For many California laboratory forensic scientist candidates, the path takes about four and a half to five years from the beginning of college to initial employment or independent casework.
A common timeline looks like this:
- Complete a qualifying science bachelor’s degree: about four years
- Complete the examination, application, interview, and government hiring process: often another four to six months
- Finish supervised training and qualify for independent casework: several additional months, often less than one year but variable by laboratory specialty
These stages can overlap. A qualifying college senior may take the California Department of Justice Criminalist examination before graduation, and an internship can fit within the undergraduate years. On the other hand, missing science prerequisites, an unsuccessful hiring cycle, a lengthy background investigation, graduate school, or a position requiring prior forensic experience can extend the path beyond five years.
The answer also depends on what “become a forensic scientist” means. Finishing a degree, meeting minimum job qualifications, receiving an appointment, completing probation, passing competency tests, and handling cases independently are separate milestones. Someone may be employed as an entry-level criminalist while still working under direct supervision.
California forensic scientist timeline at a glance
| Stage | Typical or documented timeframe | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate education | About 4 years | Complete a physical or biological science degree and required chemistry, mathematics, and laboratory courses |
| Civil-service exam and eligibility | Can begin before graduation in some cases | Take the required examination and become eligible to compete for openings |
| Application and hiring | Often 4 to 6 months | Apply for vacancies, interview, complete transcript review, references, drug screening, and a background investigation |
| Initial appointment | After all conditions are met | Begin as a trainee, Criminalist, Forensic Scientist I, or comparable entry-level employee |
| Specialty training | Usually less than 1 year nationally, but varies | Complete classroom instruction, practical exercises, supervised analyses, and competency testing |
| Probation | Commonly 6 or 12 months in California state service; local rules vary | Demonstrate satisfactory performance as a new employee |
| Independent casework | Often around 5 years from starting college | Receive laboratory authorization to work independently in a specific discipline |
| Optional master’s route | Usually adds about 2 years full time | Complete advanced forensic science or criminalistics study before seeking employment |
This table describes a practical direct-entry route rather than a statewide legal formula. California agencies establish their own classifications, and individual forensic disciplines have different technical training requirements.
The four milestones behind the timeline
Treating graduation as the finish line leaves out much of the professional qualification process. A clearer timeline separates academic eligibility, appointment, probation, and technical authorization.
1. Becoming academically qualified
The most direct laboratory route begins with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, physics, forensic science, or another closely related natural or physical science.
For the California Department of Justice Criminalist classification, applicants need the equivalent of graduation from college with a major in a physical or biological science. The official Criminalist examination bulletin also specifies at least eight semester hours of general chemistry and three semester hours of quantitative analysis.
A student who completes the right courses in a standard four-year bachelor’s program can therefore reach academic eligibility in approximately four years. The word “forensic” in a degree title is not what determines eligibility. The major, laboratory content, and individual science courses determine whether the education fits an employer’s requirements.
A general criminal justice curriculum is usually too light in chemistry and laboratory science for a California DOJ criminalist pathway. Criminal justice can be appropriate for policing, corrections, investigations, or court-related careers, but laboratory criminalistics is a scientific occupation. Candidates targeting a crime laboratory need a transcript built around science.
2. Becoming eligible and competing for a job
Academic qualifications allow a candidate to enter the hiring process. They do not create an immediate appointment.
California DOJ uses a civil-service examination for its Criminalist classification. Applicants need a score of at least 70 percent to pass, and examination eligibility lasts 12 months. Passing places the candidate in a position to compete for vacancies, but an eligible-list placement is not a job offer.
Qualifying seniors can take the examination before graduating. This creates an opportunity to overlap part of the civil-service process with the final year of college. Graduation and all required coursework still must be documented before appointment. A senior who has completed general chemistry but lacks quantitative analysis may be allowed to take the examination, but quantitative analysis must be finished before employment begins.
After becoming eligible, a candidate generally applies to actual openings and proceeds through interviews and selection. The California DOJ application process can include human resources review, reference checks, a tentative offer, transcript verification, Live Scan, and a more extensive background investigation. Drug screening also applies to the state Criminalist series.
The California Criminalistics Institute estimates that the government hiring process can take four to six months. This is a useful planning range, not a guaranteed processing period. Hiring can take longer when vacancies are limited, records take time to review, or the candidate must apply through more than one recruitment cycle.
3. Starting work as an entry-level scientist
Appointment marks the beginning of professional employment, but new hires commonly enter a training or developmental classification.
The California DOJ Criminalist classification is described as an entry, training, and subjourney level. Orange County’s Forensic Scientist I classification similarly places an entry-level employee under a mentor or direct supervision while the employee develops technical proficiency and independence.
During this phase, work can include:
- Laboratory safety and quality-system instruction
- Evidence handling and chain-of-custody procedures
- Instrument operation
- Method-specific classroom training
- Practical exercises using known samples
- Supervised examinations
- Technical report preparation
- Review of conclusions by qualified personnel
- Courtroom preparation
- Competency testing
The title “forensic scientist” does not mean a new employee is immediately authorized to issue independent findings in every discipline. Laboratories qualify personnel for particular work, such as controlled-substance analysis, toxicology, forensic biology, DNA interpretation, firearms examination, trace evidence, or alcohol analysis.
4. Becoming authorized for independent casework
Independent casework normally follows structured employer training and a demonstration of competency. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that new forensic science technicians receive on-the-job training before handling cases independently. Specialty laboratory training is usually less than one year, although the length varies.
The BLS category is broader than a California criminalist job. It includes laboratory personnel as well as some workers whose responsibilities involve crime scenes. Its training benchmark is still useful for estimating the period between hire and independent work, but it is not a fixed California requirement.
California agency practices illustrate how several post-hire milestones can occur on different dates. Los Angeles County describes mandatory in-service training with classroom and hands-on instruction for entry-level criminalists. Its recruitment materials link broader assignments and independent crime-scene response to completion of the applicable training requirements and describe a one-year probationary period.
Sacramento County also uses a 12-month probationary period for criminalists. Its classification materials require competency testing before an employee begins casework in a new discipline and annual proficiency testing afterward. A Criminalist Level II classification generally calls for at least one year of experience in a core forensic discipline, but progression is not automatic after the calendar reaches one year. Staffing, organizational needs, demonstrated expertise, and appointing authority decisions also affect advancement.
As a result, five different dates may appear in one employee’s history:
- Graduation
- Appointment
- Completion of probation
- Authorization for independent casework
- Advancement to a higher classification
They should not be collapsed into a single definition of “qualified.”
The fastest realistic route: about four and a half to five years
The fastest common route does not require a master’s degree. It requires careful undergraduate planning and a successful first hiring cycle.
A candidate following this route would:
- Enroll directly in a qualifying physical or biological science bachelor’s program.
- Complete all required courses without breaks or repeated sequences.
- Include general chemistry and quantitative analysis for California DOJ eligibility.
- Add discipline-specific preparation, such as molecular biology and statistics for DNA work.
- Complete an internship during college if a suitable placement is available.
- Take the California DOJ Criminalist examination during the senior year when eligible.
- Apply promptly to entry-level state, county, and city openings.
- Complete the background and hiring process in roughly four to six months.
- Enter supervised specialty training.
- Pass the laboratory’s competency requirements for independent work.
Under favorable conditions, the candidate becomes academically qualified after about four years and begins employment around four years and four to six months after starting college. Independent work may begin near the five-year point.
This is an efficient schedule, but it assumes uninterrupted full-time enrollment, correct course selection from the beginning, timely graduation, an available vacancy, and success in the first serious application cycle. A candidate who graduates during a period with few local openings may need additional time even with a strong academic record.
Why undergraduate course selection affects the timeline
A four-year degree can still lead to delays if it lacks the required science content. Sequential laboratory courses are especially difficult to add quickly because they may be offered only once per academic year and often have prerequisites.
Chemistry for California criminalist positions
California DOJ specifically requires:
- Eight semester hours of general chemistry
- Three semester hours of quantitative analysis
Quantitative analysis is the requirement most likely to be overlooked. A biology major may complete general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and extensive biological science without taking a course formally equivalent to quantitative analysis. Adding it after graduation could delay appointment, especially if the course is not available every term.
Los Angeles requires a four-year physical or natural science degree and at least eight semester units, or 12 quarter units, of general chemistry for its Criminalist classification. Sacramento County’s Criminalist specification includes general chemistry and quantitative-analysis coursework. These examples show why a broadly scientific degree still needs to be compared course by course with target classifications.
Preparation for DNA analysis
DNA analysis has more specialized education and training standards. Under the FBI’s Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories, analysts need a bachelor’s or advanced degree in a biology-related, chemistry-related, or forensic-science-related field, along with qualifying scientific coursework.
The current standards include at least nine credit hours of applicable biology- or chemistry-related study under the relevant analyst requirements, plus statistics or population-genetics preparation for analysts qualified under the newer provisions. DNA laboratories must also maintain documented training programs covering analytical methods, interpretation, statistical procedures, and practical exercises.
A degree alone therefore does not authorize independent DNA casework. A well-planned undergraduate curriculum can establish educational eligibility, while the employing laboratory supplies method-specific training and evaluates competency.
Useful undergraduate subjects for a DNA-oriented path include:
- Genetics
- Molecular biology
- Biochemistry
- Cell biology
- Statistics
- Population genetics
- Laboratory courses involving molecular methods
A candidate who waits until after graduation to discover a missing genetics, molecular biology, or statistics requirement may need one or more additional terms before becoming competitive for DNA positions.
Instrumental and analytical science preparation
Chemistry-oriented criminalistics work benefits from more than the minimum general chemistry requirement. Organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, instrumental analysis, physics, calculus, and statistics provide stronger preparation for drug chemistry, toxicology, trace evidence, and other instrument-heavy specialties.
Some employers list only minimum qualifications in a classification specification. Competitive selection can still favor candidates with substantial laboratory experience and advanced coursework. The practical goal is not merely to reach the minimum number of units. It is to graduate ready to learn the laboratory’s methods without first repairing major gaps in scientific preparation.
How a community college transfer route changes the schedule
A community college route can still fit within approximately four years of undergraduate education. The efficient version is about two years at a California community college followed by about two years at a California State University or another four-year institution.
California’s Associate Degree for Transfer pathway is designed around no more than 60 semester units or 90 quarter units. A student admitted to a CSU major officially deemed similar to the transfer degree can complete the bachelor’s degree with no more than 60 additional semester units when all pathway conditions are met.
Science pathways require more detailed sequencing than the unit totals suggest. General chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, calculus, quantitative analysis, and upper-division laboratory courses may form long prerequisite chains. A course that does not articulate as expected can postpone several later courses.
A transfer plan is most likely to remain near four years when it does all of the following:
- Begins mathematics and general chemistry early
- Includes laboratory sections with transferable credit
- Follows the destination major’s lower-division preparation
- Preserves access to quantitative analysis or an accepted equivalent
- Avoids changing from a nonscience major late in the associate degree
- Accounts for courses offered only in fall or spring
- Leaves enough room after transfer for upper-division laboratory sequences
The 60-unit CSU completion protection applies only under the specified transfer conditions. It can be lost or altered when the destination major is not deemed similar, courses must be repeated, the student changes majors, or extra requirements are added.
A community college beginning does not inherently make the forensic scientist path longer. Poor articulation and late science sequencing do.
Does a master’s degree add two years?
A master’s degree is optional for many entry-level criminalist and forensic scientist positions in California. Choosing graduate study commonly adds about two academic years for a full-time student, based on the California programs reviewed.
The UC Davis Master of Science in Forensic Science requires 54 quarter units and offers DNA and criminalistics tracks. UC Davis expects a student without a full-time professional position to complete the degree in two years. Working crime-laboratory professionals generally take about three years.
Cal State LA describes its MS in Criminalistics as a full-time, two-year program. It requires substantial prior science preparation and admits for fall entry. Missing an annual application cycle can therefore add more than the nominal two years to the calendar.
A full-time master’s route may look like this:
| Stage | Approximate time |
|---|---|
| Science bachelor’s degree | 4 years |
| Forensic science or criminalistics master’s degree | 2 years |
| Hiring process | 4 to 6 months |
| Initial specialty training | Several months, often less than 1 year |
| Total to independent work | Roughly 6.5 to 7 years |
Graduate study can improve advanced scientific knowledge, research experience, and preparation for specialized work. It does not replace civil-service eligibility, a background investigation, employer training, or competency testing.
The graduate route can also take longer if prerequisite courses are missing. UC Davis lists preparation including general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, calculus, and statistics. A criminal justice graduate who decides to pursue laboratory forensic science may need substantial undergraduate science work before becoming eligible for admission.
A master’s degree sometimes substitutes for a portion of required experience. Sacramento County, for example, allows a master’s degree to substitute for one year of required experience where experience applies to the appointment level. Such substitutions are employer-specific and do not turn every graduate degree into automatic professional experience.
Timeline for a career changer
Career changers have no single standard schedule because the answer depends on their previous degree.
Career changer with a chemistry or biology degree
Someone who already holds a suitable science bachelor’s degree may be close to eligibility. The remaining work could involve:
- Adding quantitative analysis
- Completing a missing laboratory course
- Building recent hands-on laboratory experience
- Preparing for a civil-service examination
- Applying through one or more hiring cycles
This route could take several months rather than another four years. If the transcript already satisfies the target agency’s requirements, the main remaining stages are application, hiring, and post-hire training.
Career changer with a criminal justice degree
A criminal justice bachelor’s degree generally does not provide the physical or biological science major required by California DOJ. Adding a few forensic electives will not convert it into the equivalent of a laboratory science degree.
The career changer may need a second bachelor’s degree, a structured postbaccalaureate science plan, or enough additional coursework to meet the entrance requirements for an appropriate graduate program. Because chemistry and biology courses are sequential, this transition can require several years.
A master’s program is not always a shortcut. California graduate programs in forensic science and criminalistics can require prior general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, calculus, statistics, and other scientific preparation. Applicants without that foundation must complete prerequisites before beginning or progressing through graduate study.
Working laboratory professional moving into forensics
A professional with experience in an environmental, pharmaceutical, clinical, academic, or industrial laboratory may have strong transferable skills. Instrument use, quality assurance, documentation, sample handling, and scientific report writing can support a forensic application.
However, a classification that requires professional forensic scientist experience may distinguish that experience from general laboratory work. Ventura County’s Forensic Scientist I specification, for example, calls for a relevant bachelor’s degree plus one year of professional forensic scientist experience. The “I” in the title does not necessarily mean the position accepts candidates with no prior forensic employment.
Career changers should concentrate applications on classifications whose entry requirements match their actual experience. Trainee, Criminalist, and supervised Forensic Scientist I positions may offer direct entry in some agencies, while similarly named positions elsewhere may require prior casework.
How California job titles change the answer
California has no single statewide timeline attached to the phrase “forensic scientist.” State, county, and city employers use titles differently.
Criminalist
Criminalists commonly conduct scientific laboratory examinations, interpret results, write reports, collect evidence in some assignments, and provide expert testimony. California DOJ and Los Angeles use the Criminalist title for scientific positions requiring a natural or physical science degree.
California DOJ’s entry-level classification does not require prior professional criminalist experience. Los Angeles also bases its core educational requirement on a qualifying four-year science degree and general chemistry coursework. These classifications support a direct path from college into supervised professional work.
Forensic Scientist I
“Forensic Scientist I” can describe a supervised entry position or a job requiring previous experience.
Orange County requires a bachelor’s degree in forensic science, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, or a closely related laboratory science. The employee works under direct supervision or a mentor while developing proficiency.
Ventura County uses the same general title but requires a relevant bachelor’s degree and one year of professional forensic scientist experience. A graduate who qualifies for Orange County’s entry-level framework may not yet qualify for Ventura County’s specification.
The Roman numeral is not a reliable measure of entry-level accessibility across agencies.
Crime scene investigator or technician
A crime scene investigator may document scenes, take photographs, recognize and recover evidence, process fingerprints, maintain chain of custody, prepare reports, and testify. Some agencies employ civilian technicians. Others assign crime-scene duties to sworn officers.
A sworn position can add police academy and field-training time to the timeline. Civilian positions can use different education and experience requirements. This pathway should not be combined with the laboratory criminalist timeline merely because both occupations handle evidence.
The California Criminalistics Institute distinguishes criminalists from crime scene technicians. Criminalists commonly conduct laboratory analysis, while technicians, investigators, or trained officers may handle some scenes. Readers focused on the broader profession can review the California forensic scientist career guide for additional role context.
Evidence or property technician
Evidence technicians often receive, document, package, store, release, and transport evidence. Their work is central to chain of custody, but the position may not involve scientific analysis. Educational requirements and training periods can differ sharply from criminalist classifications.
An evidence position can provide exposure to forensic operations, but it is not automatically a laboratory-scientist training classification. Moving into criminalistics later still requires the scientific education specified by the laboratory employer.
Probation and technical training are different clocks
California state employees generally complete a six-month or 12-month probationary period, depending on classification. Local agencies establish their own probation rules. Criminalist examples from Los Angeles County and Sacramento County use 12 months.
Probation evaluates performance and suitability as an employee. Technical qualification determines whether the laboratory authorizes the scientist to perform a particular type of casework. The two processes may run at the same time, but they do not necessarily end together.
A new scientist could:
- Pass a competency test in one method before probation ends
- Complete probation while still training in a complex discipline
- Become qualified in one examination type and remain in training for another
- Receive authorization for routine analyses before advanced interpretation duties
- Advance to a higher classification after acquiring further experience
Laboratory quality systems also require ongoing proficiency after initial qualification. Sacramento County’s specifications, for example, call for annual proficiency testing after the employee begins work in a discipline. Independent status is therefore not the end of technical evaluation.
Some credentials have their own post-appointment schedules. Sacramento County employees assigned to blood-alcohol analysis must obtain the applicable California forensic alcohol credential within one year of appointment. This is a specialty requirement, not a statewide license for every forensic scientist.
Does professional certification add time?
Professional certification is generally not required to enter the broader forensic science technician occupation, according to BLS. California also does not impose one universal forensic scientist license covering every criminalistics discipline.
Certification and laboratory authorization are separate. An employee may need to complete internal training, practical exercises, competency tests, and proficiency tests even when no outside certification is required for appointment.
Voluntary professional certifications often require education, documented experience, examinations, or employer verification. They are more likely to become relevant after a scientist has entered the field than during the initial four-year college path.
Program accreditation works differently as well. The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission accredits qualifying bachelor’s and master’s programs in forensic science, as well as certain natural or computer science programs with forensic concentrations. FEPAC accredits academic programs, not individual practitioners.
Graduating from a FEPAC-accredited program can provide evidence that a curriculum meets defined forensic science education standards. It does not waive an employer’s chemistry requirements, civil-service examination, background investigation, probation, specialty training, or competency testing.
Factors that can extend the process beyond five years
The direct route is easiest to maintain when education and hiring preparation happen in parallel. Several predictable issues add time.
Missing quantitative analysis
A candidate may hold a strong science degree but lack the California DOJ quantitative-analysis requirement. Since the course can have chemistry prerequisites and limited scheduling, completing it after graduation may add a term or more.
Starting science sequences late
Beginning general chemistry in the junior year can push organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and instrumental courses beyond the intended graduation date. Early mathematics placement also affects access to chemistry and physics.
Changing majors
Moving from criminal justice or another nonscience field into chemistry, biology, or biochemistry can add several semesters. Many prior general education units may remain useful, but laboratory sequences cannot be compressed easily.
Graduate prerequisites
An applicant may plan on a two-year master’s degree but first need organic chemistry, physics, calculus, statistics, or other undergraduate courses. In that case, the graduate route exceeds six years of formal education.
Annual admissions cycles
Programs that admit only once per year can turn a missed deadline into a lengthy delay. Cal State LA’s full-time MS in Criminalistics has fall entry, so the calendar matters in addition to the nominal two-year curriculum.
Limited entry-level openings
Passing a state examination creates eligibility to compete. It does not guarantee that an appropriate vacancy will be open immediately or that the candidate will be selected in the first cycle.
Background investigation delays
Government forensic work can involve extensive review because employees handle controlled substances, sensitive information, weapons evidence, biological materials, and evidence used in criminal proceedings. Incomplete employment records, slow reference responses, or other case-specific issues can extend processing.
Positions requiring experience
Some classifications accept a qualifying bachelor’s degree with no prior forensic employment. Others require one year or more of professional casework. Applying only to experience-bearing positions can lengthen the route for a new graduate.
Highly specialized laboratory training
BLS describes specialty training as usually less than one year, but a discipline’s methods, instrumentation, interpretation requirements, and case complexity affect the duration. DNA analysis includes analytical, interpretation, and statistical training. Other specialties use their own competency frameworks.
An unsuccessful examination or application cycle
California DOJ requires at least 70 percent on its Criminalist examination. Applicants who do not pass must wait six months before competing again. A candidate can also pass the examination but remain unselected for particular openings, requiring additional applications.
Can an internship shorten the timeline?
An internship usually fits within the bachelor’s degree rather than adding a separate year. The California Criminalistics Institute identifies internships at crime laboratories, toxicology laboratories, and coroner or medical examiner facilities as useful preparation.
Internships can develop familiarity with:
- Laboratory documentation
- Evidence security
- Quality assurance
- Chain of custody
- Scientific report formats
- Professional conduct in a forensic setting
- The division between analytical and evidence-support roles
An internship does not replace required coursework, professional experience where a classification explicitly demands it, or post-hire competency training. Its main timing benefit is preparation. A candidate who understands laboratory operations and can demonstrate relevant experience may present a stronger application without extending college.
Research experience, an analytical chemistry laboratory assistantship, or employment in a regulated scientific laboratory can also support preparation when crime-laboratory internships are scarce. The relevance comes from documented scientific work, careful records, quality procedures, and laboratory methods rather than the word “forensic” alone.
A practical four-year college plan
A student aiming for the direct route can reduce avoidable delays by mapping academic and employment milestones together.
First year
Begin general chemistry, mathematics, and introductory biology as early as placement and prerequisites allow. Review likely criminalist and forensic scientist classifications before selecting a major. Chemistry, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and related natural sciences provide clearer laboratory preparation than a general criminal justice curriculum.
Second year
Continue sequential chemistry and biology courses. Identify where quantitative analysis fits into the degree. Explore laboratory employment, faculty research, evidence-related internships, or scientific volunteer work.
Transfer students should align every planned course with the destination university’s major preparation. A nominally transferable chemistry course is useful only if it advances the required sequence.
Third year
Add upper-division laboratory work and courses relevant to the intended specialty. DNA-oriented candidates should prioritize genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and statistics. Chemistry-oriented candidates benefit from analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, and instrumentation.
Begin reading actual job specifications. Compare multiple agencies because title conventions and experience requirements differ.
Fourth year
Complete quantitative analysis and any remaining specialty preparation. Request transcripts early enough to identify discrepancies. Apply for internships or entry-level laboratory roles, prepare for civil-service assessments, and track recruitments under several titles.
A qualifying senior may take the California DOJ Criminalist examination before graduation. Using that option can overlap eligibility processing with the final academic year, although no appointment can occur until graduation and required coursework are documented.
First year after appointment
Expect structured technical training rather than immediate unrestricted casework. Complete practical exercises, supervised work, competency testing, and required quality-system instruction. Probation may last six or 12 months depending on the employer and classification.
The first professional year is part of becoming a fully functioning forensic scientist, even though employment and salary have already begun.
The most useful planning benchmark
For a California laboratory career, use about five years from the start of college to independent work as a practical planning benchmark:
- Four years to complete a properly structured science bachelor’s degree
- Four to six months for a typical government hiring process
- Several additional months for specialty training and competency approval
A candidate can begin employment before the five-year point, and training may continue afterward. The timeline becomes roughly six and a half to seven years when a full-time two-year master’s degree is added before employment.
Plan around the job function rather than the title alone. Laboratory criminalists need a physical or biological science foundation, including the chemistry courses specified by target employers. DNA candidates need biology, chemistry, and statistical preparation plus documented laboratory training. Civilian crime scene technicians need evidence recognition, photography, scene processing, documentation, and chain-of-custody skills. Sworn crime scene assignments can add academy and field training.
The most efficient route is therefore not simply the shortest degree. It is the undergraduate plan that satisfies the relevant scientific requirements on graduation day, allows the employment process to begin during the senior year when possible, and prepares the candidate to complete supervised laboratory training without remedial coursework.