Education requirements for the field of forensics vary by employer. There are no set rules or regulations regarding the practice of computer forensics. Some employers only require an associate degree in the field. Admissions requirements to most associate degree program require a high school diploma or its equivalent and documentation regarding the student's academic achievements. Admission to these program is usually not competitive, so students who my not have had much success in high school may wish to consider the associate degree before completing a bachelor's degree. Schools like ITT Technical Institute provide online degrees in this field. As with most associate degree programs, certain general education requirements must be met. Students must complete 24 hours of general education courses in areas like English composition and math. The remainder of the required courses are in areas related to computers or computer forensics. Some of these include evidence collection and preservation, cyber crime and digital forensics tools and fundamentals of networking technology.
The bachelor's degree is more commonly required among employers in the computer forensics field. Most schools that offer the bachelor's degree in this field do so as part of an information technology major with an emphasis or specialization in computer forensics. Admission to these programs varies by school. Most four-year colleges require a high school diploma, a minimum grade point average and a certain range of scores on the ACT examination. In addition to the typical general education requirements most programs require core courses in the computer forensics field. For example, the University of Rhode Island requires courses in computer systems fundamentals, introduction to computer forensics, network forensics, forensics analysis tools and digital forensics research. Other schools require additional courses based on the expertise of their faculty members. Westwood College, for example, requires courses in managing malicious software, mobile device analysis and Linux systems administration.
Some schools also offer certificates in the computer forensics fields. Certificates allow students to receive specialized training without necessarily pursuing a degree in the field. Certificate programs can be at the undergraduate or graduate degree level. Undergraduate certificates usually require no experience in the field. The certificate program at the University of Rhode Island requires 15 credit hours for completion and no experience in the field to be admitted. Courses include those in computer systems fundamentals, forensic analysis tools, computer forensics and network forensics. Similarly, the University of Alabama at Birmingham offers a computer forensics undergraduate certificate that requires 21 credit hours in courses in law, evidence and procedure, network programming, network security, investigating cybercrime, digital documents and computer crime and forensics.