The Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science degree is designed to prepare students for careers as forensic scientists and is accredited by the Forensic Science Educational Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science
Mission Statement
The mission of the forensic science program is to prepare the student, through the development of student knowledge and laboratory skills, for post-baccalaureate training and careers in forensic science and related fields, in an environment that emphasizes faculty-student mentoring.
Academic and Career Preparation
UTampa students have interned with many forensic laboratories which enhance the curriculum. Some examples include the following:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement
- Hillsborough County Medical Examiner
- Pinellas County Crime Laboratory
- Defense Forensic Science Center
- National Forensic Science Technology Center
The program also prepares students for graduate programs in forensic science, chemistry, toxicology, biochemistry and health professional schools; alumni from the program are prepared for and have attended, medical school and pharmacy school.
Experienced Faculty
All of the faculty in the program were formerly forensic science practitioners, with experience as crime scene investigators or in forensic laboratories. This ensures that our students are taught by professors who have practiced what they are teaching; they have done forensic science and testified to their results in court.
Employment Opportunities
Graduates of the program are well-prepared for employment with local, state, and federal crime laboratories as well as law enforcement agencies. Based on polling, 93% of our graduates from the past three years are employed in forensic science or analytical laboratory science, are pursuing doctoral programs related to their training, or are enrolled in medical or pharmacy school.
The majority of graduates (50%) work in forensic science, reflecting the program's training focus. They work in the most common subdisciplines of forensic science: crime scene investigation, forensic toxicology, forensic chemistry, friction ridge (fingerprints), biology/DNA, and firearm and tool mark examination.
Most graduates who do not enter forensics directly use the analytical skills they learned in their training, commonly in industrial or medical analytical laboratories. Some graduates have used their training to become law enforcement agents, including graduates working as special agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Additionally, several graduates are in or have attended doctoral programs in top schools in their field.
By the Numbers
- Employment Data
- Internship/Research/Capstone Data
- Enrollment Data
Forensic Science Post-Graduation Employment Data
| Graduation Class of 2021-2022 | Graduation Class of 2022-2023 | Graduation Class of 2023-2024 | |
| Number of graduates with jobs or job offers | 16 | 12 | 8 |
| Number of graduates admitted into an advanced degree program | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Number of graduates who did not respond to the post-graduation survey | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Internship / Research Project/ Capstone Experience Information
Academic Year 2024-2025
| Types of Experience (internship, research, or capstone) | Title or Topic of Project/Area of Study | Location |
| Internship | Chemistry | Global Forensic and Justice Center @ FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | Global Forensic and Justice Center @FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | Pinellas County Forensic Lab, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | Global Forensic and Justice Center @FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Chemistry | Global Forensic and Justice Center @FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Research | Using a Handheld Van de Graaff Generator to Electrostatically Drive PSI and Glass-PESI for Use with Mass Spectrometry | |
| Research | Optimization of Squalene Ionization Conditions | |
| Research | Evaluating 1,1-Difluoroethane for Headspace Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Volatiles | |
| Research | LC-MS/MS analysis of caffeine in synthetic blood: an introduction to instrumentation for undergraduate chemistry students | |
| Capstone | Developing Methods for the Detection of Drugs in Human Bone | |
| Capstone | Storage of Fire Debris Evidence | |
| Capstone | The Transfer and Persistence of Trace DNA in Forensic Casework | |
| Capstone | Forensic DNA Phenotyping Utilizing Epigenetic and Proteomic Markers | |
| Capstone | The Analysis of Polymers in 3D-Printed Firearms | |
| Capstone | The Physical Examination of 3D-Printed Firearms | |
| Capstone | Fieldable Technologies for Seized Drugs | |
| Capstone | Distinguishing Tauopathies: Utilizing Biochemical Analyses to Develop an In Vivo Diagnostic Technique for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy | |
| Capstone | Efficient DNA Collection Methods | |
| Capstone | Evaluation of the Use of Single-cell Analysis in Forensics with the DEPArray | |
| Capstone | Determination and Quantification of Cannabinoids | |
| Capstone | Applications of Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry and Capillary Microextraction of Volatiles for the Analysis of Organic Gunshot Residues | |
| Capstone | Improving the Detection of Fentanyl Isomers and Analogues Using an Ionic Liquid Stationary Phase, GC-IRD, and SERS | |
| Capstone | Determination of Accuracy and Reliability of Firearm and Toolmark Examinations | |
| Capstone | The comparison of toolmarks on 3D printed components | |
| Capstone | The Dual Analysis of Inorganic and Organic GSR with the Use of LC-MS/MS |
Academic Year 2023-2024
| Types of Experience (internship, research, or capstone) | Title or Topic of Project/Area of Study | Location |
| Internship | Firearms | Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tampa, FL |
| Internship | Chemistry | Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tampa, FL |
| Research | Chemical Compounds in K-Cup Coffee Pods and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry | |
| Research | Trace Drugs in Surface Waters | |
| Research | Electrostatic Capture and Ionization of Surface Residues | |
| Capstone | Optimization of DNA Extraction for Low-Level Samples | |
| Capstone | Improving Throughput by Optimizing PCR Methods | |
| Capstone | Inferring Activity from Fingermark Placement | |
| Capstone | Blood Spatter Analysis | |
| Capstone | Fieldable Mass Spectrometry at the Crime Scene | |
| Capstone | Improving the Recovery of Male DNA from Sexual Assault Kits | |
| Capstone | Collection and Preservation of Ignitable Liquid Residues | |
| Capstone | Fieldable Mass Spectrometry at the Crime Scene | |
| Capstone | Improving Throughput of DNA Profiling - The Optimization of PCR Methods | |
| Capstone | Optimization of DNA Extraction for Low-Level Samples |
Academic Year 2022-2023
| Types of Experience (internship, research, or capstone) | Title or Topic of Project/Area of Study | Location |
| Internship | Crime Scene | Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, New Port Richey, FL |
| Internship | Chemistry | Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tampa, FL |
| Internship | Toxicology | Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Orlando, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | Global Forensic and Justice Center @FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | Global Forensic and Justice Center @FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | Global Forensic and Justice Center @FIU Center, Largo, FL |
| Research | Ion Formation in Mass Spectrometry of Explosives | |
| Research | SPME-DART-MS of Explosives | |
| Capstone | DNA Transfer in Casework | |
| Capstone | Blunt Force Trauma in Burn Remains | |
| Capstone | The Sexual Assault Backlog | |
| Capstone | Canines and Human Scent | |
| Capstone | Electrostatic Capture of Forensic Evidentiary Residues | |
| Capstone | Causes of Excited Delirium | |
| Capstone | Handheld Raman and FTIR in the Field |
Academic Year 2021-2022
| Types of Experience (internship, research, or capstone) | Title or Topic of Project/Area of Study | Location |
| Internship | Chemistry | Pinellas County Forensic Lab, Largo, FL |
| Internship | Crime Scene | Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, New Port Richey, FL |
| Internship | Crime Scene | Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, New Port Richey, FL |
| Internship | Crime Scene | Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, New Port Richey, FL |
| Internship | Forensic DNA | National Forensic Science Technology Center, Largo, FL |
| Research | LC-TOF Mass Spectrometry of Explosives | |
| Research | Measurement of Halides in Water | |
| Research | Ion Formation in Mass Spectrometry of Explosives | |
| Research | Two Different GC-MS Analyses: Trihalomethanes in Water and Caffeine in Coffee | |
| Capstone | Livor Mortis and Circumstances of Death | |
| Capstone | Profiling Fentanyl Analogue Metabolites | |
| Capstone | Ignitable Liquids Analysis | |
| Capstone | Virtual Firearms Comparison Microscopy | |
| Capstone | Sequencing Degraded DNA | |
| Capstone | Odorants for Training Detection Canines | |
| Capstone | Fingerprint Capture from Mummified Deceased | |
| Capstone | Forensic Toxicology of Skeleton Tissue | |
| Capstone | Analysis of Fentanyls | |
| Capstone | Bacterial Microbiomes at Crime Scenes | |
| Capstone | Instrumentation in Seized Drug Analysis |
Enrollment/Graduation Data
| Academic Year 2021-2022 | Academic Year 2022-2023 | Academic Year 2023-2024 | |
| Number of students enrolled in forensic science | 177 | 138 | 139 |
| Number of forensic science graduates | 19 | 16 | 12 |
