Introduction to Forensic Science | ||||||||||||
| Module level | Certificate (04) | ||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 15 | ||||||||||||
| School | School of Human Sciences | ||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 150 | ||||||||||||
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| Running in 2024/25(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module aims to provide students with an introduction to forensic science and its broad range of disciplines. The module will also introduce the various roles of an investigative team and how forensic scientists play their part.
Areas of study will include an introduction to crime scene processing and the way in which forensic science sits within the legal system.
The aims of this module are aligned with the qualification descriptors within the Quality Assurance Agency’s, Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
This module aims to provide students with the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the application of personal responsibility and decision-making.
Syllabus
Introduction to forensic science.
An introduction to crime scene processing, roles and responsibilities.
Importance of contemporaneous notes and recording of evidence.
Personal protective equipment and anti-contamination procedures
Evidence types such as biological and trace evidence and their potential inferences.
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
The module is delivered via lectures, tutorials, workshops and practical sessions (38 hours). Tutorials will allow informal-teacher led discussions of the issues raised in the lectures and are also used to allow practice in the key skills of communication, interpretation and analysis through case studies. Practical sessions are designed to allow the students to put the theory from lectures into practice utilising real-time experimental techniques and scenarios.
The remainder of the time allocated will be used for self-directed learning. Students will be expected to reflect upon taught material in order to demonstrate their understanding of the aspects of forensic science covered in this module.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Describe the principles of forensic science and understand the different specialist roles of an investigative team.
2. Describe the different evidence types including their potential evidential value and the main techniques used to process them.
3. Demonstrate and apply knowledge of the recovery, collection, preservation and documentation of evidence.