How to choose? First, make sure you have a realistic understanding of what a forensic job is and what it entails. It is not like television where characters participate from crime scene through investigation, scientific analysis and testimony. In reality, these responsibilities are compartmentalized. Crime scene analysts rarely work in the lab while forensic chemists and biologists rarely go to crime scenes. A good place to start your research is at the website of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and their sections on forensic careers and forensic jobs. Look over these job listings to get an idea of what the real world of forensic science is like.

Do you want to work in a laboratory or in the field? Are you more inclined to scientific laboratory environments or investigative work? Read the descriptions below to see what fits best and remember that you don?t have to choose until your sophomore year. However, knowing sooner makes it easier to plan your program and obtain the best second major to complement your program.

This track prepares students for entry level positions as crime scene analysts, latent fingerprint examiners, forensic photographers, evidence technicians, investigators, and law enforcement officers and agents. It also is well suited as a pre-professional program for dental, medical, and law school. Working conditions are more variable than for the other tracks but are typically field and/or office based rather than laboratory based. Crime scene analysts are often part of major crime scene squads that collect and document evidence, but they rarely participate in the scientific examination of the evidence in the laboratory.