Aims of the course:
- To introduce participants to genetics
- To show how genetics can be used by forensic students
- To introduce participants to different cases where genetics has been used to solve crimes, this will include crime where the suspect is guilty, but also some recent cases where genetics has been used to exonerate people who have been imprisoned for a crime they did not commit
Course content overview:
This course will begin with an introduction to genetics, describing what DNA is and the basics of inheritance. There will also be an introduction to forensic science. The course will then combine these two topics to examine how DNA and genetics can be utilised in a criminal investigation. We will look at different types of DNA which might be useful in a forensic case. We will see how DNA can be collected at a crime scene, how it is examined in the laboratory and we will also analyse these DNA profiles generated in the laboratory. Throughout the course specific forensic case studies will help to illustrate the points being made. This course will look at how genetics has changed over the years and the effects that this has had to forensic investigation, we will also look at how future advances in genetics might affect future criminals and investigations.
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online):
Orientation Week: 25-31 May 2020
Teaching Weeks: 1 June-5 July 2020
Feedback Week: 6-12 July 2020
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards,etc).
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say - September 2015
"I’d never done a distance learning course before, but this has been a great experience and I will certainly sign up for more in the future"
"The tutor presented complex information in a very simple way that’s easy to understand by students"
