MSc Forensic Anthropology

About this course

This professionally accredited MSc provides the skills and knowledge for a career in forensic anthropology. Gain hands-on experience in the field and carry out research.

• Benefit from specialised forensic science labs and facilities
• Study a course developed and delivered by leading researchers
• Professionally accredited by the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences
• Gain hands-on experience in the field by getting involved with excavation and bioarchaeological analysis of real human remains at a medieval cemetery - the Poulton Project
• Explore leading methodologies for identification of unknown individuals
• Discover how stratigraphic excavation techniques are used to solve missing person cases
• Look forward to employment opportunities in forensic anthropology and related fields
• Take an optional module in skeletal anatomy – a complete introduction to working with bones

Forensic Anthropology combines physical anthropological knowledge and the application of forensic methods and techniques. The discipline is used by the justice system to solve cases where a missing person or an unknown murder victim is involved.

The MSc in Forensic Anthropology provides the skills and knowledge required to pursue a career in the search for missing people, the recovery of evidence and human remains from clandestine graves and the identification of unknown corpses by osteological analysis.

Your studies will develop a broad understanding of these issues, including excavation, laboratory analysis and the courtroom skills necessary to present findings in a trial. You will learn analytical techniques, taphonomic analysis, field methods and genetic applications, as well as having the unique opportunity to excavate and analyse human remains during archaeological excavations at the Poulton Project archaeological site near Chester.

During your Masters you will learn to: apply a broad knowledge base of human osteology and biology to a range of real and theoretical forensic applications and evaluate the burial contexts of human remains, using this to determine the natural and anthropogenic processes involved in creating them. You will operate in a range of science contexts, taking responsibility for your contributions and outputs and generating information using primary observations of human osteology. You will use this information to form responses to the problems presented.

You will be taught in new human osteology laboratories, which house osteology collections and specialist equipment for digital radiography and 3-dimensional imaging, such as laser scanners and microscribes for advanced morphometric studies.

Assessment

How learning is monitored on your programme

To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme. Assessment techniques vary from module to module to reflect relevant assessment approaches and the key learning points of each topic.

Assessment methods on this course include: a combination of seen/unseen exam papers with essay and interpretative style questions and coursework featuring: laboratory reports, essays, case studies, oral exams, poster presentations, scientific paper production, e-portfolio, problem solving exercises and the project thesis.