Forensic Chemistry and Lab
Kin College offers 4-hour lecture-and-lab combo course specializing in forensic chemistry, where you'll learn all the stock instruments used in most chemistry, drug analysis, arson and trace evidence labs in the country. During the course, you'll look at things like gunshot residue analysis (the fragments that impact the bullet target, and the impacted metal alloys on the shooter's hand); the various chemical signatures given by the likes of cocaine and marijuana on instruments like the gas chromatograph, thin-layer chromatography, and mass spectrometer. The upside of this course is that when you finish, you'll already know how to use the equipment that is in 90% of the forensic chemistry labs in the world.
Lane College
Forensic Science in Criminal Justice
Lane offers a 300-level undergraduate course in Forensic Science. Offered through the criminal justice department, this general survey course offers future crime scene investigators, police officers and federal agents the opportunity to learn about evidence analysis, proper chains of custody, search warrant procedures and evidence processing in the lab. By the end of the course, you'll have a solid understanding of the reality vs. fiction of crime scene investigation, and know what can and cannot be accomplished in a forensic lab setting. This is a good introductory course for those wishing to work in a lab after graduate, or go on for further graduate training in medical school or forensic grad school.
LeMoyne-Owen College
Forensic Evidence
LeMoyne-Owen offers 400-level criminal justice course in forensic evidence. In this class, you'll get a solid, basic understanding of how evidence is collected at a crime scene, the proper chain-of-custody procedures, and the processing of evidence in a way that allows for successful prosecution at trial. You'll see how various types of evidence can be collected, learn about the instrumentation used by crime scene investigators and lab technicians, and how the limitations of this equipment impact what can and should be collected on-scene.