Program Description

The Forensic Science and Anthropology Field School at the Ohio State University is an intensive, four-week course.  Students participate in, from the perspective of multiple disciplines, the resolution of a mock medicolegal death investigation from crime scene discovery to courtroom testimony.  Partnering with the Past Foundation students process an indoor crime scene where foul play is suspected to have happened.  Evidence then leads them to an outdoor scene where they search for and recover buried human remains.  Back in the lab, they examine evidence from both scenes and attempt to identify individuals by analyzing skeletal remains and matching them against missing person files.  Participants synthesize multiple lines of evidence to reconstruct what occurred at the crimes scenes.  Finally, students testify as a scientific expert witness in a real courtroom in front of an actual judge under direct and cross-examination by practicing attorneys.  Throughout the process, students receive hands-on training in the classroom, lab, and field by law enforcement agents, legal professionals, and forensic scientists.

Upon completion of this course students are able to employ the scientific method to answer questions related to crime scene reconstruction and individual identification, distinguish between forensic science as portrayed in popular media versus the reality of forensic science as practiced by professionals, develop interpersonal professional and public presentation skills, and appreciate the important role of an Anthropologist in medicolegal death investigations.

The Program will take place during OSU 2015 May session (May 11-May 30, 2015).

Credit Hours:  3.0 (OSU ANTHROP 5686)

For more information or to sign up: https://pastinnovationlab.org/resources/past-programs/ffs-2015/

For a detailed description of the FOrensic FIeld School and participant comments, see the Forensic Science and Anthropology Field School Overview.pdf (pdf)