Regis University
Forensic Accounting
Regis offers a 600-level graduate course as part of the Masters in Accounting program called MSAA 619, Forensic Accounting. This 3-hour course breaks the field of forensic accounting down into five separate categories, and looks at each of them in turn: perpetration, detection, investigation, prevention and prosecution. The course Interpreting Accounting Information is required as a prerequisite, as is permission to enroll.
Computer Forensics
Regis also offers a 600-level course as part of their Information Assurance program, MSIA 680, Computer Forensics. This is a 3-hour general overview course that provides a good background into the technology involved, the laws and procedures used in court for the presentation of computer forensics evidence.
Intro to Forensic Science
Regis has a BS in Criminology with a 300-level required course, Introduction to Forensic Science. This course is only a general survey course, offered alongside the other required courses in criminology, research methods, crime analysis, ethics and criminal profiling.
University of Colorado Boulder
K-12 Forensic Education
The Biological Sciences Initiative at the University of Colorado at Boulder has a comprehensive set of course material for teachers and educators in elementary, middle and high schools in forensic science. The BSI is a good source for getting kids interested in forensics, helping them to pursue the right courses before they start college so they get off on the right foot. Provided are several in-depth case studies that are appropriate for in-class discussion.
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Forensic Graduate Programs
UC Colorado Springs offers three graduate programs that offer additional courses in forensic investigation.
The first is the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. Extra instruction in forensic psychology is offered, allowing graduates to competently work in the court systems on profiling, sentencing recommendations and sanity defenses.
UC Colorado Springs also has an MA program in Clinical Sociology. Courses are offered the explore the role of social works in forensic sociology, the criminal mindset and the kinds of assistance that sociologists provide in a forensic environment.
Lastly, UC Colorado Springs has a Master of Science in Nursing degree. Students here can explore the various opportunities available, such as the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) training that has been popular lately among nursing school graduates.
For undergraduates at Colorado Springs interested in forensics, there are a number of clubs that offer advice and insight into applying more standard courses and curricula toward a career in forensic science. The American Chemical Society Student Affiliate has a place, as does the Anthropology Club (for forensic anthropology). The Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society also has a student organization with forensic opportunities, along with the Beth El Student Nurses Association, which has a Forensic Science Advisory Board that is rapidly seeking to expand forensic science opportunities for UCCS forensic students.
University of Colorado at Denver
Forensic Fellowships
UC Denver offers a number of fellowships each year in the Health Science Center, in the Psychiatry and Pathology departments. Application to these programs requires completion of a medical degree from an accredited medical school.
University of Denver
Masters in Forensic Psychology
U of Denver offers an MAFP, or Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology. A 2-year program, the courses are designed to give you practical and lecture-based experience, which you can either take on to Ph.D. programs (which 30% of the MAFP program's graduates have done) or the workforce (accounting for the remaining 70% of students). This includes working in prisons, outpatient treatment centers, or community mental health offices, legal firms, the courts, probation offices or law enforcement.
This program has been around for awhile, granting degrees since 1999. Unlike some other programs, U. of Denver focuses first and foremost on a solid background in masters-level clinical psychology, supplementing it with additional courses to prepare students for the court system as a forensic psychologist. Courses include Clinical Interviewing and Psychotherapy; beginning through advanced Forensic Mental Health; Group Intervention; Statistics; the Psychology of Criminal Behavior; Trauma and Crisis Intervention; and Law (both family and mental health), among others.
Applications to the program are due by January 5th of each year, with priority consideration if you get your paperwork in by December 5th. The GRE is required, with baseline scores expected of 550 verbal, 550 quantitative and 4.5 analytical (though there are no cut-offs). The GPA requirements are strict, with Denver expecting a 3.5 undergraduate and 3.0 graduate. If you have a psychology undergraduate degree, then you're good to go as far as prerequisite courses go. If you do not, however, you'll need at least 4 courses in psychology to apply. Recommended courses include statistics, child psychology, personality theory, abnormal psychology and experimental psychology. Having actual work experience, even if it's in a volunteer setting, is invaluable to your application. You can find out more about the program by calling 303-871-3877.
University of Northern Colorado
Forensic Anthropology & Death Investigation
The Natural and Health Science college at Northern Colorado offers a 300-level extended studies course on forensic death investigation and forensic anthropology. This is a packed, one-week course covering basic forensic anthropology, osteology, decomposition changes and manner of death, as well as analysis of human skeletal remains and human identification. You'll pick up techniques for using bones to determine the sex, age and ethnicity of the decedent. Forensic topics like determining the type of weapon used in the death (blunt force versus sharp knives, for example). The course is a combination of both lecture and lab.
Bloodstain Pattern & Violent Crime Scenes
Forensic Bloodstain Pattern Analysis of Violent Crime Scene is also offered by Northern Colorado, also as an intensive, one-week introduction for interested students. You'll learn how to reconstruct crime scenes; how to document the scenes with photography; and how to determine how a crime took place based on the position and condition of blood spatter at the scene. All these things are critical for determining the sequence of events, and you'll have labs and lectures both that explore the topic.
BS Chemistry with Forensics Emphasis
The undergrad chemistry program at Northern Colorado will let you take 22 extra hours of courses and specialize your chemistry degree for future employment in a forensic chemistry lab. This is one of six areas of emphasis that you can choose from. The extra forensics classes are mostly in chemistry (400 level and above), but there are several you can take in physics, criminal justice, psychology, sociology and anthropology.
The extra courses in chemistry you need for the Forensic Emphasis include Instrumental Analysis, Physical Chemistry, Biochemistry (both lecture and experimental). In the Criminal Justice department, you can take a 300-level Topics in Criminal Justice; a basic 100-level Introduction to Criminal Justice; and the more advanced Topics in Criminal Justice. The Sociology department offers Criminology, Social Psychology, and a general survey course, while the Anthropology department offers Anthropometrics, and Anthropology Workshop, and Forensic Anthropology.
University of the Rockies
Forensic Psychology
If you're pursuing your Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) at Rockies, you can refine your clinical specialization into Forensic Psychology. The program requires three additional courses to complete the concentration: Forensic Psychology, Forensic Assessment and Domestic Violence. For more information, call 866-621-0124.
The program at the University of the Rockies is designed to prepare you if you want to work as a forensic psychologist, either in law enforcement, private consultation or research. The training specializes in psychopathology, risk of violent behavior, and competency to stand trial in court.
Western State College of Colorado
Forensic Psychology
Western Colorado offers a 300-level psychology course on general Forensic Psychology, which will give you a broad overview of the field. In particular, you'll study the court system (how juries are selected, how eyewitness testimony can be flawed, and civil commitment); criminal investigation (how behavioral profilers can predict propensity toward criminality and custody evaluations); and imprisonment (the most effective clinical services to inmates).
Computer Forensics
The Extended Studies program at Western Colorado offers several online training programs, one in particular that delivers 150 hours of training to be a Forensic Computer Examiner. The course, delivered entirely online, will teach you how to recover evidence from computers, hard drives and removable media, as well as prepare reports on what you find that are suitable for court. The nice thing is that this course is an authorized CCE (Certified Computer Examiner) training course, and will prepare you to sit for the exam. The cost is a little under $3000.
