Students who are brilliant in sciences, such as, chemistry, physics, mathematics and other sciences make excellent students for forensic science, reason being, forensic science is the application knowledge of science used to provide scientific evidence in a criminal investigation. This evidence acts as evidence against an accused when presented in the courts of law. Students interested in this field can major in becoming a forensic technician or a criminal investigator.
Forensic science technicians are in charge of operating laboratory equipment, the make observations during analysis, the examine experiments, make calculations, record results and provide conclusions. They play an important role during a crime investigation in that they are in charge or collecting and analyzing all physical evidence found at a crime scene specializing in DNA analysis of fluids, tissue and hair. They perform tests on certain elements found near or at the crime scene. At times work closely with medical examiners to determine cause and time of death of a victim. They also use advanced equipment and information technology programs in their analysis in order to get precise and conclusive results.
There are approximately 30 universities in the United States offering bachelor degrees in forensic science. Having attained a high school diploma, one can attain a degree in science within a period of two years. Top forensic school labs are well equipped with the latest laboratory equipment for DNA analysis and technology used to identify weapons and other elements.
There are several top schools for forensic science found in the United States. The best three forensic science technician schools include, University of Mississippi with undergraduates in forensic science amounting to an approximate 11,500 with an average high school GPA of 3.2 and more than 40% attaining high test scores. It was voted the best school by the American Academy of Forensic Scientists. The second is the University of Central Florida, where undergraduates in forensic science are approximately 35,000 with an average high school GPA of 3.8 and half of which have attained high test scores. Lastly Loyola University, New Orleans ranked sixth among the top ten forensic science schools, has approximately 3500 undergraduates enrolled in the forensic science programme with an average high school GPA of 3.7 and half having high test scores.