ChooseWhy Choose This Program?

Why Choose This Program?

Traditional forensic science programs offer only a few courses in the comparative sciences, requiring graduates to take extensive and expensive additional training to be case-ready as latent prints examiners and related disciplines.

LearnWhat Will You Learn?

What Will You Learn?

Graduate with the advantage of having already received the course and lab work required by many private, local, state, and federal organizations.

DoWhat Will You Do?

What Will You Do?

Loyola University Maryland’s Master of Science in Forensic Pattern Analysis prepares students for entry into the in–demand—and growing—field of forensic science as latent print examiners, firearms/toolmarks examiners, crime scene investigators, and numerous related fields.

Loyola’s curriculum has been developed in consultation with forensic practitioners at several local, state, and federal agencies. Our graduates are poised for competitive internships and job placement in one of the top regions in the country for forensics work. In fact, the Baltimore–Washington, D.C., metro area is among the fastest-growing hubs for biotechnology and biohealth, forensic psychology and counseling, criminal investigation and justice, and counterterrorism.

Curriculum

For a full list of program requirements, visit the Loyola program page.

Learning Aims

  1. Students will master current factual content, concepts, theoretical perspectives, and historical trends of different subfields of forensic pattern evidence.
  2. Students will demonstrate proficiency in communicating effectively in a variety of formats, including verbal, written, and symbolic channels, relevant to forensic investigation and presentations in the judicial system.
  3. Students will develop an understanding of the moral and ethical issues surrounding crime and forensic investigation.
  4. Students will demonstrate a clear understanding of major concepts and techniques used in subfields of forensic pattern evidence based on their ability to read, interpret, and critically evaluate primary literature; design experiments or conduct independent investigation to test ideas and hypotheses; and interpret data through statistical and graphical packages.
  5. Students will demonstrate core competencies in fingerprint techniques associated with crime scene processing and laboratory comparisons testing.