Diablo Valley College offers one direct crime scene investigation credential: the Certificate of Accomplishment in Administration of Justice: Crime Scene Investigator. Its curriculum emphasizes scene processing, evidence handling, fingerprints, photography, investigation, and reconstruction. Students complete laboratory work in DVC’s dedicated crime scene investigation facility rather than studying the subject entirely online.
DVC also has broader Administration of Justice credentials that can incorporate CSI coursework. Two cybersecurity certificates provide separate routes into digital investigations and systems forensics. These are adjacent options, not substitutes for physical crime-scene training.
The central career distinction is between field-oriented CSI work and laboratory criminalistics. DVC’s CSI certificate is designed around scenes, physical evidence, fingerprints, documentation, and investigative support. It is not a forensic science degree built around chemistry or biology, and the certificate alone does not satisfy California’s education requirements for state Criminalist positions.
Diablo Valley College is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon. The dedicated CSI laboratory is located in the Science Center at the Pleasant Hill campus. Readers comparing DVC with other institutions can also review the broader directory of California CSI and forensic science schools.
DVC’s CSI, Administration of Justice, and digital forensics options
| Program | Credential | Primary focus | Practical or laboratory component | Career alignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Scene Investigator | Certificate of Accomplishment | Physical evidence, scene processing, fingerprints, photography, investigation | Required on-campus CSI laboratory courses | Crime-scene and evidence support roles |
| Administration of Justice | Associate in Science | Broad criminal justice education with CSI-related electives | Depends on elective selection | Law enforcement, justice services, investigative support |
| Administration of Justice | Associate in Science for Transfer | Transfer-oriented criminal justice curriculum with possible CSI coursework | CSI laboratory work depends on course selection | Transfer into a related bachelor’s program |
| Administration of Justice | Certificate of Achievement | Broader criminal justice preparation | CSI sequence can be incorporated | Justice-system and law-enforcement support roles |
| Network Cybersecurity | Certificate of Achievement | Network defense, ethical hacking, security, and digital forensics | Technical labs and online live activities | Cybersecurity, digital evidence, and network investigations |
| IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity | Noncredit Certificate of Completion | Introductory cybersecurity, incident response, and systems forensics | Online exercises and capstone projects | Entry-level cybersecurity exploration and skill development |
The Crime Scene Investigator certificate is the only DVC credential centered directly on physical crime scenes. The Administration of Justice options are broader related programs. Network Cybersecurity and IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity address computers and networks rather than fingerprints, trace evidence, or scene reconstruction.
Certificate of Accomplishment in Administration of Justice: Crime Scene Investigator
DVC’s Crime Scene Investigator Certificate of Accomplishment is a short undergraduate credential within the Administration of Justice department. The current 2026-27 catalog confirms that the program remains active. The latest official DVC program sheet with a fully accessible requirement list identifies a 14-unit sequence consisting of:
- ADJUS 120 Introduction to the Administration of Justice
- ADJUS 203 Crime Scene Investigation
- ADJUS 206 Advanced Crime Scene Forensics
- ADJUS 222 Criminal Investigation
The current catalog interface did not expose its full curriculum block in text during research, so the 14-unit figure and four-course list come from DVC’s latest text-accessible official program sheet. Current 2026 schedules confirm that the two specialized CSI courses remain in active rotation.
The sequence progresses logically. ADJUS 120 provides the criminal justice foundation. ADJUS 203 introduces crime-scene procedures and laboratory methods. ADJUS 206 moves into more advanced forensic processing and requires ADJUS 203. ADJUS 222 addresses the broader investigative process, including interviews, interrogation, and case preparation.
DVC requires a grade of C or higher in the certificate courses under the official program sheet. This is a college Certificate of Accomplishment, not a professional certification, occupational license, or associate degree.
What the curriculum covers
The certificate concentrates on field and investigative skills rather than natural-science analysis. Verified subjects include:
- Recognition and documentation of physical evidence
- Evidence collection, packaging, and preservation
- Crime-scene photography and sketching
- Latent-print recovery
- Friction-ridge examination
- Trace-evidence preservation
- Advanced crime-scene reconstruction
- Firearm and bloodstain topics
- Interviews and interrogation
- Investigative case preparation
- Report writing and courtroom testimony
This curriculum has direct relevance to scene-processing and evidence-support work. It gives students a more specialized forensic foundation than a general criminal justice course sequence without CSI laboratories.
It does not include the level of chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, quantitative analysis, molecular biology, or laboratory instrumentation normally associated with a bachelor’s-level criminalistics program. A person planning to analyze drugs, biological material, toxicology specimens, or other evidence in a crime laboratory needs a science-intensive educational route beyond this certificate.
Hands-on CSI laboratory training
The physical laboratory is one of the defining features of DVC’s program. The college maintains a dedicated Crime Scene Investigation Lab in Room 101 of the former Planetarium Building, now part of the Science Center at Pleasant Hill.
DVC identifies equipment and training resources that include:
- Fingerprint identification stations
- AFIS-related technology
- 3D laser scanners
- A cyanoacrylate fuming cabinet
- A fume hood
- Counter fuming chambers
- Evidence-development equipment
- Simulated crime scenes
- Tools for evidence processing and friction-ridge analysis
Cyanoacrylate fuming is used to develop latent prints on certain nonporous surfaces. AFIS-related training introduces fingerprint database and comparison technology. Three-dimensional scanning can support scene documentation and reconstruction. These are concrete technical experiences rather than general survey material about how investigations operate.
Both ADJUS 203 and ADJUS 206 were scheduled with on-campus laboratory meetings during spring and fall 2026. The certificate therefore should not be viewed as fully online. Some Administration of Justice courses are available online or in hybrid formats, but the specialized CSI sequence requires physical attendance for its laboratory work.
The faculty connection also supports the applied emphasis. Donna Kimmel-Lake, who teaches Crime Scene Investigation and Advanced Crime Scene Forensics at DVC, has professional experience with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office Criminalistics Laboratory and the Napa County Sheriff’s Office Evidence Laboratory. Her listed expertise includes crime-scene documentation, evidence collection and examination, fingerprint analysis, AFIS, controlled-substance testing, DNA database administration, and serial-number restoration.
Career fit and limitations
DVC describes the certificate as preparation related to crime-scene investigation, fingerprints, forensic photography, private investigation, and criminal investigation. Those areas accurately reflect the coursework, but completing the certificate does not guarantee eligibility for a particular position.
California agencies organize scene work differently. A crime scene investigator can be a civilian specialist at one agency, a sworn assignment at another, or part of a laboratory criminalist’s duties elsewhere. Related job titles can include crime scene technician, evidence technician, property and evidence technician, forensic identification specialist, fingerprint technician, or investigative assistant. Each employer establishes its own combination of education, experience, background standards, and sworn-status requirements.
The certificate is most directly relevant to physical evidence and scene-support functions. It can also add specialized practical training for someone already working in law enforcement, public safety, private investigation, or an evidence-related role.
It is not sufficient preparation for California’s state Criminalist classification. The California Criminalist examination bulletin requires the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree with a major in a physical or biological science, along with eight semester hours of general chemistry and three semester hours of quantitative analysis. DVC’s CSI certificate has a different purpose and curriculum.
Broader Administration of Justice pathways
DVC has three broader Administration of Justice credentials relevant to CSI planning: an Associate in Science, an Associate in Science for Transfer, and a Certificate of Achievement. None is a dedicated forensic science degree, but each can place CSI study within a wider criminal justice education.
Associate in Science in Administration of Justice
The Administration of Justice AS is the broader degree option for students seeking an associate credential rather than only the short CSI certificate. The active 2026-27 catalog record confirms the degree’s current status.
The latest fully text-accessible curriculum reviewed for this profile describes a 28-unit major covering areas such as criminal law, procedure, corrections, cultural diversity, evidence law, interviewing, and counseling. Crime Scene Investigation and Criminal Investigation appear among the CSI-relevant electives in that curriculum.
Practical preparation depends on course selection. Choosing ADJUS 203 introduces laboratory-based crime-scene work. ADJUS 206 provides more advanced training after ADJUS 203, although it was not listed among the recovered AS electives and may need to be taken separately from the major requirements.
This degree works better than the stand-alone CSI certificate for someone who wants general education and a wider foundation in justice systems, law, procedure, and corrections. It is less specialized than a forensic science degree and remains too light in the natural sciences for laboratory criminalist preparation.
The AS can also serve as a framework for combining the CSI specialty courses with a broader college education. Because DVC’s official documents indicate that the CSI certificate coursework can count toward the Administration of Justice Certificate of Achievement, the college’s justice credentials have some stackability. Degree requirements, however, include more than the four-course CSI sequence.
Associate in Science for Transfer in Administration of Justice
The Administration of Justice AS-T is the transfer-oriented route. Its current catalog record has a Fall 2025 version date and remains active in the 2026-27 catalog.
Earlier official DVC curriculum materials allowed students to select courses such as Crime Scene Investigation, Legal Aspects of Evidence, and Criminal Investigation within elective groups. Because the current requirement block was not available as accessible text during research, those earlier options provide curriculum context rather than a definitive current course list.
The AS-T is not inherently a CSI laboratory degree. A student can obtain meaningful crime-scene exposure by selecting ADJUS 203 when it fits the current requirements. ADJUS 206 may then add advanced laboratory work outside or in addition to the transfer curriculum.
This route is designed for continued study in Administration of Justice or a related area, not for direct entry into scientific crime-laboratory analysis. A transfer student targeting criminalistics should build a bachelor’s plan around chemistry, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, forensic science, or another qualifying natural science. General criminal justice transfer coursework does not replace the science and chemistry requirements used for many criminalist positions.
Certificate of Achievement in Administration of Justice
The Certificate of Achievement offers more breadth than the Crime Scene Investigator Certificate of Accomplishment without requiring completion of an associate degree. Its curriculum covers criminal justice subjects such as law, procedure, evidence, corrections, cultural diversity, and interviewing.
DVC’s program materials indicate that the CSI certificate courses can count toward this larger Administration of Justice certificate. That creates a practical sequence for a student who wants to begin with the CSI specialty and then add broader justice coursework.
The two certificates should not be confused. The Crime Scene Investigator certificate is the more concentrated option for scene processing, fingerprints, photography, and evidence. The Administration of Justice Certificate of Achievement addresses a wider range of justice-system topics. Laboratory experience within the broader certificate depends on including the CSI courses.
Digital evidence and cybersecurity options
Digital evidence work requires a different skill set from physical crime-scene processing. Computers, storage media, networks, system logs, cloud platforms, and incident-response records call for technical training in operating systems, data acquisition, network security, and forensic software.
DVC has two active cybersecurity certificates with verified forensics content. Neither is a CSI credential, and neither prepares students for forensic chemistry, biology, latent-print examination, or physical scene reconstruction.
Certificate of Achievement in Network Cybersecurity
The Network Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement is the more substantial of DVC’s two digital options. Its current 2026-27 catalog record confirms that the certificate is active. The latest official curriculum available in accessible text identifies a 19-unit program, although the current catalog requirement block was not accessible enough to establish that the unit total remains unchanged.
The recovered curriculum includes networking, routing and switching, information-systems security, internetworking security, ethical hacking, and Digital Forensics Fundamentals. CNT-149 Digital Forensics Fundamentals covers:
- Computer-investigation processes
- Data acquisition and analysis
- Disk structures
- Technical reporting
- Computer-forensics tools
The ethical-hacking course also addresses preservation of information for forensic investigation, laws affecting computer and network investigations, and cyberattack case studies.
DVC describes its Computer Network Technology curriculum as hands-on preparation in networking, operating systems, troubleshooting, and cybersecurity. CNT-149 was offered in spring 2026 through fully online instruction with a required weekly live online meeting. That format differs from the physical CSI certificate, where students attend laboratory sessions at the Pleasant Hill campus.
This certificate aligns with network defense, cyber investigations, penetration testing, security operations, and digital-evidence work. It is the relevant DVC option for someone more interested in computers and networks than fingerprints or physical evidence. Digital forensics is one part of a wider cybersecurity curriculum rather than the certificate’s sole subject.
Certificate of Completion in IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity
The IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity program is a noncredit DVC Certificate of Completion. It consists of a two-course sequence and includes six IBM SkillsBuild micro-credentials. One component covers Incident Response and Systems Forensics.
Other topics include data privacy, vulnerability management, system and network security, cloud security, and security operations. DVC also identifies hands-on activities, capstone projects, and employability-skills practice within the sequence.
The program was offered fully online in fall 2026, with no scheduled meetings, and the noncredit courses carried no tuition charge. Students could still face incidental expenses related to internet access, computers, or other learning needs, so “no tuition” is more precise than describing all participation costs as universally free.
This introductory certificate provides less technical depth than the Network Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement. Systems forensics is one component of a general cybersecurity sequence, not a dedicated digital-forensics concentration. It is useful as a low-cost starting point or as a way to test interest in cybersecurity before committing to a credit-bearing technical program.
The credential is issued by DVC and contains embedded micro-credentials. It is not a professional cybersecurity certification or forensic examiner license.
Admissions, delivery, and cost
DVC has open general admission. The college charges no application fee and does not require SAT or ACT scores. Applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent, as well as applicants who are at least 18, are guaranteed admission after completing the application. DVC does not impose a minimum GPA for general admission.
Program sequencing still matters. ADJUS 203 is the prerequisite for the advanced ADJUS 206 course in the latest accessible course information. Under the official CSI program sheet, all certificate courses require grades of C or higher.
Delivery varies by program and course:
- CSI laboratory courses meet in person at Pleasant Hill.
- Other Administration of Justice courses can be offered online, partially online, or on campus.
- CNT-149 used online instruction with a required live weekly session in spring 2026.
- The IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity sequence was fully online without scheduled meetings in fall 2026.
DVC’s online directory lists Administration of Justice among subjects with select online degrees or certificates, but it does not establish that the Crime Scene Investigator certificate can be finished remotely. The required laboratory sequence makes the direct CSI credential a mixed-delivery program.
For 2026-27, California residents pay a $46-per-unit enrollment fee. Additional charges can include a student union fee of $1 per unit, capped at $10 per academic year, a $5 student activity fee per semester, and a $2 student representation fee per primary term.
Nonresidents pay the $46 enrollment fee plus $383 per unit in nonresident tuition and a $10-per-unit capital outlay fee. Books, supplies, transportation, living expenses, and other personal costs are separate from tuition and mandatory college fees.
Because the CSI certificate spans multiple courses and terms, a single fixed total would omit term-specific fees and individual expenses. Associate degrees also require general education and other graduation coursework beyond the major, so their cost cannot be estimated from the CSI certificate’s unit count.
Accreditation and the role of FEPAC
Diablo Valley College is institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. ACCJC is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.
DVC does not list Administration of Justice or the Crime Scene Investigator certificate among its separately programmatically accredited offerings. This does not create a FEPAC deficiency because the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission accredits qualifying bachelor’s and master’s forensic science programs, including certain natural or computer science degrees with forensic concentrations. An independent community college CSI certificate falls outside that scope.
FEPAC becomes more relevant when comparing bachelor’s or master’s programs intended for scientific forensic laboratory work. It is not the appropriate standard for judging a short field-oriented certificate in scene processing or an introductory cybersecurity credential.
Choosing the right DVC route
The Crime Scene Investigator Certificate of Accomplishment is the direct route for physical crime-scene work. Its four-course structure, advanced CSI sequence, and dedicated laboratory provide focused instruction in evidence recognition, fingerprints, photography, documentation, collection, reconstruction, and criminal investigation.
The Administration of Justice AS adds broader college and criminal justice education. It is better aligned with someone who wants an associate degree and wider preparation in law, procedure, corrections, and investigations while retaining access to CSI coursework.
The AS-T serves a different goal: transfer. It can include crime-scene and evidence courses, but its main function is continued education in Administration of Justice or a related field. Students planning to become laboratory criminalists need a science-centered bachelor’s plan rather than relying on the AS-T as forensic science preparation.
The broader Administration of Justice Certificate of Achievement provides a stackable option around the CSI sequence. It adds justice-system breadth without requiring the full general education component of an associate degree.
For digital evidence, the Network Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement is the more technical option. Digital Forensics Fundamentals sits alongside networking, security, and ethical hacking. The noncredit IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity certificate is shorter and introductory, with systems forensics contained within a wider survey of cybersecurity operations.
Career goals should control the choice. Physical scene processing points toward the CSI certificate. Broader criminal justice employment or transfer points toward the AS, AS-T, or Certificate of Achievement. Computer evidence and cyber incidents point toward Network Cybersecurity. Scientific analysis in a crime laboratory requires a longer route through chemistry, biology, or another qualifying physical or biological science, including the chemistry preparation specified by the relevant employer.