Mt. San Jacinto College offers one dedicated crime scene investigation credential: an 18-unit Crime Scene Investigation Certificate. The college also has a 13-unit Computer Forensics Employment Concentration, although conflicting current catalog documents make its exact curriculum less clear. Broader options include Administration of Justice degrees and certificates with evidence or investigation electives, plus an Anthropology transfer degree that can include introductory forensic anthropology.
MSJC does not offer a forensic science associate degree or a laboratory criminalistics degree. Its primary CSI certificate is oriented toward crime-scene work, evidence handling, investigation, documentation, report writing, and testimony. It does not include the chemistry and biology sequence needed for laboratory criminalist careers.
MSJC is a multi-campus community college serving central and southwestern Riverside County. Its principal locations include San Jacinto, Menifee Valley, Temecula Valley, and San Gorgonio Pass. Readers comparing MSJC with other institutions can also review the broader directory of California CSI and forensic science schools.
MSJC’s CSI and Forensic Program Options
| Program | Credential | Forensic focus | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Scene Investigation Certificate | 18-unit certificate | Direct | Introductory preparation in evidence, investigations, forensic disciplines, and forensic anthropology |
| Computer Forensics Employment Concentration | 13-unit employment concentration | Closely related | Introductory evidence, reporting, computer hardware, and operating-system study |
| Administration of Justice, A.S. | Minimum 60-unit associate degree | Adjacent | Broad justice education with optional evidence, investigation, and forensic courses |
| Administration of Justice Certificate | 24-unit certificate | Adjacent | Criminal justice foundation with optional forensic electives |
| Administration of Justice, A.S.-T | 60-transferable-unit associate degree | Adjacent | Transfer preparation in criminal justice or a related field |
| Anthropology, A.A.-T | Associate degree for transfer | Adjacent | General anthropology transfer education with an optional forensic anthropology course |
The Crime Scene Investigation Certificate is the clear match for a student seeking concentrated field-evidence coursework. The Computer Forensics Employment Concentration addresses a different area, but the current catalog conflict limits how confidently it can be described as a digital-forensics pathway. The remaining credentials are broader degrees and certificates that can incorporate selected forensic subjects without requiring a full CSI sequence.
Crime Scene Investigation Certificate
MSJC describes its Crime Scene Investigation Certificate as introductory preparation in crime scene investigation and forensic science. The program requires six courses totaling 18 units:
- AJ-101 Criminal Law
- AJ-103 Criminal Evidence
- AJ-105 Tactical Communication and Report Writing
- AJ-108 Criminal Investigation
- AJ-124 Introduction to Forensics for Law Enforcement
- ANTH-201 Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
These courses form a coherent field-investigation curriculum. AJ-101 supplies the legal foundation. AJ-103 examines admissibility and the identification, collection, preservation, and processing of physical evidence. AJ-105 addresses report writing, interviews, interrogation, and courtroom testimony. Those communication skills are directly relevant to investigative work because evidence must be documented clearly enough to survive administrative, legal, and courtroom review.
AJ-108 covers crime-scene searches, investigative procedures, scientific analysis, and the investigator’s role at trial. AJ-124 introduces fingerprints, firearms, tool marks, impressions, hair, fibers, DNA, crime scene investigators, and forensic specialists. Together, these courses expose students to several evidence categories without representing the certificate as advanced specialization in any one discipline.
ANTH-201 adds a distinct human-remains component. The course covers human osteology, recovery methods, medico-legal analysis, and the estimation of age, sex, ancestry, and stature. ANTH-C1001 is recommended preparation. The current catalog identifies ANTH-201 as transferable to the California State University system but not to the University of California.
What the certificate prepares students to do
The published curriculum addresses evidence recognition, recovery, processing, packaging, preservation, cataloging, documentation, and presentation. That content aligns with introductory crime-scene and evidence responsibilities, including maintaining chain of custody, preparing reports, and explaining investigative work in court.
The curriculum is field and investigation oriented rather than laboratory-science intensive. It does not include general chemistry, organic chemistry, quantitative analysis, molecular biology, or instrumental analysis. Those subjects are central to many criminalist, forensic chemist, forensic biologist, and crime-laboratory analyst positions.
California agencies also use job titles differently. A crime scene investigator can be a civilian position at one agency and a sworn assignment at another. An evidence technician may handle property, packaging, records, or scene response depending on the employer. Completing the MSJC certificate provides relevant education, but it does not establish eligibility for every position carrying a CSI or evidence title.
Laboratory and practical training
The current catalog classifies the required courses using lecture-hour designations. It does not identify a separate laboratory sequence, required internship, clinical placement, or capstone. AJ-549 provides optional supervised work experience, but it is not part of the required certificate curriculum.
Several courses still address practical activities through their subject matter, including crime-scene searches, evidence processing, interviews, report preparation, and remains recovery. The catalog does not quantify how many hours students spend performing these tasks rather than studying them in a classroom setting.
This distinction affects career planning. A student can learn the procedures and legal framework used in scene work without completing the kind of extended laboratory sequence found in a bachelor’s forensic science program. Applicants targeting jobs that emphasize scene documentation and evidence handling will find relevant content here. Those pursuing bench science need substantially more natural-science education.
Delivery and scheduling
The certificate is not uniformly online. Recent schedules show a mixture of asynchronous online, live-online, and campus instruction.
In Fall 2026, AJ-103 and AJ-108 had asynchronous online sections. AJ-105 used required live online meetings, while AJ-124 was offered in person at the Menifee Valley Campus. AJ-101 had both online and campus options. ANTH-201 was offered in person at Menifee Valley in Spring 2026 but did not appear in the Fall 2026 schedule.
Course rotation therefore affects how quickly the six-course sequence can be completed. The official program disclosure estimates eight months when completed within normal time, but the recent schedules show that a specialized requirement such as ANTH-201 might not run every term. Students building a two-semester plan need to place limited-availability courses before requirements that are offered more frequently.
Admissions and prerequisites
MSJC is an open-access community college for applicants who meet its published eligibility criteria. The CSI certificate does not have a separately identified competitive admission process. Admitted students can enroll when they satisfy the applicable course requirements.
ENGL-C1000 and ANTH-C1001 appear as recommended preparation rather than program admission requirements. Four Administration of Justice courses must be completed at MSJC. A student who has completed a qualifying POST Basic Police Officers Academy can petition for substitution credit, subject to department review.
Certificate cost
The official 2026 program disclosure estimates $828 for completion within normal time. That figure corresponds to 18 units at California’s resident enrollment rate of $46 per unit.
The $828 figure is not a total cost of attendance. It excludes some mandatory or optional fees, books, transportation, parking, and living expenses. Fall 2026 charges include a $28 health fee and a $9 transportation fee, with parking and certain student fees potentially adding to the total.
Effective Fall 2026, nonresidents pay $330 per unit in nonresident tuition, a $20-per-unit capital outlay charge, and the $46 enrollment fee. The resulting rate is $396 per unit before semester fees and other expenses.
Computer Forensics Employment Concentration
MSJC also lists a 13-unit Computer Forensics Employment Concentration under Administration of Justice. An employment concentration is a locally approved college credential. It is not an associate degree, a Certificate of Achievement, or an industry certification.
The current HTML catalog lists four required courses:
- AJ-103 Criminal Evidence
- AJ-105 Tactical Communication and Report Writing
- CSIS-580 Computer Hardware
- CSIS-581 OS Installation and Configuration
This version combines evidence rules and investigative reporting with computer hardware and operating-system skills. CSIS-580 includes hardware teardown and assembly. CSIS-581 covers operating-system installation, Mac and Linux functionality, security threats, vulnerabilities, and prevention methods.
The official catalog sources contain a material inconsistency. Recent catalog-generated PDFs list CSIS-282 Computer Forensics instead of CSIS-581. CSIS-282 is described as covering forensic investigations, forensic tools, hard drives, mobile phones, and thumb drives. However, CSIS-282 does not appear in the current HTML course list, while the current HTML concentration requirements name CSIS-581.
The current catalog therefore does not establish one consistent 2026-2027 four-course sequence. Under the HTML requirements, the concentration includes useful technical preparation but no course explicitly described as digital-evidence acquisition or forensic analysis. That is a meaningful limitation for anyone seeking preparation as a digital evidence specialist or computer forensic examiner.
Recent delivery was flexible. Fall 2026 sections of AJ-103, CSIS-580, and CSIS-581 were offered asynchronously online, while AJ-105 used live online meetings. Formats remain dependent on the section and term.
At the California-resident enrollment rate, 13 units equal $598 before semester fees, books, equipment, transportation, parking, and living expenses. The program page does not publish a separate current total-cost disclosure.
Broader Administration of Justice Pathways
MSJC’s general Administration of Justice credentials are relevant to law enforcement, courts, corrections, and justice-system study. They are not forensic science programs. Their usefulness for CSI preparation depends on which electives a student selects.
Administration of Justice, A.S.
The Administration of Justice Associate of Science requires the 24-unit Administration of Justice certificate curriculum plus MSJC’s local general education requirements, for at least 60 units overall.
Its core covers criminal law, justice systems, report writing, legal procedure, and community relations. AJ-103 Criminal Evidence, AJ-108 Criminal Investigation, and AJ-124 Introduction to Forensics for Law Enforcement are available as electives rather than universal requirements. A student can deliberately build evidence and investigation content into the degree, but another student can complete the credential without taking all three.
This A.S. is broader than the CSI certificate and includes general education. It can suit someone seeking an associate degree for employment or further education while retaining room for selected forensic courses. It has no required CSI laboratory, forensic practicum, or internship. AJ-549 supervised work experience is available as an elective.
At 60 units, resident enrollment fees would equal $2,760 at the published $46-per-unit rate. That amount excludes additional fees and expenses, and the actual total depends on how many units a student attempts.
Administration of Justice Certificate
The 24-unit Administration of Justice Certificate consists of 15 required units and nine elective units. It provides a general law-enforcement and justice foundation rather than a prescribed CSI curriculum.
AJ-103, AJ-108, and AJ-124 are among the elective options. Choosing all three would add evidence, investigation, and forensic survey coursework. The required portion of the certificate concentrates on broader justice topics, so its title and curriculum should not be confused with the 18-unit Crime Scene Investigation Certificate.
The current program disclosure gives a base cost of $1,104 when completed within normal time. Four Administration of Justice courses must be completed at MSJC. Work experience is optional rather than required.
Administration of Justice, A.S.-T
The Associate in Science for Transfer requires 18 units in the major and 60 transferable units overall. It is structured as a criminal justice transfer degree, not as occupational CSI training.
Criminal Law and Introduction to Criminal Justice are required. AJ-103 Criminal Evidence and AJ-108 Criminal Investigation can be selected within the degree, but AJ-124 is not part of the current A.S.-T requirements. The degree also lacks a required CSI laboratory, forensic practicum, or internship.
This route works better for transfer into criminal justice or a related major than for concentrated scene-processing preparation. Someone who wants both transfer progress and focused CSI coursework could use the A.S.-T for the degree framework while completing additional courses from the CSI certificate, provided the resulting education plan fits the intended transfer institution’s requirements.
Anthropology, A.A.-T
MSJC’s Anthropology Associate in Arts for Transfer is a general anthropology degree. It allows students to select ANTH-201 Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, but one elective does not turn the degree into a forensic anthropology credential.
The degree provides a broader foundation for upper-division anthropology study. ANTH-201 adds exposure to osteology, biological-profile estimation, remains recovery, and medico-legal analysis. It was offered in person at the Menifee Valley Campus in Spring 2026.
This pathway has a different purpose from the CSI certificate. The certificate requires ANTH-201 as part of an evidence and investigation sequence. The A.A.-T places the same course within broader transfer preparation. Professional forensic anthropology generally requires advanced education, so the associate degree is an early academic step rather than terminal preparation for independent forensic casework.
CSI Preparation Versus Laboratory Criminalistics
The MSJC CSI certificate focuses on the work surrounding a scene and its evidence: recognition, recovery, packaging, preservation, documentation, reports, investigation, and testimony. These subjects are relevant to crime scene technicians, evidence technicians, property and evidence personnel, and some civilian or sworn investigative roles.
Laboratory criminalistics follows a different educational path. California Department of Justice Criminalist eligibility requires the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree with a physical or biological science major. The state requirement also includes eight semester hours of general chemistry and three semester hours of quantitative analysis.
The MSJC certificate alone does not meet those requirements. It lacks both the bachelor’s degree and the specified chemistry preparation. A future criminalist could complete selected MSJC courses as introductory or lower-division education, but the long-term degree plan would need substantial chemistry, biology, mathematics, and laboratory science.
Courses commonly relevant to laboratory careers include:
- General and organic chemistry
- Quantitative or analytical chemistry
- Biology and molecular biology
- Statistics
- Instrumental analysis
- Genetics and DNA methods
- Laboratory quality assurance
- Scientific report writing
A degree with the word “forensic” in its title is not a substitute for these subjects. For laboratory work, the actual science curriculum carries more weight than the program label.
Accreditation
Mt. San Jacinto College is institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The college reports that its accreditation has been reaffirmed through 2032.
Institutional accreditation is separate from specialized forensic science accreditation. The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission accredits eligible bachelor’s and master’s programs in forensic science, along with certain natural-science or computer-science programs that have forensic concentrations.
MSJC’s 18-unit CSI certificate falls outside FEPAC’s stated degree-level scope. It is therefore inaccurate to call the certificate FEPAC-accredited, but the absence of FEPAC accreditation is not an unusual deficiency for a community-college CSI certificate. FEPAC is more relevant when comparing bachelor’s or master’s programs designed for forensic laboratory science.
Choosing the Right MSJC Route
The Crime Scene Investigation Certificate is the most direct option for field-oriented evidence work. Its required curriculum covers criminal evidence, investigations, reporting, testimony, introductory forensic disciplines, and forensic anthropology. Recent schedules show that completion can involve both online and campus classes, with specialized requirements potentially rotating by term.
The Computer Forensics Employment Concentration is aimed at an introductory digital pathway, but the catalog conflict requires a restrained interpretation. The HTML curriculum supplies evidence, reporting, hardware, and operating-system education. It does not clearly document a dedicated digital-evidence examination course, while catalog PDFs still name a Computer Forensics course that is absent from the current HTML listings.
The Administration of Justice A.S. or certificate provides broader occupational study with room for forensic electives. The A.S.-T prioritizes transfer and contains less prescribed forensic content. The Anthropology A.A.-T is appropriate for general anthropology transfer planning with one forensic anthropology elective, not for immediate professional practice in forensic anthropology.
Career intent should drive the selection. Choose the CSI certificate for focused scene and evidence coursework. Use an Administration of Justice degree for broader justice education or transfer preparation. Pursue a science-intensive bachelor’s route for criminalist and forensic laboratory careers. That division reflects what each curriculum actually teaches, rather than relying on similar-sounding job or program titles.