New MSc courses: MSc Forensic Anthropology

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have been very busy, as usual! One of the things I have been busy with is getting two new forensic Masters courses through the validation process at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan - soon to become the University of Lancashire). I am very proud to say that they are really exciting courses that take advantage of the expertise, resources and facilities at UCLan. They are MSc in Forensic Anthropology and an MSc in Forensic Biology and Investigation. 

The new MSc in Forensic Anthropology builds on UCLan's international reputation in forensic anthropology, and the very successful MSc course which ran for many years. Its content plays to the strengths of the staff, including me, Dr Will Goodwin, Peter Cross and Dr Noemi Procopio, and thus has a heavy emphasis on forensic taphonomy, anatomy and disaster victim identification. The course is one of the first that will be taught using the new 'block teaching' model that the university is adopting over the next few years. This means that each module will be taught over six consecutive weeks, with assessments happening in the seventh week. Teaching will be done on three days a week, and these will always be the same three days, to allow students (and staff) to plan their weeks. Students will only need to be on campus for those three days. The course will be very hands-on, practical and vocational, giving students the skills they need to enter and excel in the world of forensic anthropology. The modules will be:

Human and Comparative Anatomy - this will be quite an in-depth anatomy course, with students learning not just musculoskeletal anatomy (as other similar courses offer), but also the associated soft tissue anatomy, such as the cardio-vascular system, the respiratory system, and the digestive, reproductive, endocrine, and nervous systems as well. This gives students a much more rounded view, and a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of human physiology and anatomy, which is very useful when determining cause and manner of death, or the implications of trauma and pathology visible on the skeleton. It will also allow students to distinguish between animal and human bones, a very important skill for determining the forensic importance of a case. 

Forensic Anthropology - this will be a 'deep dive' into what information can be gleaned from the skeleton, and introduce students to the estimation of age at death from the skeleton, estimation of sex (not gender), and estimation of stature and ancestral affiliation. It will also cover trauma and fractures, and different types of skeletal pathology, as well as recent advances in forensic anthropology, and the application of imaging, proteomics, and isotope analysis to forensic anthropology problems. 

For the third module, the student chooses from three possible options (numbers permitting). They are:

(1) Forensic Taphonomy - this module covers decay and decomposition in a variety of conditions, and will involve fieldwork at TRACES, UCLan's 13-acre animal taphonomy facility. Students will get a chance to learn about the factors that influence, accelerate or decelerate decomposition rate, and estimation of post-mortem interval. 

Student undertaking research at TRACES

(2) Identification of the Living and Deceased - this module will cover identification techniques for living people, including biometric identification, and identification techniques for the deceased, in different situations, including disaster victim identification. 

(3) Forensic Genetics - this lab-based module will be a close look at collection, amplification and interpretation of DNA evidence, DNA polymorphisms, DNA databases, and the analysis of DNA profiles from different forensic cases.

The fourth module is Crime Scene to Court - this module will introduce crime scene investigation, collection, packaging and maintaining continuity of forensic evidence, then interpretation of that evidence in the lab, maintaining laboratory standards. In the final part of the module, students will learn how the UK judicial and court system works, and then present evidence as an expert witness in court. 

The final module is the Dissertation, a double-length module in which students undertake an original research project, using the wealth of state-of-the-art facilities at UCLan. They can undertake projects based on interpretation of evidence, taphonomy, DNA, identification, CSI, or any of topic of their choice (provided there is a willing supervisor). This is my favourite part of the MSc course, as it when students start to 'spread their wings' and get a chance to really investigate the topics that interest them most. I love to see them blossom as researchers and become budding forensic anthropologists.

If what I have mentioned here has whetted your appetite, please apply here. You need at least a 2:ii undergraduate degree in a relevant subject. If you have any questions, please email me at awilliams34@uclan.ac.uk. There are excellent discounts, bursaries and scholarships offered for international students. I look forward to receiving your application! (Or please forward this to someone you think would be interested in applying).