Criminal Justice vs. Forensic Science

"Forensic" appears in the names of programs on both sides of a real divide. One kind of degree studies the justice system and may add courses about evidence and investigation. The other kind trains you to analyze physical evidence using chemistry, biology and related sciences. They lead to different daily work, and a program's name rarely tells you which one you are looking at.

Two different fields

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which publishes the federal list of program classifications, describes the two separately.

• Criminal Justice/Safety Studies covers the criminal justice system: how its organizations and processes work, criminal law and policy, police and correctional systems, and the courts.
• Forensic Science and Technology uses physical, biomedical and social sciences to examine physical evidence, witness testimony and suspects, with coursework such as forensic medicine, DNA and blood pattern analysis, crime scene work and professional ethics.

Criminal justice is a social-science and professional field. Forensic science, in its laboratory form, is a natural-science field. This directory keeps them as separate subjects: Criminal Justice and Forensic Science.

What the coursework looks like

A criminal justice major is mostly policing, courts, corrections, criminal law, ethics, policy and research methods. A laboratory forensic science major is built on science sequences and labs.

Tiffin University shows the contrast within one campus. Its Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science has 96 credit hours in biology, chemistry, math and physics, offered on campus. Its Bachelor of Criminal Justice with a Criminalistics major focuses on crime scene processing and forensic evidence and is offered online or on campus, with a crime scene house for mock scenes. Both use the word forensic. Only the first is organized around the natural sciences.

Sam Houston State University's B.S. in Forensic Chemistry "blends chemical analysis and criminal justice," with laboratory experience in chromatographic and spectrophotometric techniques. Ohio University's Forensic Chemistry B.S., housed in a chemistry department, requires 48 semester hours of chemistry coursework including general, analytical, organic, physical and inorganic chemistry, along with forensic chemistry laboratories.

Forensic concentrations inside criminal justice degrees

Many criminal justice programs offer a forensic concentration, track or specialization. These are real and useful for the right goal, but they are not the same as a laboratory degree.

Bowling Green State University offers both on one campus. Its Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice has a Specialization in Forensic Investigation, described as focused on investigation of crimes and the gathering and analysis of evidence, with a required 400-hour internship. Its separate Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science has three specializations (forensic DNA analysis, forensic drug analysis and forensic examination) and describes crime laboratory instrumentation and a mock crime scene house. Its master's in forensic science lists an admission requirement of a bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry or a closely related field.

The directory records this difference. A criminal justice degree with a forensic focus is labeled as such, and a degree built on laboratory science is labeled separately. You can filter for the second kind with laboratory science programs, or see the first kind through criminal justice concentrations.

Related but distinct: crime scene investigation, which is evidence collection and documentation in the field, is not the same as laboratory analysis. Digital forensics is its own area, not generic cybersecurity.

Accreditation: what FEPAC does and does not tell you

The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC), operating under the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, accredits forensic science education programs "that lead to a bachelor's or master's degree," including degrees in a natural or computer science with a forensic science concentration. Eligible programs must be at an institution that is accredited by a recognized body.

Three points follow:

• FEPAC accreditation applies to forensic science programs. A criminal justice degree is not in its scope, so its absence on a criminal justice program says nothing negative.
• Its absence on a forensic science program is not proof the program is illegitimate. FEPAC is a program-level accreditation, separate from the accreditation of the institution as a whole.
• A program page that says it is FEPAC-accredited is a claim. Check the commission's own list of accredited programs. The directory shows FEPAC status from that list, not from the university's marketing text. Sam Houston State's master's page, for instance, states that its degree is FEPAC-accredited, and that statement should be confirmed against the commission's list.

See understanding accreditation and the FEPAC page.

Internships and hands-on experience

Both fields value practical experience, but the practice differs. Criminal justice programs often require an internship at an agency. Bowling Green's criminal justice bachelor's requires 400 agency hours, for instance. Forensic science master's programs may include a laboratory internship or research project. Sam Houston State's master's page says students "may complete an internship in a forensic laboratory" and "must complete an independent research project."

Laboratory positions are set by each employer. A degree is only one of the things they consider, and nothing here guarantees a job.

How to choose

Choose criminal justice if your interest is in how the system works, policy, administration, or working with people inside the justice process. Choose forensic science if you want to work with evidence in a laboratory and are ready for sustained chemistry, biology, math and physics coursework.

If you are not sure, read two required course lists side by side: one from a criminal justice program with a forensic concentration and one from a laboratory forensic science program. The difference in science credit hours is usually obvious. Then compare bachelor's programs and master's programs, and see the guide on criminal justice vs. criminology if the social-science side appeals to you.