Forensics minor added to curriculum

By Christina Katsifas
Collegian Staff
March 29, 2006

La Salle students now have the option to declare a minor in forensic science, after it was approved by the Curriculum Committee in Fall 2005.

According to Professor and Department Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Dr. David Cichowicz, the decision to create a forensic science minor was based on the large number of non-science majors who had an interest in taking a forensic science as a concentration, and the high interest in CHM 152: Introduction to Forensic Science.

“About six or seven years ago, we began offering an introduction to forensic science course to non-science majors on several occasions, in which there were always people interested in that particular course,” Cichowicz said. “Out of that, along with the fact that there were many other departments which had students interested in a forensic science program, we decided to develop a forensic science minor.”

Cichowicz frequently met with professors from the psychology, chemistry, sociology and social work departments over two years to discuss whether to make forensic science a major or minor for lack of employment opportunities in the field was a factor in the decision to make it a minor.

“We did not feel there were sufficient job opportunities out there to allow students to major in this field and tell them that they were going to find a job in forensic science,” Cichowicz said. “Instead, what we decided to do was to let students major in whatever area they were interested in, and offer this six-course minor to use as a leg-up when they went out to pursue something. If they were still interested in doing forensic science work after completing their major, students have the option to go on to graduate school and study forensic science.”

Depending on the type of forensic work a student wants to get involved in, he or she may not be required to have completed a science major to find employment.

“If you want to be the person who takes evidence found at a crime scene and analyze it, you need a science background,” Cichowicz said. “However, if you were more interested in processing the claims and collecting the evidence, no specific major would be recommended.”

Six courses must be completed to fulfill the minor requirements. Among them are FST 101: A Broad Overview of Forensic Science Covering Career Opportunities and Programs; Criminal Justice 330: Providing an In-depth Discussion about Events (such as the trial and arresting process); one Criminalistics course; one statistics course; one forensic science elective; and a capstone course that aims to give students realistic scenarios of collecting and analyzing evidence, and identifying and arresting suspects.

“The courses within the minor are filling up in the first few days of registration opening,” Cichowicz said. “The Criminalistic course consists primarily of juniors and seniors due to the backed-up demand, and we are getting more freshmen and sophomores for FST 101.”

katsifasc1@lasalle.edu