Many community colleges offer an associate degree in forensic science or forensic investigation. These programs introduce students to the basic methods of collecting and analyzing evidence, and provide an overview of the forensic scientist's role within the legal system. Biology and chemistry courses are usually required. Some community colleges award professional certificates that students can use to apply for jobs as lab technicians. However, many community colleges encourage students to use an associate degree as credit toward a bachelor's degree, a requirement for many entry-level jobs in forensics.
A bachelor's degree in forensic science often involves a concentration in either biology or chemistry. Forensic chemists analyze and compare pieces of evidence using methods such as spectrometry, which looks at the relationship between matter and light waves, and chromatography, a technique that separates the substances in mixtures according to their molecular behavior. Forensic biologists focus more analyzing bodily fluids to obtain DNA evidence. Some colleges and universities train students in both disciplines and leave advanced specialization to graduate degree programs.
Many graduate programs offer a master's in forensic biology or chemistry. The Master of Science in forensic science at the University of California, Davis, trains students in advanced techniques and technologies and allows them to design their own program focusing on specialties such as arson, firearms, accident reconstruction and scene analysis. Students with undergraduate degrees in other disciplines, such as engineering, can pursue a master's in engineering forensics, a specialty field that investigates events such as collapse of buildings and bridges. A master's degree in digital forensic allows a student with a bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology to specialize in recovering and analyzing evidence from computers and other digital equipment.
Certain branches of forensic science require a doctoral degree. A forensic pathologist, often called a medical examiner, performs autopsies to determine causes of death. Most of these professionals have graduated from medical school with a specialty in surgery before pursing a doctorate in forensics. Graduates of dental school can pursue a doctorate in forensic odontology, a field that identifies human remain by comparing them to dental records. A doctorate in forensic anthropology prepares anthropologists to examine skeletal remains to identify victims, and to uncover other information that may assist crime investigators.