Forensic Science (including foundation year)

Why study this course?

Our Forensic Science (including foundation year) BSc (Hons) degree focuses on the science and investigative techniques required for a career in forensics.

This four-year course has a built-in foundation year (Year 0), designed to help you enter higher education if you can’t meet the entry requirements or don’t hold the traditional qualifications you require to enrol on an undergraduate degree. You’ll graduate with the same title and award as students on the standard three-year course.

More about this course

Our Forensic Science (including foundation year) BSc (Hons) course will provide you with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of forensic science. It will equip you with a range of scientific techniques to examine problems of a biological or chemical nature within the context of forensic science.

The foundation year will equip you with the fundamental knowledge of scientific disciplines including biochemistry, chemistry and biology. We’ll help you develop your study and transferable skills in time management, writing and mathematics, enabling you to start the subsequent years of your study with confidence. There will also be an introduction to the laboratory environment, as well as to the simple biological and biochemical procedures relevant to any science degree.

You’ll share your foundation year with students completing Year 0 from other disciplines, which will allow you to share your ideas and meet people with different academic interests.

During the subsequent three years, you'll be joined by students from the standard three-year course and study a wide range of challenging and engaging subjects including anatomy, physiology, criminalistics, DNA technology, biochemical toxicology and forensic interference from biological remains. To learn more about the content of your final three years of study, visit the Forensic Science BSc (Hons) page.

If, at the end of your foundation year, you find yourself wanting to specialise in a different area of human sciences, there will be flexibility to do so.

Module details below are subject to change. Please see the university website course page for full module details.
Foundation year (Year 0) modules include:
Scientific Studies (core, 30 credits);
Biology (core 30 credits);
Chemistry (core, 30 credits);
Biochemistry (core, 15 credits);
Foundation Year Project (Biosciences) (core, 15 credits)

Year 1 modules include:

Professional Studies (core, 15 credits);
Anatomy and Physiology 1 (core, 15 credits);
Anatomy and Physiology 2 (core, 15 credits);
General Chemistry (core, 15 credits);
Cell Biology (core, 15 credits);
Biochemistry (core, 15 credits);
Fundamentals of Molecular Biology (core, 15 credits);
General Microbiology (core, 15 credits)

Year 2 modules include:

Criminalistics 1 (core, 15 credits);
Criminalistics 2 (core, 15 credits);
Quantitative Analysis (core, 5 credits);
Molecular Biology (core, 15 credits);
Human Immunity (core, 15 credits);
Spectroscopic methods (core, 15 credits);
Microbiology (core, 15 credits)

Year 3 modules include:

Project (core, 30 credits);
Toxicology (core, 15 credits);
Inference for Biological Remains (core, 30 credits);
Biochemical Pathology (core, 15 credits);
Advanced Bioanalytical Science (core, 15 credits);
Medical Genetics (option, 15 credits);
Work Placement (for Life Sciences) (option, 15 credits);
Virology (option, 15 credits);
Applied Immunology (option, 15 credits)

Throughout the course you will be assessed through a range of coursework assignments, online tests, progress tests, presentations and practical reports.