forensics virginia
Aug/100
What can you tell me about Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Facial Reconstruction?
I am interested in the aforementioned fields, but for the latter I could find no schools that offered degree programs. Is it still a valid career? I asked about it once before, but only received one answer, which led to my discovering a very accredited woman who offers certificate programs in forensic facial reconstruction. Due to it only being a certificate program, I thought it would be a good idea to back it up with a degree in forensic anthropology. What I have been able to find on the two fields is extremely limited, so any information would be greatly appreciated.
For some specific information:
–Which schools are best, yet affordable? (I live on the East Coast, so schools in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia would be best).
–What studies would be required?
–What sort of income could I expect?
–What hours should I expect?
–Where should I live if I want to ground my career?
etc.
Well there’s not a really good list of forensic anthropology schools out there yet, but it’s coming soon. However, what I can tell you is that if you’re wanting to go into forensic facial reconstruction, having a background in forensic anthropology is an excellent idea. A bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a focus on forensics is fairly easy to find at a lot of schools, but it’s the Master’s program with a specialization in forensics that is limited to just 6 schools in the US as of now.
The field of facial reconstruction is a bit different, it started out as more a division of the art field, but has since started moving more towards forensic anthropology. The forensic artist I happen to know is simply trained in art and has learned how to see a face given just bone. She is now learning about the field of forensic anthropology and employing her newfound knowledge to her job. On the other hand, a lot of forensic anthropology programs are teaching students how to to facial reconstruction and many forensic anthropologists today are quite efficient at reconstructing a face.
My advice to you would be to approach this with training in both fields. Try to find a school that employs a working forensic anthropologist as a professor but also has a good art program. If you can learn the anthropological aspect and combine it with knowledge about human facial features from the artistic aspect, I think that would make you quite valuable.
As far as income and hours, it really would depend on if you got a job with a medical examiner’s office or with a university, as both would be very different. As far as where to live, if you’re able to get trained in both forensic anthropology and art, then live around a city that has a large ME’s office because you’ll find a lot of work with remains from the city itself and from smaller outlying cities that don’t have the required facilities. Keep checking for a list of schools, at some point will be a full compilation of schools that teach forensic anthropology posted online. Even though what I have for you is a bit limited, hope it helps.
The Home Scientist 018 – Forensic Presumptive Drug Testing I