Various television series have made the forensics profession popular in recent years. The term forensics comes from the Latin word forum . In the Roman Empire, the forum was the marketplace where legal proceedings also took place.

What do forensic scientists do?

The job of the forensic scientist is to reconstruct criminal acts on the basis of clues and circumstantial evidence and thus to provide the court with evidence. Very different sciences can be used to help, for example medicine , computer science or forensic science . “The” forensic so there is, strictly speaking, not at all, but there are very different forensic professions .

Forensic fields of work at a glance

Forensic medicine

According to searchforpublicschools, the best-known forensic profession is certainly that of forensic medicine. Forensic doctors examine the victims of crime and use the external and internal injuries and traces to draw conclusions about the circumstances of their death . If you want to become a forensic doctor, you have to complete a regular degree in human medicine . Specialization in forensics or forensic medicine is possible there in the higher semesters.

Forensic psychiatry / psychology

Those studying medicine can also specialize in forensic psychiatry. Forensic psychiatrists estimate as culpability of offenders one. In addition, there is also forensic psychology, whose tasks include creating perpetrator profiles . Anyone who finds this area of ​​work interesting can specialize in forensics during a regular psychology degree.

Forensic forensic science

Forensic forensic technology is about the technical traces of criminal acts . Forensic technicians compare bullets or examine fingerprints, for example. Since this work area is relatively extensive, it is divided into further subject areas in Germany:

• The Forensic ballistics deals with firearms.
• The forensic toxicology attempted to detect traces of drugs, drugs or toxins in the body.
• Forensic phonetics and linguistics examine the spoken and written language, respectively, to solve crimes.

Anyone who would like to work in these individual sub-areas of forensic forensic technology can, for example, specialize in forensics within a specialist degree in physics , linguistics or medicine.

IT forensics

The most recent field of work is IT forensics. This pursues and secures the traces of criminal activities on the Internet . Graduates from IT courses have the opportunity to continue their education in this area of ​​work in master’s courses in digital forensics.

Forensics as an independent subject

Recently, it has been possible not only to specialize in forensics in a specialist degree, but also to complete a general forensics degree . However, courses such as “Scientific Forensics” are the exception at German universities. They build on science subjects such as math , physics, biology and chemistry . In the higher semesters, subjects such as toxicology, pharmacology or crime scene work are on the curriculum. Master’s courses such as “Analytical Chemistry and Quality Assurance” then offer graduates the opportunity to further specialize in a sub-area of ​​forensic work.

Requirements for studying forensics

Depending on the area of ​​work, very different demands are made on prospective forensic scientists. Forensic doctors should be interested in science and medical topics. Forensic linguists, on the other hand, should be enthusiastic about linguistics. In addition to being interested in their respective subject, all forensic experts are expected to work accurately and reliably in order to realistically reconstruct criminal acts. A lot of patience is required to work in the laboratory . In addition, forensic scientists should be able to think analytically .

Professional opportunities for forensic scientists

Most forensic scientists want to work for criminal investigation offices later on . Depending on their specialty, they create criminal profiles or pursue criminal offenses on the Internet, for example. Since the need for forensic specialists at the Federal Criminal Police Office and in the State Criminal Police Offices is naturally limited, many graduates later also work in other professions. Depending on the subject, various jobs are open to them in the medical sector, in the IT industry or in commercial enterprises, for example in the pharmaceutical industry. Masters graduates also have the opportunity to do a PhD and pursue a career in research.

Reasons for studying forensics abroad

Anyone who is interested in a broader study of forensics and does not want to limit themselves to one area from the start should consider doing their studies abroad . Because unlike in Germany, bachelor’s degree programs have long been established in other countries that aim for comprehensive training in forensics . Along the way we perfected during their stay in his foreign language skills and is important intercultural skills.