Popular television series Law and Order and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation reflect the appeal that careers in criminal justice and forensics hold for many junior high and high school students.
Anthropology and Psychology major Susanna Wetherington (pursuing Forensics Science Master’s in England, 2006) says if you’re into those types of shows, the Dedman College courses that are most interesting and beneficial are the ones where you:
- study criminal behavior patterns, such as characteristics of psychopaths
- determine cause of death and whether or not a body has been moved
- learn the structure and function of bones
- identify skeletal remains (if human, age, race, and gender)
- examine the decomposition process in different kinds of environments
- analyze the kinds of wounds that result from different weapons
- understand how diseases affect bones
- visit court to watch murder, theft, abuse, and other criminal cases
- evaluate drug offenders and court-appointed programs
- analyze DNA
While
Dedman College at SMU does not offer a degree
in criminal justice or forensics, students pursue their career interests
through coursework, internships, and field work in
Sociology,
Philosophy,
Anthropology,
Psychology, and
Biological Sciences.
Recommended
courses include:
Molecular Biology
Osteology
Crime and Delinquency
Administration of Justice
Deviant
Behavior
Law and Society
Forensic Psychology
Philosophy of Law
Correctional Systems
Forensic Anthropology
Students
examining a find at the SMU-in-Taos dig.
Philosophy of Mind
Additionally, students acquire basic forensics skills by excavating remains and artifacts in the 700 year-old Pot Creek Pueblo at the Archaeology Field School on the SMU-in-Taos campus.
Jason Garza expects to be prosecutor or an FBI agent. He’s earning double majors in Sociology and Psychology with plans to pursue a J.D. in criminal law. Jason says SMU’s Washington Term – a semester-long program of law or law enforcement courses and internship taken in Washington, D.C. – is “simply amazing and the intensity of the program will let you know if criminal justice is the path you want to take.”
Anthropology major Kirsten Green added an original hands-on research project to her degree. “This type of experience is hard to get as an undergrad,” she says. Kirsten wants to work with unidentified sites, considered Forensic Archaeology, and has been accepted into the Master’s program at the University of Montana, Missoula, 2006.
Jeanene Renfro
Assistant to the Dean, Dedman College Admission