Content area
A second quality stamp for some of these courses comes from the accreditation process, where an external body - in the case of forensic science in the UK, the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS) - awards accreditation for different standards. In the case of master courses, the website www.studyportals.com identifies master programs in the UK and Ireland using "forensics" and "forensic science" as key words to extract information. · The author wants to thank...
The study ofthe different aspects of collection, analysis, use, and interpretation ofany sort offorensic evidence, as well as the relevant training and knowledge in the techniques of the forensic sciences, are still in demand. Professionals in this discipline are still needed to join police forces, forensic institutes, and private companies around the world. Forensic science programs are still fl ourishing in many countries in Africa and Asia and still firmly established in many other countries such as US, UK, and Australia that have been delivering these for years. One example of the latter is the UK and Ireland, where the number of forensic courses in the different disciplines exceeds 300 with over 60 providers offering different combinations of forensic science programs.
In the UK these courses have all been validated by universities with degree-awarding powers, usually granted by a Royal Charter. This system in the UK guarantees an agile and reliable implementation of courses where the universities can independently implement courses that are in demand without the long process ofgetting ministerial or government approval. The process of validation involves an external input from other external independent assessors (usually from another reputable university) and the quality offi ce of the university. A second quality stamp for some of these courses comes from the accreditation process, where an external body - in the case of forensic science in the UK, the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS) - awards accreditation for different standards. The three main standards are "crime scene", "laboratory analysis and interpretation", and "evaluation and presentation of evidence". Other standards covered are "digital forensics" and "anthropology and archaeology". A process of audits on curricular contents, evidence of quality of work, forensic practitioner's input in the program, and interviews with students is usually followed to establish the quality of the program in order to award accreditation. The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences has been also accrediting courses outside the UK, which demonstrate how these high standards are becoming more international every day. However, only UK and Ireland programs are included in this review.
The present review ofundergraduate (Table 1) and postgraduate (Table 2) courses concentrates on those validated by the universities only and not previously included in a list of accredited courses (www.forensicsciencereview. com Forensic Sci Rev 27:78-82; 2015). The courses in the UK have been obtained using the list of courses offered by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) using as a fi lter "forensic science" as a "single subject". (This excludes combinations of subjects where forensic science is only a minor or a part of a more extensive program). For Ireland the website www.hotcoursesabroad.com identifies the highest number of institutions offering undergraduate forensic programs under the already mentioned criteria. In the case of master courses, the website www.studyportals.com identifies master programs in the UK and Ireland using "forensics" and "forensic science" as key words to extract information.
· The author wants to thank Dr. Anya Hunt and Mrs. Katharine Mitchell from the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences for their help in collating the information for this review.
Copyright Forensic Science Review Jul 2017