M.Sc. Forensic Science Programme

The crime scenario is changing rapidly all around the globe. The nature of crime and criminals has changed considerably due to the advent of globalization, economic liberalization, communication revolution, etc. This has not only resulted in effecting substantial alterations in the dynamics of crime and criminal behavior but has also brought formidable challenges for the Criminal Justice System in making our society safe. Forensic Science is a branch of science that deals with methods of gathering and examining evidence about the crime committed and then used in a court of law. Especially, in India, owing to the alarmingly increasing crime rate, it is high time to bring sophisticated scientific methods involving frontier areas of applied science and technology, manned by qualified academicians and scientists to solve high-tech crimes. In the process of ensuring global competency, it seeks to ensure quality Forensic Science education and research facilities for students and scholars. This vision is achieved by commencing the MSc. program in Forensic Science as a joint venture of the University of Calicut and Kerala Police Academy, which is one of its kind in the Country.

About M.Sc. Forensic Science program

The MSc. Forensic Science program under regular stream is hosted by Kerala Police Academy (KEPA) on its campus at Ramavarmapuram, Thrissur. This program ensures the molding of skilled scientific investigators by continuous training in the collection, handling, and analysis of evidence for the purpose of justice. The two-year Post Graduate Programme will be in the semester pattern. There will be four semesters in the entire course, with two semesters each year. The papers in the first two semesters will constitute the Core Courses only, in the third semester both Core and Elective Courses and in the fourth semester, only Elective Courses are included. The following five broad areas of elective subjects offered in this program are:

  • Questioned Documents and Forensic Dermatoglyphics.
  • Forensic Physics and Ballistics.
  • Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology.
  • Forensic Biology, Serology and DNA Profiling.
  • Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics.

Course structure

Semester I:

  • FUNDAMENTALS OF FORENSIC SCIENCE & CRIMINAL LAWS
  • CRIME & CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
  • FORENSIC & CORRECTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
  • LABORATORY QUALITY MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & STATISTICS

Semester II:

  • PHYSICAL EVIDENCE & INSTRUMENTAL TECHNIQUES- PHYSICAL
  • DIGITAL & CYBER EVIDENCE
  • CHEMICAL EVIDENCE & INSTRUMENTAL TECHNIQUES- CHEMICAL
  • BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE & INSTRUMENTAL TECHNIQUES- BIOLOGICAL

Semester III:

  • FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
  • CRIME SCENE MANAGEMENT & RECONSTRUCTION

Elective courses:

  • QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS
  • FORENSIC DERMATOGLYPHICS
  • FORENSIC PHYSICS
  • FORENSIC BALLISTICS
  • FORENSIC CHEMISTRY
  • FORENSIC MEDICINE & TOXICOLOGY
  • FORENSIC BIOLOGY
  • FORENSIC SEROLOGY & DNA PROFILING
  • COMPUTER & SMARTPHONE FORENSIC
  • CYBER FORENSICS & CYBER SECURITY

Semester IV:

  • PROJECT

Elective courses:

  • ADVANCED FINGERPRINT DEVELOPMENT METHODS
  • FORGERY & IT’S FORENSIC DETECTION
  • FORENSIC AUDIO-VIDEO ANALYSIS
  • ADVANCED FORENSIC BALLISTICS
  • EXPLOSIVES & EXPLOSION
  • PHARMACOLOGY & FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF DRUGS
  • FORENSIC- ANTHROPOLOGY, ENTOMOLOGY & ODONTOLOGY
  • FORENSIC- BOTANY, WILDLIFE & MICROBIAL FORENSIC
  • ETHICAL HACKING & RECOVERY FORENSIC
  • DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING

Admission procedure

The admission is conducted as per the guidelines of the University of Calicut.

Program: M. Sc. Forensic Science (Full Time)

Intake: 20 (15 seats for open merit and 5 seats for in-service persons of Police or related departments)

Duration: 2 years (4 Semesters)

Eligibility for Admission: A student seeking admission to any M. Sc. Forensic Science Program must fulfil the following criteria:

Those students who possess B.Sc. Degree in Forensic Science/ B.Voc. Forensic Science/ B.Voc. Applied Microbiology & Forensic Science/ B.Sc. Zoology/ B.Sc. Botany/ B.Sc. Chemistry/ B.Sc. Physics/ B.Sc. Microbiology/ B.Sc. Medical Microbiology/ B.Sc. Biochemistry/ B.Sc. Medical Biochemistry/ B.Sc. Biotechnology/ B.Sc. Genetics/ B.Tech. Computer Science/ B.Tech. Information Technology / BCA/ B.Sc. Computer Science/ B.Sc. Information Technology with at least 60% marks or equivalent grades of this University or equivalent or recognized. OBC/OEC candidates are eligible to relaxation up to 5%. SC/ST candidates need only to get a pass.

Fee structure: Semester tuition fee: Rs.30,000/- per semester + Other University fees. For further details see the Calicut University prospectus.

MoU With Universities

On the road to transforming KEPA as Centre of Excellence and Research in Police Science, a number of MoUs have been signed with some esteemed universities. Details of the courses effected based on these MoUs are:

  • MoU with University of Calicut - Signed.
  • Research centre of University of Calicut -underway
  • MSc in Forensic Science - Started
  • MA in Criminology & Police Science - underway
  • Certificate Course in Applied Criminology &Crime Analysis - started
  • Certificate Course in Human Rights

M.Sc. Forensic Science Course at KEPA: An MoU was signed with the University ofCalicut on 26th July 2019 on the basis of sanctionaccorded by the Government vide G.O. (Ms) No.160/2019/HEDN dated 13th June 2019 to commence two years MSc. Forensic Science course in the KeralaPolice Academy. The course was started on 23rd September 2019 with a total of 20 students, out of which 5 are from the Police department.

Certificate Course in Applied Criminology & Crime Analysis: Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension, University of Calicut had joined hands with Kerala Police Academy, Thrissur to offer certificate course in Human Rights and Applied Criminology and Crime Analysis to Police trainees at the Academy 73 students completed the course.

MoU with Cochin University of Science & Technology - Signed: AnMoU with the University of Calicut has been signed and a two-year course in MSc Forensic Science and a certificate course in Applied Criminology and Crime Analysis have been commenced. MoU with Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) has also been signed and courses on MSc Data Science and MSc Forensic Science will be started soon. In all the post-graduate programs, 5 seats are reserved for police personnel.

MoU with NUALS - Contemplated: Police Academia Interaction Forum (PAIF) – 3 interactions are over.

Student Internships:: KEPA has a vibrant student internship system with over 40-50 students coming to the Academy every month for the system. It is proposed that the system be further streamlined, with students coming up with actionable project recommendations. The students need to be provided appropriate mentorship so that there is an effective out-put for the project.