The University of California, Davis offers two direct routes into laboratory-oriented forensic science: a B.S. in Applied Chemistry with a Forensic Chemistry emphasis and an M.S. in Forensic Science with Criminalistics and DNA tracks. Undergraduates can also complete a specialized Forensic Entomology minor. The Anthropology B.S. provides an adjacent route for study in forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, although it is not a named forensic concentration.
These options prepare students for different kinds of work. Applied chemistry and graduate criminalistics emphasize chemical evidence, toxicology, instrumentation, and laboratory analysis. The graduate DNA track centers on molecular methods, DNA typing, and population genetics. Forensic entomology addresses insect evidence, while anthropology supports human identification, recovery, and archaeological field methods.
UC Davis is located in Davis, California. Readers comparing it with other institutions can find additional profiles in the guide to California colleges and universities with CSI and forensic programs.
UC Davis forensic programs at a glance
| Program | Credential | Primary focus | Format | Specialized accreditation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.S. in Forensic Science | 54-quarter-unit master’s degree with Criminalistics and DNA tracks | Graduate laboratory science, research, instrumental analysis, toxicology, DNA, and evidence interpretation | In person; full-time or part-time | UC Davis identifies the thesis-based option as FEPAC-accredited |
| B.S. in Applied Chemistry, Forensic Chemistry Emphasis | Bachelor of Science; 99 to 115 quarter units in the major | Analytical chemistry, instrumentation, toxicology, chemical evidence, and laboratory methods | Campus based | No program-specific FEPAC accreditation identified |
| Forensic Entomology Minor | 20-quarter-unit undergraduate minor | Insect evidence, entomology, physiology, ecology, and field or laboratory methods | Campus based | FEPAC does not apply to this specialized minor |
| Anthropology B.S. with forensic coursework options | Bachelor of Science; at least 94 quarter units in the major | Biological anthropology, forensic anthropology, archaeology, human identification, and recovery methods | Primarily campus based | Not a FEPAC-accredited forensic science degree |
UC Davis does not currently offer an online forensic science degree. Its forensic science graduate program reports that an online certificate is in development, but the university’s current catalog does not list that certificate as an active credential with a curriculum or enrollment process.
M.S. in Forensic Science
The 54-quarter-unit M.S. in Forensic Science is UC Davis’s central graduate program for criminalistics and forensic laboratory preparation. It is an interdisciplinary, research-focused degree offered in person, with full-time and part-time enrollment available. Full-time students can typically finish in two years. Part-time students taking five units or fewer per quarter typically finish in three years.
Students select one of two academic tracks:
- Forensic Criminalistics
- Forensic DNA
Both tracks share a foundation in forensic science, physical evidence, ethics, quality systems, scientific evidence, report writing, seminars, and research. Both also include exposure to crime-scene work, but the program’s primary orientation is laboratory science and research rather than patrol work, police training, or a field-only CSI curriculum.
Criminalistics track
The Criminalistics track is the more chemistry-intensive graduate route. Its curriculum emphasizes instrumental analysis, trace evidence, controlled-substance or drug chemistry, toxicology, forensic statistics, and human identification.
Required track work includes Human Identification, Analysis of Toxicants, Forensic Statistics, and the Forensic Science Analytical Instrumentation Laboratory. The laboratory course provides practical experience with instrumental techniques used in advanced forensic laboratories. Other available coursework covers microscopy, spectroscopy, toxicology, fire and arson investigation, analytical instrumentation, and the interpretation of scientific evidence.
This track aligns most directly with laboratory positions involving chemical or materials evidence. A student targeting forensic chemistry, toxicology, controlled-substance analysis, or trace evidence would generally receive more relevant preparation here than in the DNA track.
The program also addresses a California-specific issue involving quantitative analysis. UC Davis redesigned ETX 102B, Quantitative Analysis of Environmental Toxicants, to address preparation used by some California crime laboratories. The university reports that the California Department of Public Health approved the course as equivalent to a traditional quantitative-analysis course. This is useful preparation for employers that require such coursework, but individual laboratories and job classifications can apply different educational standards.
DNA track
The DNA track focuses on forensic biology, molecular methods, DNA typing, and the statistical interpretation of genetic evidence. Required track subjects include Molecular Techniques, Forensic DNA Analysis, Population Genetics, and Principles and Practices of DNA Typing. The DNA typing course includes a laboratory component.
UC Davis states that the track is structured to address Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods educational guidelines for DNA analysts and DNA technical leaders. That curricular alignment is relevant to applicants planning forensic biology careers, especially because DNA laboratories commonly examine biology, chemistry, genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and statistics coursework in detail.
The DNA track is not simply a general biology option within the degree. Population genetics, molecular techniques, forensic interpretation, and laboratory DNA typing form a connected sequence aimed at biological evidence. It is better aligned with forensic DNA analysis than the Criminalistics track, while the Criminalistics curriculum provides greater depth in toxicology, analytical chemistry, and instrumentation.
Crime-scene and courtroom training
All M.S. students receive some practical preparation beyond bench science. FOR 240, Homicide Crime Scene Investigation, covers evidence recognition, scene documentation, evidence collection, reconstruction, preservation, report writing, and courtroom presentation.
UC Davis also describes mock crime scenes, moot-court testimony, laboratory work, and research as parts of the graduate experience. These elements are relevant to crime-scene investigators and laboratory analysts who may need to explain collection methods, analytical results, limitations, and chain-of-custody issues in court.
One homicide investigation course does not make the M.S. a dedicated field-CSI degree. Applicants seeking daily work in scene photography, latent-print processing, evidence packaging, diagramming, or civilian evidence collection may find a specialized CSI curriculum more directly focused on those duties. At UC Davis, scene training supports a broader graduate laboratory program.
Thesis and capstone routes
The M.S. has two completion plans:
- Plan I: Original research and a thesis
- Plan II: Additional coursework, a capstone document, and a comprehensive oral examination
Plan I is the program’s most frequently selected route. It requires substantial faculty-supervised research and can provide experience designing a study, analyzing results, writing a scientific thesis, and potentially presenting or publishing the work.
Plan II replaces much of that research commitment with additional coursework and a capstone. It remains a valid degree route, but UC Davis states that its reduced laboratory-research component may make it less suitable for applicants seeking crime-laboratory employment. Plan I provides the stronger laboratory-research foundation.
FEPAC accreditation
The American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission awarded the UC Davis M.S. full accreditation from March 1, 2026, through March 1, 2031. The accreditation action names the DNA Analysis and Criminalistics tracks.
UC Davis specifically identifies the thesis-based option as FEPAC-accredited. The university does not make the same explicit statement about Plan II on its current program overview, so the affirmative accreditation claim applies here to Plan I.
FEPAC accreditation is most relevant to broad forensic science and criminalistics education. It is not the standard used to judge unrelated specialties such as anthropology, and it does not guarantee appointment to a particular public laboratory position. Employers can impose discipline-specific course, experience, background, and hiring requirements in addition to the degree.
Admission requirements
Admission is designed for applicants who already have a substantial science foundation. UC Davis requires a bachelor’s degree in a natural or physical science from an accredited institution. Prerequisites include:
- General chemistry with laboratory
- Organic chemistry with laboratory
- Physics with laboratory
- Calculus
- Statistics
- Biology for the DNA track
The stated minimum overall GPA is 3.0, and the prerequisite-course GPA minimum is also 3.0. GRE scores are not required. Applicants with limited deficiencies may sometimes complete them during the first quarter, subject to program review. The curriculum assumes prior college chemistry and quantitative preparation.
A criminal justice bachelor’s degree without the required laboratory sciences would therefore be insufficient preparation on its own. Chemistry, biology, biochemistry, toxicology, and related science degrees are more likely to include the necessary foundation.
Graduate tuition and estimated cost
The M.S. is a self-supporting program with tuition set on a program basis. UC Davis listed a rate of $903 per unit for students entering in fall 2025. That cohort-specific rate should not be used as a permanent price for later entrants.
For new students entering in 2026-2027, the university’s financial-aid budget estimates:
- Full-time annual tuition and fees: $25,110
- Full-time annual health insurance budget: $8,820
- Estimated full-time annual cost of attendance: $59,170
- Part-time annual tuition and fees: $13,950
The $59,170 cost-of-attendance estimate includes direct and indirect expenses, not just tuition. Housing, food, transportation, books, supplies, laboratory materials, personal costs, and health insurance can all affect the final amount. A fixed two-year program total would be misleading because rates, enrollment intensity, insurance status, and living arrangements differ.
B.S. in Applied Chemistry with a Forensic Chemistry Emphasis
The Applied Chemistry B.S. with a Forensic Chemistry emphasis is UC Davis’s primary undergraduate route into forensic laboratory science. The 2026-2027 General Catalog lists 99 to 115 quarter units in the major. It is a campus-based degree with substantial chemistry and laboratory requirements.
The required preparation includes general chemistry, physics, calculus, biology, statistics, and Introduction to Forensic Science. Upper-division study includes:
- Forensic Applications of Analytical Chemistry
- Analytical and Physical Chemical Methods
- Instrumental Analysis
- Organic chemistry and organic chemistry laboratories
- Physical chemistry
- Environmental toxicology
- Quantitative analysis of toxicants
- Approved electives in areas such as genetics, toxicology, mass spectrometry, environmental law, or advanced statistics
CHE 104, Forensic Applications of Analytical Chemistry, applies screening tests, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to evidentiary samples. Those methods are central to identifying and measuring unknown chemical materials in many laboratory settings.
The required organic chemistry laboratories and analytical or instrumental courses add broader preparation in laboratory technique, measurement, separation, and chemical identification. Independent research is encouraged, although it is not listed as a universal graduation requirement.
Career alignment
This degree is a better undergraduate foundation for forensic chemistry and non-DNA criminalistics than a general criminal justice major. It develops the chemistry, statistics, toxicology, and instrumental-analysis background relevant to private forensic laboratories and government crime, law-enforcement, or regulatory laboratories.
The curriculum is less focused on field duties such as crime-scene photography, latent-print development, scene sketching, bloodstain pattern documentation, and routine evidence collection. A student whose main goal is civilian CSI work should recognize that this is an analytical chemistry degree with a forensic emphasis, not a crime-scene investigation major.
For future graduate study, the degree also fits the science prerequisites for the UC Davis M.S. more naturally than a nonscience major. The chemistry sequence covers much of the graduate program’s required foundation, although DNA-focused graduate study also requires adequate biological science preparation.
No current authoritative source identifies the undergraduate Applied Chemistry program as FEPAC-accredited. Its value rests on the documented science curriculum and laboratory sequence rather than a specialized accreditation claim.
Forensic Entomology Minor
The 20-quarter-unit Forensic Entomology minor is a named undergraduate forensic credential administered by the Department of Entomology and Nematology. It must be completed alongside a bachelor’s degree and does not operate as a standalone major, certificate, or professional certification.
Required coursework includes:
- General Entomology
- General Entomology Laboratory
- Insect Physiology
- Behavioral Ecology of Insects
- Forensic Entomology
- One approved ecology course
The ecology requirement can be met through Insect Ecology, Introduction to Ecology, or General Ecology. UC Davis describes hands-on laboratory and field activities involving arthropod collection, insect evidence, and forensic entomology research.
This minor is relevant to death investigation and other criminal or civil matters in which insect development, behavior, taxonomy, or distribution can help answer questions about decomposition and postmortem interval. It also provides a foundation for graduate research in entomology or medicolegal applications of insect evidence.
Its narrow focus is intentional. The minor does not provide broad preparation in drug chemistry, DNA analysis, instrumental analysis, fingerprints, or general crime-scene processing. It works best as a complement to a science major such as entomology, biology, ecology, anthropology, or chemistry.
Anthropology B.S. with forensic coursework
UC Davis’s Anthropology B.S. is an adjacent forensic pathway rather than a forensic anthropology degree. The major requires at least 94 quarter units and combines anthropology with biology, general chemistry, calculus, statistics, genetics, ecology, archaeology, and evolutionary anthropology.
Relevant coursework can include Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, human anatomy, human genetics, archaeology, archaeometry, zooarchaeology, laboratory analysis, and archaeological field methods. Introduction to Forensic Anthropology covers scene documentation and recovery, human identification, trauma analysis, uncertainty, ethics, and human rights. UC Davis offers both an in-person course and a virtual version of that individual course, but the complete bachelor’s degree is not presented as an online program.
The Department of Anthropology has also scheduled ANT 188 as a Forensic Archaeology Field School. Field-school training can include recovery, mapping, excavation, documentation, and analysis. Availability can vary by academic year, so it is best understood as a practical course opportunity rather than a separate credential or guaranteed annual component.
The Anthropology B.S. can support graduate study in forensic anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, human identification, or medicolegal investigation. It does not contain the analytical chemistry and instrumentation depth expected for many criminalist positions. Chemical evidence analysis is more directly addressed by the Applied Chemistry B.S., while advanced crime-laboratory preparation is the focus of the Forensic Science M.S.
Undergraduate tuition and cost context
UC Davis does not publish separate tuition for the Applied Chemistry emphasis, Forensic Entomology minor, or Anthropology B.S. These are completed within the university’s standard undergraduate tuition structure.
For new undergraduates entering in 2026-2027, UC Davis lists:
- Systemwide tuition and fees: $15,588
- Campus-based fees: $2,490
- Estimated on-campus cost of attendance for California residents: $49,009
- Estimated on-campus cost of attendance for nonresidents: $88,279
Cost of attendance includes estimated housing, food, books, transportation, health insurance, and personal expenses. It is broader than billed tuition and fees. Nonresident undergraduates face a substantially higher estimated budget than California residents.
Adding the Forensic Entomology minor may not create a separate tuition charge, but it can affect scheduling and time to graduation if its laboratory and upper-division science prerequisites are not incorporated early. The Applied Chemistry major is already a highly sequenced program, so calculus, physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and laboratory courses need to be planned in the correct order.
Choosing the right UC Davis route
Career target should drive the program choice:
- Forensic chemistry, toxicology, controlled substances, or trace evidence: The Applied Chemistry B.S. offers the most direct undergraduate preparation. At the graduate level, the M.S. Criminalistics track adds advanced instrumentation, toxicology, forensic statistics, research, and evidence interpretation.
- Forensic DNA analysis: The M.S. DNA track is the relevant graduate option because it includes molecular techniques, population genetics, forensic DNA analysis, and laboratory DNA typing.
- Research-intensive crime-laboratory preparation: Plan I in the M.S. provides substantially more original research than Plan II and is the route UC Davis identifies as FEPAC-accredited.
- Insect evidence and decomposition research: The Forensic Entomology minor provides focused undergraduate study in entomology, insect physiology, behavior, ecology, and forensic application.
- Forensic anthropology or forensic archaeology: The Anthropology B.S. supplies biological science, human identification, archaeology, and possible field-school experience, but further graduate training is commonly needed for specialist forensic anthropology work.
- Field crime-scene investigation: UC Davis provides crime-scene exposure in the graduate program and recovery-related training in anthropology, but none of the verified credentials is a dedicated field-CSI degree. The university’s strongest preparation is in laboratory science, research, chemical analysis, DNA, entomology, and anthropological recovery.
A generic degree containing a forensic elective is not equivalent to these structured pathways. At UC Davis, the Applied Chemistry emphasis and graduate Criminalistics track provide the clearest chemistry and instrumentation preparation. The DNA track provides the strongest molecular and genetic focus. Entomology and anthropology serve narrower evidence specialties, each with different scientific methods and career requirements.