Forensic Anthropology

Forensic Anthropology combines physical anthropological knowledge and the application of forensic methods and techniques. The discipline is used by the justice system to solve cases where a missing person or an unknown murder victim is involved.

The MSc in Forensic Anthropology provides the skills and knowledge required to pursue a career in the search for missing people, the recovery of evidence and human remains from clandestine graves and the identification of unknown corpses by osteological analysis.

Your studies will develop a broad understanding of these issues, including excavation, laboratory analysis and the courtroom skills necessary to present findings in a trial. You will learn analytical techniques, taphonomic analysis, field methods and genetic applications, as well as having the unique opportunity to excavate and analyse human remains during archaeological excavations at the Poulton Project archaeological site near Chester.

During your Masters you will learn to: apply a broad knowledge base of human osteology and biology to a range of real and theoretical forensic applications and evaluate the burial contexts of human remains, using this to determine the natural and anthropogenic processes involved in creating them. You will operate in a range of science contexts, taking responsibility for your contributions and outputs and generating information using primary observations of human osteology. You will use this information to form responses to the problems presented.

You will be taught in new human osteology laboratories, which house osteology collections and specialist equipment for digital radiography and 3-dimensional imaging, such as laser scanners and micro scribes for advanced morphometric studies.