#6 University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
There's a certain respect an academic program can demand when it's one of the first in its field. In the world of forensics, we can roughly divide the schools into two groups: pre-CSI: Miami and post-CSI: Miami. Nothing against the newer schools. It's just that the University of Alabama was doing forensics before forensics was cool.
On the academic side of the house, UAB is very demanding. Before you can even apply to the place, you'll need a combined 1100 or better on the quantitative and verbal sections of the GRE. While you may consider this easy to achieve, understand that this is the bare minimum -- and UAB's bare minimum is a full 100 points higher than that demanded by many other forensic programs. This should tell you something about the caliber of students it attracts.
On top of this, UAB is going to require that you have a B or better in a slew of undergraduate courses, including a couple where getting even a B is no cakewalk: organic chemistry (both semesters), and quantitative analysis. With these kinds of admissions requirements, you're looking at an applicant pool on par with that of many medical schools.
Last but not least, UAB is going to work you hard. If you elect to skip out on the research thesis, understand that you're going to complete 48 semester hours of courses. Let's say that again: 48 hours, in two years! While you can substitute an internship for 3 - 6 of these hours (and you'd be a fool not to), this is still a boatload of credits. But again, this is the kind of demands a school of UAB's stature can demand. If you're willing to take on the thesis, Alabama will cut you a break, with "only" 36 semester hours of coursework to go with your six hours of research.
The University of Alabama's forensic science grad program has been around a long time, and it knows a thing or two about solid forensic education. Many respected forensic folks call this place home, including the editorial offices of the revered Forensic Science Review. For these reasons, it's our #6 pick on the list of best forensic science graduate programs in the United States.
