{"id":27914,"date":"2018-08-13T15:34:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T19:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2018\/08\/13\/necc-prepares-students-for-future-in-forensics\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T16:23:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:23:26","slug":"necc-prepares-students-for-future-in-forensics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2018\/08\/13\/necc-prepares-students-for-future-in-forensics\/","title":{"rendered":"NECC Prepares Students for Future in Forensics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

NECC Professor Mike Cross stands next to a staged crime scene during a forensics class.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some days they dust for fingerprints. Other days they perform DNA analysis, or investigate mock arson cases. These are students in Northern Essex Community College<\/a>\u2019s lab science program<\/a> and they are concentrating on forensic science.<\/p>\n

NECC began offering the forensic science concentration in the fall of 2017. There are currently 11 students enrolled in the concentration.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the popularity of television crime shows, interest in forensics has been on the rise and the NECC lab science concentration is a good introductory course for students who think they may want to study forensics. Students gain hands-on experience with the actual equipment that is used in a crime lab. Lifting fingerprints, DNA analysis, and investigating mock arson cases is all part of the curriculum. In addition, the forensic students complete a research project in forensic science and an internship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Students in one of the forensics science classes offered as a concentration in NECC’s laboratory science program explore fingerprinting techniques.<\/p><\/div>\n

Graduates of the program, according to Natural Science Professor Mike Cross, who helped design the concentration, can continue their education at a four-year school including UMass Lowell, Salem State University, and Bay Path University. They could seek careers as crime scene investigators and forensic evidence technicians. Forensic science, said Cross, is a small but quickly growing field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be a 17 percent increase in forensic science jobs within the next decade<\/p>\n

\u201cOur forensic science (concentration) graduates are especially well-prepared for the job market as they have the skills and training to work not only in forensic science, but in any field of lab science,\u201d Cross said.<\/p>\n

Students enrolled in the Lab Science Forensic Concentration Program take – 11 classes, four electives, and two forensic classes.<\/p>\n

Northern Essex began offering the concentration after NECC Criminal Justice Professor Paul Cavan noted that a number of criminal justice students were interested in studying forensics. He approached Cross and together they developed a singular forensic course. In just days the first section filled. Since it fulfilled a general laboratory science requirement, students from all majors enrolled \u2013 not justice criminal justice majors. Eventually that single forensic course led to the forensic concentration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A student in a forensic science class conducts an experiment.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAs I taught the course I found that many students were interested in pursuing a career in forensic\u00a0science,\u201d said Cross. \u201cThese students often choose criminal justice as a major, but would be much better served by a degree tailored to their needs. They would obviously need more than just one course in order to be prepared to be a crime scene investigator. Forensic science seemed a natural fit in the Laboratory Science Program and so we developed it as one of the four concentrations within the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Other concentrations offered for the Laboratory Science Program include Analytical Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Environmental Sciences.<\/p>\n

For additional information on the Laboratory Science Program visit the website<\/a><\/p>\n

Or contact Kevin Mitchell, the lab science program coordinator at kmitchell1@necc.mass.edu<\/a> or call 978-556-3343.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some days they dust for fingerprints. Other days they perform DNA analysis, or investigate mock arson cases. 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