This is one of the "go-to" places for Texas students interested in forensic anthropology. San Marcos-based Texas State University houses the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) and offers a graduate program leading to a master's degree in forensic anthropology. Ideal applicants for the program should have a bachelor's degree (preferably in anthropology) that includes a course in human osteology. Students with bachelor's degrees in other fields can apply for admission, provided they have completed introductory courses in cultural and physical anthropology, archaeology and human osteology. The two-year graduate program at Texas State includes courses in forensic techniques, field methods, forensic identification and human growth and development. The program also requires completion of a master's thesis.
In addition to its graduate education program, FACTS provides forensic anthropological services to law enforcement agencies and hosts short courses for law enforcement officials to better understand forensic investigations.
Baylor, located in the central Texas city of Waco, offers a bachelor of science degree in anthropology, with an opportunity for students to specialize in forensic anthropology. This program emphasizes training in physical anthropology and an introduction to forensic applications. The university recommends that students interested in forensic careers also complete a minor in forensic science, which it also offers.
Located in Denton, north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the University of North Texas does not offer forensic anthropology as a specialty or concentration in its anthropology department. It does, however, suggest a series of courses for students interested in physical and forensic anthropology. Recommended classes include biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, as well as courses in anthropology. UNT's anthropology program includes an upper-level undergraduate class in forensic anthropology.
UNT's Health Science Center in Fort Worth houses the Center for Human Identification, a forensic anthropology laboratory. The facility first opened in 1986 and analyzes more than 100 forensic cases a year from law enforcement agencies and medical examiners.