Science - Forensic and Criminal Investigation

View The Isle of Wight College's standard entry requirements for full-time college courses (depending on the level of the course to be studied).

To join this course you will need to have 5 GCSE's at grade 4 or above including English, Maths and Science.  Progressing students may require a minimum of Level 2 qualification in their chosen subject at Merit or above and English, Maths and a Science.

Any student interested in both forensic investigation and general sciences should consider applying for this course.

The course also contains a considerable amount of high-level science which is then applied to various forensic topics. Students on the course will be acquiring higher level knowledge in biology, chemistry, and physics and will also need to be able to study Maths at Level 3.

First Year:

Six units will be covered in the first year on this qualification.

• Unit 1: Principles and Applications of Science 1
• Unit 2: Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques
• Unit 3: Science Investigation Skills
• Unit 4: Forensic Investigation Procedures in Practice

Units 1-4 are the essential units that cover the scientific knowledge and practical skills used in forensic science to understand and analyse the evidence collected.

There will be 2 further optional units to cover specific topics in Forensic Investigation in detail. These units are subject to change.

Second Year

Seven units will be covered in the second year on this qualification.

• Unit 5: Application of Criminology
• Unit 6: Criminal Investigation Procedures in Practice
• Unit 7: Applications of Criminal and Forensic Psychology

Unit 5-7 are the compulsory units that will offer further understanding into the applications of forensic science knowledge and criminal investigations.

The remaining three units are optional units that are subject to change.

The course will be mainly taught in the science lab where there will be a mixture of practical and academic teaching. It will be 25% lecture time, 15% laboratory practical and 60% independent study time.