Message From the Director
Jay A. Siegel, Ph.D.
Welcome to the Forensic and Investigative Science Program at IUPUI. We are located in downtown Indianapolis and are the home of campus components of both Indiana University and Purdue University. We have both the Bachelor's Degree in Forensic and Investigative Sciences and the Master of Science in Forensic Science. Our students obtain their degrees from the Purdue School of Science. We are the first university in Indianapolis to establish degrees in forensic science and we have the only master's degree in this field.
This is an exciting time for forensic science in the United States and worldwide. Its popularity among the public and criminal justice agencies is at an all time high and there are critical needs for more, well qualified forensic scientists. It is a matter of the states having the resources to fund all of the needed positions.
Our B.S. degree in Forensic and Investigative Sciences is a broad based natural and physical sciences program that gives our students a strong foundation in chemistry, biology, physics, math, computing and statistics. We currently have concentrations in forensic chemistry and biology. These include classes in the criminal justice system, law (including a class taught by IU law faculty), criminal investigation and a variety of forensic sciences. We have undergraduate research opportunities, internships available nationwide and even overseas. There are at least five public and private forensic science laboratories in Indianapolis and we have working relationships with all of them.
Our M.S. degree in Forensic Science requires a bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, forensic science or a related field for admission. Currently, students must select a concentration in either forensic chemistry or biology. We plan to add other concentrations over the next couple of years, taking advantage of expertise offered by Purdue and Indiana University faculty. These will include toxicology, entomology, computer forensics and engineering. All of our full time students must complete a master's thesis. There is a non-thesis option for students who work full time in a forensic or analytical laboratory environment. Internships are also available to our graduate students.
To support our program we have outstanding faculty and staff. You can find out specific information about them elsewhere on this site. We also boast state of the art research and teaching instrumentation within our own laboratories and we also have access to other equipment throughout the university. We can promise you a cutting edge education and research experience at IUPUI.
I hope that you will take the time to explore our website and consider applying to one of our programs. If you have any questions or issues, please feel free to contact our program coordinator, Kristin Shea at: kashea@iupui.edu.