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Top 10 for Forensic Science

Our Forensic Science courses are ranked 7th best in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2025.

Undergraduate courses/Sciences courses/Forensic Science

Key facts

Entry requirements

96 UCAS or MMM

Full entry requirements

UCAS code

BSc: F410 MSci: F411

Institution code

D26

Duration

3 yrs full-time

BSc - three years full-time MSci - four years full-time

Fees

2025/26 UK tuition fees:
£9,535*

2025/26 international tuition:
£16,750

Additional costs

See all the key facts

Entry requirements

96 UCAS or MMM

Full entry requirements

UCAS code

BSc: F410 MSci: F411

Institution code

D26

Duration

3 yrs full-time

BSc - three years full-time MSci - four years full-time

Fees

2025/26 UK tuition fees:
£9,535*

2025/26 international tuition:
£16,750

Additional costs

See all the key facts

Explore the science of solving crimes with ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s Forensic Science BSc/MSci – hands‑on labs, expert teaching, and real‑world investigative skills await

Forensic Science brings science to the heart of justice, using cutting-edge techniques to recover, analyse, and present evidence. If you enjoy solving scientific problems, working with advanced technology, and gaining real-world skills, this course could be your perfect fit.

Choose between our three-year BSc or four-year integrated MSci pathway to tailor your learning to your career aspirations.

In year one, you will build a strong foundation in chemistry, biology, and forensic techniques. Learn crime scene analysis, forensic photography, and essential skills in our Essentials of Forensic Investigations module.

In year two, you'll explore forensic applications with topics such as drugs, trace evidence, and the legal system through modules like Bodies, Tissues, and Fluids and Issues in Criminal Justice.

In year three, you'll dive deeper into real-world forensic science with DNA Profiling, Fire and Toxicology, and Forensic Case Studies. Conduct independent research to enhance your expertise.

In year four (MSci only), you'll specialise in Forensic Biology, Forensic Chemistry, or Criminalistics, with master’s-level projects and advanced modules tailored to your career ambitions.

Key features

  • Top 10 for Forensic Science: Our Forensic Science courses are ranked 7th best in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2025.
  • Industry-informed teaching: Designed in collaboration with Leicestershire Police, our courses meet professional standards and reflect current industry needs.
  • Professionally accredited: The BSc is accredited by The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences.
  • Authentic facilities: Practice in our crime scene house, courtrooms, and state-of-the-art laboratories.
  • Global experience: Gain unique insights with ÐßÐßÊÓƵ Global, from uncovering evidence of human rights abuses in Guatemala to attending the New York Supreme Court.
  • Boost your employability: Learn from industry leaders like Churchill Fellow Leisa Nichols-Drew, specialising in forensic investigations of knife crime.
  • Broaden your horizons: Graduates thrive in top roles at the Home Office, GCHQ, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and beyond.

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What you will study

  • Forensic, Professional and Quantitative Skills
  • Foundations of Biology for Forensic Science
  • Essentials of Forensic Investigations
  • Foundations of Chemistry for Forensic Science
  • Analytical Forensic Chemistry
  • Issues in Criminal Justice
  • Bodies, Tissues and Fluids
  • Operation Vestigium - Drugs and Trace Evidence Casework
  • Forensic Case Studies
  • Operation Ignis – A Fire and Toxicology based investigation
  • Research Project and Professional Skills
  • DNA Profiling and the Presentation of Evidence
  • Professional Portfolio
  • Specialist Pathway module – Either Advanced Concepts in Forensic Biology, Advanced Concepts in Forensic Chemistry or Advanced Concepts in Criminalistics.
  • Research Project and Professional Skills 2
  • Contemporary Issues in Forensic Science
  • Specialist Pathway module – either:
    • Advanced Concepts in Forensic Biology,
    • Advanced Concepts in Forensic Chemistry or
    • Advanced Concepts in Criminalistics.
  • Research Project and Professional Skills 2
  • Contemporary Issues in Forensic Science

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Your precise timetable will depend on your modules, however, you will normally benefit from up to 22 hours of teaching materials each week, which may consist of asynchronous and live lecture content, seminars, tutorials, practical laboratory sessions and workshops. You will also be expected to devote a considerable amount of time to independent study, typically 18 - 20 hours per week.

Practical work forms a large part of teaching and includes exercises at our mock crime house facility. You will also learn from visiting lecturers involved in forensic science. Assessments include coursework, practical reports, exams, phase tests, and written and oral presentations.

Teaching contact hours

Typically you will have around 22 hours of teaching and this will break down as:

Personal tutorial/small group teaching: approximately 2 hours of tutorials (or later, project supervision) each week

Medium group teaching: approximately 12 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week

Large group teaching: approximately 2 hours of large group discussions and lecture style teaching

Flexible teaching content: approximately 6 hours of screencast content each week, allowing you to learn when it best suits you

Personal study: approximately 20 hours studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study using hand-outs, online activities, etc.

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Our facilities

Forensic Science facilities

Substantial investment in Health and Life Sciences has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you develop your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

We offer dedicated high-end, state of the art equipment, facilities and laboratories including a mock crime scene house and a crime studio – the ideal opportunity for realistic training in crime-scene processing and evidence recovery in both domestic and more industrial environments.

Our physical evidence, analytical science and DNA analysis laboratories include a variety of specialist industry-standard equipment which includes forensic microscopy, imaging, trace evidence, finger-mark development and other high-end analysis systems.

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What makes us special

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ÐßÐßÊÓƵ Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through ÐßÐßÊÓƵ Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Students on this course have previously undertaken ÐßÐßÊÓƵ Global trips to places such as Guatemala, where they witnessed the work of experts from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, an organisation that has carried out important work in helping to unearth human rights abuses and genocide in the Central American country.

Students have also visited New York, where they were taken from the crime scene, to the forensic laboratory and all the way to the court, thanks to inside access to some of the USA’s most renowned crime investigation and judicial centres.

Where we could take you

Forensic Science_03

Placements

As part of this course you will have the opportunity to complete a paid placement, which offers invaluable professional experience working in a scientific environment. Students have been placed in highly competitive placement settings such as with the Metropolitan Police, East Midlands Special Operations unit (EMSO) and with internationally recognised companies such as Pfizer.

Our Careers Team can help you secure a placement through activities such as mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and you will be assigned a personal tutor to support you throughout your placement.

Forensic Science student Beatriz Silva helped to fight against serious crime during her placement as a research assistant at the National Crime Agency (NCA). Beatriz says, “This year has helped me develop many skills, such as data analysis and the use of databases. It has also helped me boost my confidence as a professional."

Forensic Image03

Graduate careers

Our graduates go on to work in a variety of areas including law enforcement, forensic science, crime scene and scientific support work, analytical chemistry, general scientific analysis, health and safety and the insurance industry.

Our graduates have gone on to work for world-leading forensic science employers including the Home Office, The Forensic Science Regulator, DSTL, GCHQ, National Crime Agency, Eurofins, Cellmark Forensics, Key Forensic Services, Astra Zeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Reckitt Benckiser, 3M and many others.

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Course specifications

Course title

Forensic Science

Award

BSc (Hons)/MSci

UCAS code

BSc: F410 MSci: F411

Institution code

D26

Study level

Undergraduate

Study mode

Full-time

Start date

September

Duration

BSc - three years full-time MSci - four years full-time

Fees

2025/26 UK tuition fees:
£9,535*

2025/26 international tuition:
£16,750

*subject to the government, as is expected, passing legislation to formalise the increase.

Additional costs

Entry requirements

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 7 overall when you start the course is essential, with a 7.0 in all components except writing which should be at least 6.5.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), is available both before and during the course.

GCSEs

  • Five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above including: English and Maths

Plus one of the following:

A-Level

  • A minimum of 112 UCAS points/(120 UCAS points for MSci applicants), from at least two A levels with a science subject (from Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Applied Sciences) at grade C or above

BTEC

  • BTEC Extended Diploma in Science BTEC – DMM/(DDM for MSci applicants)
  • BTEC National Diploma in Science BTEC - DMM/(DDM for MSci applicants)

International Baccalaureate

  • 26+ (28+ for MSci applicants) with 6 higher level points in a science subject

Access course

  • Pass QAA Accredited AHE with 112 UCAS points/(120 UCAS points for MSci applicants) with at least 15 level 3 credits at distinction and 30 level 3 credits at merit.

English Language and Maths GCSE required as separate qualifications.