Forensic Science MSci
The crime scene house is the best thing. It was specifically built for teaching forensics - they can set up any crime scenario you can think of.
I studied Forensic Science at college and wanted to continue it. When looking for universities, Kent repeatedly came up as one of the top places to study. And then I visited the campus on an Open Day. It was a lovely place and I was persuaded. It’s very green and everyone is so nice.
I’m enjoying it! I’m busy but that’s to be expected. My final project is going well. I’m looking at air pellet ricochets on metal. I had a safety briefing beforehand to ensure that there was no risk involved because I’m actually doing the practical myself, shooting the metal, collecting data, and then analysing it and writing it all up.
First class; their knowledge is amazing. Most of the lecturers, they’ve actually done it in the real world. Often lecturers in forensics only know the theory, but at Kent, they’ve been involved in real crime scenes. Also, the lecturers at Kent created EFIT6, which is what the police use for facial sketching. So, we have training in that, and in the crime scene house.
We also have synthetic chemistry which is about making different chemicals. We learn about drugs, so biochemistry, ballistics, fire explosions. We have guest lecturers for fires and explosions – they worked in the London bombings, so they know what they’re talking about. Just the amount of knowledge here is great. And we always learn the most recent stuff. The teaching is really up to date and I think that helps you to engage with the course.
The lecturers here are so supportive. They’re always here if you want to send them an email or phone them. There’s good general support at Kent too. Student Wellbeing and Kent Union do a lot for the students and we have a support officer in our school, who is lovely.
In the third year, you get to go to court. You write a court report and present yourself as an expert witness, then you get cross-examined on your report. Ours took place in the real courtrooms in Canterbury. It was a mock case and our lecturers played the roles of judge and prosecutor. The second-year students were there as the jury. You have to dress up in your best clothes and it’s an intense 15 minutes – scary, but worth it! I think most people look back and think it’s one of the best things in the course.
Also I enjoyed the ballistics modules in my first and second year and the opportunity to continue that in my fourth year. It’s just my passion so I really appreciated the enthusiasm of the lecturers.
We’re all very friendly. You’re all in the same boat so it’s easy to make friends here. Also, this year, I got the chance to be a student rep so I represent my fellow students. That’s been great and hopefully helps to make things even better.
For my subject, the crime scene house is the best thing. It was specifically built for teaching forensics - they can set up any crime scenario you can think of. That allows us to go in and collect evidence and take it back and analyse it.
In fact, all our study facilities – the laboratories and computer suites – are very good. The library is great – it’s open 22 hours, and there are study hubs dotted around the campus. I love the coffee shops; Caffè Nero is my favourite.
Yes, there’s a Forensic Science Society that’s led by students. Last year we went on a trip to the Interpol headquarters in France. It was amazing! We had the whole day with talks by each major branch of Interpol, including fingerprints and counterfeiting. And now there’s talk of going to visit the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
We also do events closer to home, including some museums in London that are not open to the public. The Gordon Museum of Pathology was good. Not for the faint of heart though!
We also have a few socials during the year to plan new events or just help each other out – most of the committee members have been there, done it. We might go to a bar, have a few drinks, play a game of pool – it’s just relaxed chill-time.
I hope to either continue on to a PhD, or go into work. The lecturers here have some great contacts. It’s quite a diverse course, so there’s a lot of options. We cover law, so you can go down that route, or ballistics, so that would be the police or perhaps the armed forces.
A lot of forensic work now takes place in private companies and they need consultants. We do lots of chemistry and that opens doors into the pharmaceutical industry. I think we’re quite close with GSK and Pfizer, both big companies. We also have close links with Kent Police and that’s around victim identification and fire investigation.
Yes, I get their weekly emails and they’re great. At the moment I just want to see what’s out there, but later I’ll use the service for one-to-one advice on my CV. We also have a forensic science Facebook page and our lecturers update it with jobs and things like how to write a CV, personal statements, covering letters and so on.
Don’t be scared! It’s a big change but a worthy change. You make some of the best friends here! It’s a nice place to be and you’ll get all the support you need.
