Curriculum and course materials for a forensic DNA biology course

Abstract

The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) requires accredited programs offer a "coherent curriculum" to ensure each student gains a "thorough grounding of the natural sciences." Part of this curriculum includes completion of a minimum of 15 semester-hours forensic science coursework, nine of which can involve a class in forensic DNA biology. Departments that have obtained or are pursuing FEPAC accreditation can meet this requirement by offering a stand-alone forensic DNA biology course; however, materials necessary to instruct students are often homegrown and not standardized; in addition, until recently, the community lacked commercially available books, lab manuals, and teaching materials, and many of the best pedagogical resources were scattered across various peer-reviewed journals. The curriculum discussed below is an attempt to synthesize this disparate information, and although certainly not the only acceptable methodology, the below discussion represents "a way" for synthesizing and aggregating this information into a cohesive, comprehensive whole. © 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.