California has fewer bachelor’s programs in forensic science than the size of the state might suggest. The strongest undergraduate options are also quite different from one another: San José State offers a direct B.S. in Forensic Science with four concentrations, Sacramento State builds forensic preparation into a chemistry degree, and Stanislaus State offers a field-oriented forensics concentration within criminal justice.
Those differences matter more than the degree title. Students aiming for crime-laboratory work need substantially more chemistry and biology than students preparing for crime-scene investigation. California’s own Criminalist requirements make that clear: applicants need the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree with a major in a physical or biological science, including at least eight semester hours of general chemistry and three semester hours of quantitative analysis.
A bachelor’s degree with “forensic” in the name can therefore be useful without necessarily qualifying a graduate for every laboratory position. The safest approach is to start with the type of work you want to do, then compare the program’s actual science and laboratory requirements with employer qualifications.
For a broader comparison that also includes master’s programs, certificates, and online options, see our guide to forensic science colleges and degree programs in California.
Bachelor’s-Level Forensic Science Options in California
| School | Degree | Main Focus | Science Intensity | Best Aligned With |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San José State University | B.S. in Forensic Science | Biology, chemistry, digital evidence, or CSI | Varies by concentration | Crime labs, digital evidence, CSI |
| Sacramento State | B.A. in Chemistry, Forensic Chemistry | Chemistry and physical evidence | High | Laboratory criminalistics and forensic chemistry |
| Stanislaus State | B.A. in Criminal Justice, Forensics concentration | Field forensics and crime-scene work | Moderate | CSI, evidence collection, investigation |
These programs should not be ranked as if they prepare students for the same jobs. A future forensic chemist may be better served by Sacramento State’s heavy chemistry curriculum, while a student focused on field evidence work may prefer Stanislaus State. SJSU sits between those approaches by allowing students to choose among science, digital evidence, and CSI concentrations.
San José State University — B.S. in Forensic Science
San José State offers the most direct undergraduate forensic science degree among the California programs covered here. Students earn a B.S. in Forensic Science and choose one of four concentrations:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Digital Evidence
- Crime Scene Investigation
SJSU describes the program as combining scientific theory with hands-on training in crime-laboratory methods and crime-scene techniques. The concentration determines how strongly the degree leans toward laboratory science, computing, or field investigation.
Biology and chemistry concentrations
Students interested in conventional crime-laboratory work should look first at the Biology and Chemistry concentrations.
The Biology route builds more heavily around biological sciences and forensic applications such as DNA and biological evidence. The Chemistry concentration is more appropriate for students interested in chemical analysis, toxicology, drugs, trace evidence, and related laboratory disciplines.
Both paths include the broader science foundation that laboratory employers tend to value more than a general criminal justice curriculum. SJSU also requires biology, chemistry, and physics coursework across its forensic science major, although the exact sequence varies by concentration.
Digital Evidence
The Digital Evidence concentration takes a different direction. It is intended for students interested in electronically stored evidence, computers, digital investigations, and related forensic technology rather than traditional wet-lab chemistry or biology.
Students who know they want to work with computers, mobile devices, networks, or other electronic evidence may be better served by this specialization than by forcing themselves into a chemistry-heavy program.
Crime Scene Investigation
The CSI concentration is the field-oriented option. It emphasizes crime-scene methods and the recognition, documentation, collection, and interpretation of physical evidence.
SJSU currently identifies the CSI concentration as impacted and says it is accepting only a very limited number of new students. The university continues to welcome applications to the Biology, Chemistry, and Digital Evidence concentrations.
SJSU also says that the curricula for all four concentrations meet the educational standards of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission. That wording should not be confused with FEPAC accreditation itself; the program does not currently appear as an accredited California undergraduate program in the FEPAC directory.
Cost
For fall 2026, SJSU lists California-resident undergraduate tuition of $3,419 per semester for students taking more than six units. Mandatory campus fees bring the basic full-time registration total to $4,776.50 per semester, before housing, books, transportation, and other expenses.
SJSU is the most flexible choice for an undergraduate who wants forensic science as the primary major but has not yet settled on laboratory biology, chemistry, digital evidence, or field CSI.
Sacramento State — B.A. in Chemistry, Forensic Chemistry Concentration
Sacramento State does not call its degree a B.S. in Forensic Science. Instead, students complete a B.A. in Chemistry with a Forensic Chemistry concentration.
For students interested in laboratory criminalistics, the distinction in the title is less important than what is in the curriculum.
The 120-unit bachelor’s requires 64–77 units in the major. Core coursework includes:
- General Chemistry I and II
- Organic Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry Laboratory
- Quantitative Analysis
- Calculus I and II
- Physics
The Forensic Chemistry concentration adds advanced organic chemistry laboratory, physical chemistry, biochemistry and biochemistry laboratory, criminal justice coursework, Introduction to Physical Evidence, and additional chemistry electives such as Chemical Instrumentation, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Physical Chemistry Laboratory, or Advanced Biochemistry Laboratory.
That is a substantial amount of science and laboratory work. It also lines up closely with the kind of academic preparation California looks for in its Criminalist classification, which specifically requires a physical or biological science major, general chemistry, and quantitative analysis.
The degree is less focused on field CSI. A student who wants to photograph scenes, develop fingerprints, document evidence, and perform scene reconstruction may find much of the advanced chemistry unnecessary for the intended career. Someone hoping to analyze drugs, unknown compounds, trace materials, or other chemical evidence is likely to view the same courses very differently.
Sacramento State also offers a Forensics Investigations minor for Chemistry and Biological Science majors, giving students another way to combine a traditional natural-science degree with forensic coursework.
Cost
For 2026–27, Sacramento State lists full-time California-resident undergraduate tuition at $3,419 per semester. Mandatory campus fees are $1,409, bringing the published semester total to $4,828 before housing and other educational expenses.
Students interested in laboratory forensic chemistry should give Sacramento State serious consideration even though “forensic science” is not the name printed on the degree.
Stanislaus State — B.A. in Criminal Justice, Forensics Concentration
Stanislaus State takes a more investigative approach. Its Forensics concentration sits within the B.A. in Criminal Justice and is aimed primarily at students interested in field forensic work.
The university requires additional prerequisites for students entering the Forensics concentration, including chemistry, statistics, biology/human genetics, and psychology. Forensic coursework includes areas such as criminalistics, DNA technology, scientific evidence, and other evidence-focused subjects.
Stanislaus State is unusually clear about the limits of this route. The department explains that the concentration is appropriate for students interested in field forensics such as crime-scene investigation, while students who want to become laboratory criminalists should consider majoring in chemistry or biology and adding forensic coursework.
That guidance is useful because it prevents the program from being mistaken for something it is not. A field investigator needs scientific literacy and a solid understanding of evidence, but not necessarily the same chemistry sequence required of someone conducting instrumental analysis in a crime laboratory.
For fall 2026, Stanislaus State lists full-time undergraduate tuition of $3,419 per semester. Its published mandatory charges bring the full-time semester total to about $4,815, including the listed StanBooks program charge.
For students primarily interested in CSI, evidence recovery, and investigative work, Stanislaus State may be a more direct route than spending four years in an intensive chemistry program.
What About Fresno State’s B.S. in Forensic Behavioral Sciences?
Fresno State’s B.S. in Forensic Behavioral Sciences is a legitimate forensic-related bachelor’s degree, but it belongs in a different category from the programs above.
The degree applies psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, linguistics, and other behavioral sciences to the criminal justice system. Current coursework includes forensic evidence and analysis, psychology of crime, forensic neuroscience, forensic behavioral sciences and law, clinical forensic practice, statistics, ethics, and research methods.
Fresno State is direct about the career distinction: the university says the degree does not prepare students to work in a crime laboratory or as a crime scene investigator and recommends biology or chemistry for those goals.
That makes the program relevant for students interested in human behavior, interviewing, risk assessment, psychology and law, or graduate behavioral-forensic study, but it should not be compared directly with a chemistry- or biology-based forensic science degree.
Which Bachelor’s Degree Is Best for Crime-Laboratory Work?
For laboratory criminalistics, start with the science requirements rather than the word “forensic.”
California’s current Criminalist minimum qualifications require the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree with a major in one of the physical or biological sciences. The degree must include at least:
- Eight semester hours of general chemistry
- Three semester hours of quantitative analysis
The state examination also asks applicants about coursework in organic chemistry, biochemistry, biology, genetics, molecular biology, statistics, toxicology, physics, instrumental analysis, chromatography, microscopy, and DNA methods.
Students can review the current requirements through the California Criminalist examination bulletin.
Sacramento State’s Forensic Chemistry program is particularly easy to compare with those requirements because quantitative analysis and substantial chemistry are built directly into the major. SJSU’s Biology and Chemistry concentrations also provide much stronger scientific preparation than field-oriented CSI programs.
Students should still check individual crime-laboratory job specifications. DNA analysis, toxicology, drug chemistry, firearms examination, trace evidence, and other disciplines can have different preferred coursework.
Bachelor’s Degrees for Crime Scene Investigation
Crime-scene work calls for a different balance.
A CSI-focused program may place more emphasis on:
- Forensic photography
- Evidence recognition and collection
- Fingerprints
- Scene measurements and documentation
- Bloodstain evidence
- Chain of custody
- Reconstruction
- Report writing
- Courtroom testimony
SJSU’s Crime Scene Investigation concentration and Stanislaus State’s Forensics concentration are the clearest California bachelor’s pathways on this page for students interested primarily in field evidence.
Agency requirements vary. Some California departments employ civilian crime-scene specialists, while others assign scene duties to sworn officers. A bachelor’s degree can strengthen a candidate’s preparation, but students should look at the actual hiring requirements used by agencies where they may want to work.
Does FEPAC Accreditation Matter?
The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission, or FEPAC, accredits eligible bachelor’s and master’s programs in forensic science and qualifying natural- or computer-science programs with forensic concentrations.
FEPAC currently accredits undergraduate programs in areas including criminalistics, biology, chemistry, digital evidence, and crime scene investigation.
SJSU says its four concentration curricula meet FEPAC educational standards, but “meets FEPAC standards” is not the same as being FEPAC-accredited. California’s current FEPAC-accredited program is the graduate M.S. in Forensic Science at UC Davis, not one of the bachelor’s programs covered on this page.
Lack of FEPAC accreditation should not automatically eliminate an undergraduate option. Sacramento State’s chemistry curriculum, for example, provides substantial laboratory science even though it is not a FEPAC-accredited forensic program. Accreditation is one factor alongside science depth, laboratories, practical experience, cost, and alignment with employer requirements.
What Can You Do With a Bachelor’s in Forensic Science?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education for forensic science technicians.
BLS reported a national median annual wage of $72,060 in May 2025 and projects employment to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 2,800 openings per year on average.
Possible career directions after an appropriate bachelor’s degree include:
- Criminalist
- Forensic science technician
- Forensic laboratory analyst
- DNA or forensic biology analyst
- Forensic chemistry analyst
- Crime scene investigator
- Evidence technician
- Digital forensic examiner
- Latent-print or evidence specialist
The degree alone does not qualify a graduate for every job on that list. Laboratory positions may require particular chemistry or biology courses, and some CSI positions have law-enforcement or agency-specific requirements.
Choosing Between the California Programs
The three main California bachelor’s routes become easier to compare once the intended work is clear.
For laboratory chemistry and criminalistics, Sacramento State offers the most explicitly chemistry-heavy curriculum.
For a direct forensic science major with several specialties, San José State provides the broadest set of choices through Biology, Chemistry, Digital Evidence, and Crime Scene Investigation.
For field CSI and investigative forensics, Stanislaus State’s concentration is deliberately designed around a different career path and does not pretend to replace a laboratory-science major.
Students interested primarily in behavior rather than physical evidence can also consider Fresno State’s Forensic Behavioral Sciences degree, but it should be evaluated on its own terms.
California’s list may be short, but the programs cover noticeably different parts of forensic work. Compare the required courses with the job you want, not just the wording on the diploma. That is usually enough to tell whether a program is pointing you toward a crime laboratory, a crime scene, digital evidence, or an entirely different forensic specialty.