Apply to colleges that offer CSI careers; not all colleges and universities offer the classes that are required to become a crime scene investigator online. Check with potential schools before you submit your application form. Check to see that the college of your choice offers classes for your specific area of interest in CSI. If you are interested in becoming a crime scene technician, you must be sure that the college offers classes, such as crime scene photography; you cannot become a crime scene technician without the ability to photograph crime scenes. These specialized courses teach you how to operate the camera correctly; you will learn the basics of exposure control, which is important when you take photos of crime scenes.
Speak with your academic adviser once you are accepted into the school of your choice. She can help you to prepare a schedule of classes that you will need to take, so that you can become a crime scene investigator. She can also help you to create an academic plan, so that you can obtain your degree in a certain amount of time. For example, as a crime scene technician, you must take courses, such as introduction to crime scene technology where you will learn to record, collect and preserve psychical evidence from crime scenes. Enroll in advanced crime scene technology where you will learn to examine blood spatter, gunshot residue and the appropriate way to recover a buried body from the ground without harming the skeleton or any potential physical evidence. If you want to study forensic evidence, you will be required to take such courses as file systems forensic analysis, in addition to computer hardware for forensic investigators where you will learn to examine computer hard drives, systems and disks.
Register for your classes. As you review the list of required courses you need to complete before you graduate, enroll in the preliminary courses you need to take before the advanced classes. Online classes do not require you to show up at a certain time; you work when you want --- as long as you submit your assignments on or before the due date specified by your online professors.