Applied Forensic Sciences

Welcome to the Applied Forensic Sciences Department at Mercyhurst University!

A Bachelor of Science degree in applied forensic sciences prepares you for an exciting career collecting, cataloging and analyzing evidence and remains in the laboratory, or out in the field. Get hands-on experience in crime scene processing with classroom exercises and participation in practical labs. You’ll experience blood spatter analysis, footprint and tire casting, and fingerprint identification and processing – just to name a few. At our autopsy suite and processing lab, you’ll assist in real forensic anthropological cases. In fact, the applied forensic sciences program at Mercyhurst is one of the only programs in the U.S. where undergraduate students can work with real evidence and human remains. As a student in the applied forensic sciences, you are welcome to join the Mercyhurst Forensic Science Club, an academic club that brings in speakers, discusses forensic science topics and organizes campus-wide activities like CSI Day. Students have the opportunity to learn from our expert faculty members who have decades of experience working in the forensic science field.

Undergraduate

The development of the undergraduate Applied Forensic Sciences Program represents the first truly multidisciplinary major at Mercyhurst that incorporates the major natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) and mathematics in the core curriculum. The program includes three concentrations:

• Forensic and Biological Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Geoarchaeology

The core curriculum is enhanced by these three specialized concentrations which meet student interests while reflecting the changing face of forensic science.

Graduate

The Master of Science in Anthropology is a two to three year intensive and immersive program that includes three primary tracks:

• Forensic and Biological Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Geoarchaeology

The Forensic and Biological Anthropology concentration focuses on:
1. Archaeological recovery of outdoor crime scenes
2. Comprehensive analysis of human skeletal remains in the laboratory
3. High end statistical analysis and interpretation of the biological significance of those remains

Graduate courses prepare students for the application of Forensic Anthropology to real life cases. Students play a major role in processing real forensic cases under the direction of department professors Dr. Symes and Dr. Dirkmaat. Graduate students are involved in all phases of the cases—from initial recovery and documentation in the field to processing, photographing and analyzing the remains in the laboratory.