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DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
REQUEST TO CREATE A FORENSIC SCIENCE CERTIFICATE, AN UNDERGRADUATE
ACADEMIC CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND
REQUEST FOR RECOGNITION ON THE UNIVERSITY TRANSCRIPTS
Dean Linda A. Hicke in the College of Natural Sciences has filed with the secretary of the Faculty Council a
proposal to create a Forensic Science Certificate in the College of Natural Sciences section in the
Undergraduate Catalog, 2014-2016. The Course and Curriculum Committee and administrators in the College
of Natural Sciences approved the changes on April 16, 2013. The secretary has classified this proposal as
legislation as being of general interest to more than one college or school (but not for submission to the General
Faculty).
The Committee on Undergraduate Degree Program Review recommended approval of the change on December
11, 2013, and forwarded the proposed changes to the Office of the General Faculty. The Faculty Council has the
authority to approve this legislation on behalf of the General Faculty. Because the certificate requires twenty
semester hours or less, final approval resides with UT System with notification to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
If no objection is filed with the Office of the General Faculty by the date specified below, the legislation will be
held to have been approved by the Faculty Council. If an objection is filed within the prescribed period, the
legislation will be presented to the Faculty Council at its next meeting. The objection, with reasons, must be
signed by a member of the Faculty Council.
To be counted, a protest must be received in the Office of the General Faculty by January 17, 2014.
Dean P. Neikirk, Secretary
General Faculty and Faculty Council
Posted on the Faculty Council website (http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/) on January 2, 2014.
11143
REQUEST TO CREATE A FORENSIC SCIENCE CERTIFICATE, AN UNDERGRADUATE
ACADEMIC CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN THE COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND
REQUEST FOR RECOGNITION ON THE UNIVERSITY TRANSCRIPTS i
1.
Type of Proposal
New Certificate Program
2.
Scope of Proposed Change
a. Does this proposal impact other colleges/schools? If yes, then how?
Yes
The proposal contains courses from Liberal Arts as well as Natural Sciences.
b. Will students in other degree programs be impacted (are the proposed changes to courses commonly
taken by students in other colleges)? If yes, explain? Yes
Some of the seats in Liberal Arts may be taken by Natural Sciences majors, and vice versa.
c. Will students from your college take courses in other colleges?
Yes
If the answer to 2a, 2b, or 2c is “yes”:
How many students do you expect to be impacted? Fifty students across the colleges
Impacted schools must be contacted and their response(s) included:
 Person communicated with: James Pennebaker, Psychology (Liberal Arts)
Date of communication: April 19, 2013
Response: This looks like a nice approach.
 Person communicated with: Christine Williams, Sociology (Liberal Arts)
Date of communication: April 19, 2013
Response: the Sociology Department is willing to help with this venture.
 Person communicated with: Kathleen Stewart, Anthropology (Liberal Arts)
Date of communication: April 19, 2013
Response: Yes, forensics would be of interest to our students and our physical anthropologists might
be interested in teaching something useful.
 Person communicated with: Richard Flores, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts
Date of communication: September 26, 2013; conversation between Dr. Flores and Dr. Kopp
Response: The College of Liberal Arts supports the certificate provided the College of Natural
Sciences understands that seats for courses in the certificate are on an “as available” basis.
3.
Official Certificate Name: Forensic Science Certificate
4.
Proposed Implementation Date: Fall 2014
5.
CIP Code (administrative unit awarding the certificate): School of Biological Sciences
6.
Statement of Objective: To provide students interested in forensic science with an interdisciplinary
perspective and to provide both science and non-science perspectives to supplement the coursework
typically chosen by students interested in careers in forensics.
7.
Number of Students Expected to Receive the Certificate Each Semester: 25 to 50
8.
Number of Hours Required for Completion: 18
9.
List Faculty on the Certificate Program Faculty Committee.
Name of Faculty
Member
* George Pollak,
Chair
College/Department
Title at UT Austin
Section of
Neurobiology/
Professor
Highest Degree and
Awarding Institution
PhD, University of
Maryland
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* Nigel Atkinson
* Rebecca Lewis
* Deborah A.
Bolnick
* Harold Zakon
Natural Sciences
Section of
Neurobiology/
Natural Sciences
Department of
Anthropology/
Liberal Arts
Department of
Anthropology/
Liberal Arts
Section of
Neurobiology/
Natural Sciences
Professor
Associate Professor
PhD, Hershey Medical
Center at The
Pennsylvania State
University
PhD, Duke University
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of
California at Davis
Professor
PhD, Cornell
University
10. Academic Course Requirements: Use this table to identify the courses that qualify for this certificate
program.
Course
Abbreviation
and Number
ANT 301
ANT 366
BIO 309D
BIO 321G
BIO 325
BIO 325L
BIO 325T
BIO 226L
BIO 326R
BIO 446L
BIO 361T
BIO 365D
BIO 365S
BIO 165U
BIO 371L
CH 220C
Course Title
Physical Anthropology
Anatomy and Biology of the Human Skeleton #
# Upper-division standing and ANT 301.
The Human Body
Introduction to Computational Biology #
# BIO 325 or 325H; CS 303E, 305J, 307, or SSC 222; and M
408C, or 408K and 408L, or 408N and 408S.
Genetics #
# BIO 311C, 311D.
Laboratory Experience in Genetics #
# BIO 325 or 325H.
Human Genetics #
# BIO 325 or 325H.
General Microbiology Laboratory #
# Credit or registration for BIO 326M or 326R.
General Microbiology #
# BIO 325 or 325H; CH 302 or 302H.
Human Microscopic and Gross Anatomy #
# BIO 311C; BIO 325 or 325H; CH 301; and one of the
following courses: M 408C, 408K, 408N, 408R, SSC 302.
Comparative Animal Physiology #
# BIO 325 or 325H.
Principles of Drug Action #
# BIO 325 or 325H.
Systems Physiology #
# BIO 311C; BIO 325 or 325H; CH 301; and one of the
following courses: M 408C, 408K, 408N, 408R, SSC 302.
Systems Physiology Laboratory #
# BIO 325 or 325H; credit or registration for BIO 365S.
Experimental Physiology #
# BIO 325 or 325H; BIO 205L, 206L, 208L, or 126L.
Organic Chemistry Laboratory #
# Credit or registration for CH 310N or 320N; CH 204 or 317;
CH 310M, 318M, 320M, or 328M.
SCH
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
4
3
3
3
1
3
2
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CH 320M
CH 320N
CH 455
CH 369
PSY 301
PSY 308
PSY 319K
PSY 352
SOC 302
SOC 325K
SOC 325L
SDS 302
SDS 304
SDS 306
SDS 328M
M 316
Organic Chemistry I #
# CH 302 or 302H; credit or registration for CH 204 or 317.
Organic Chemistry II #
# Credit or registration for CH 210C or 220C; CH 204 or 317;
CH 310M, 318M, 320M, or 328M.
Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry #
# CH 302 and 204 or 317.
Fundamentals of Biochemistry #
# CH 310M, 318M, 320M, or 328M.
Introduction to Psychology
Biopsychology #
# PSY 301.
Social Psychology #
# PSY 301.
Abnormal Psychology #
# 1) For psychology majors: PSY 301 and 418.
2) For non-majors: PSY 301; upper-division standing; and one
of the following: BIO 318M, CE 311S, ECO 329, EDP 371, EE
351K, GOV 350K, M 316, ME 335, PSY 317, SOC 317L, SW
318, STA 309, SSC 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 318.
Introduction to the Study of Society
Criminology #
# Upper-division standing and 6 hours of SOC.
Sociology of Criminal Justice #
# Upper-division standing.
Data Analysis for the Health Sciences #
# A passing score on the College of Natural Sciences
mathematics placement examination.
Statistics in Health Care #
# A passing score on the College of Natural Sciences
mathematics placement examination.
Statistics in Market Analysis #
# A passing score on the College of Natural Sciences
mathematics placement examination.
Biostatistics #
# A passing score on the College of Natural Sciences
mathematics placement examination, and 6 hours of BIO.
Elementary Statistical Methods #
# An appropriate score on the mathematics placement exam.
3
3
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
11. Other Certificate Requirements: N/A
12. Give a Detailed Rationale for Change(s): To provide students interested in forensic science with an
interdisciplinary perspective and to provide both science and non-science perspectives to supplement the
coursework typically chosen by students interested in careers in forensics.
13. College/School Approval Process:
Approver: Course and Curriculum Committee; Sacha Kopp
Date:
April 16, 2013
Title:
Associate Dean for Curriculum and Programs
Forensic Science Certificate
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The Forensic Science Certificate provides an interdisciplinary perspective for students interested in careers in
forensic science.
Students seeking employment in forensic science laboratories upon graduation are encouraged to select biology
and chemistry courses. Some of these courses may require introductory biology and chemistry courses as
prerequisites.
No admission to the certificate is required. Students must contact the dean’s office in the College of Natural
Sciences to apply for the certificate during the semester in which they are completing the requirements. The
certificate consists of eighteen hours.
1.
2.
3.
i
Three to six hours of forensic science, chosen from Anthropology 301 and 366.
Six to twelve hours chosen from any of the following courses relevant to forensic science:
a. Criminalistics: Sociology 302, 325K, and 325L.
b. Behavioral Science: Psychology 301, 308, 319K, and 352.
c. Pharmacology: Neuroscience 365D.
To achieve the minimum of eighteen hours required for the certificate, up to eight hours may be
selected from any of the following courses:
a. Anatomy and Physiology: Biology 309D or 365S, 446L, 361T, 165U, and 371L.
b. Chemistry: Chemistry 220C, 320M, 320N, 455, and Biochemistry 369.
c. Genetics and Microbiology: Biology 325, 325L, 325T, 226L, and 326R.
d. Statistics and Computation: One course chosen from Biology 321G, Statistics and Data
Sciences 302, 304, 306, 328M, and Mathematics 316.
Minimum Criteria for Certificate Recognition on the Transcript
a) The transcript-recognized undergraduate academic certificate program must be completed in
conjunction with or within one year of completion of an undergraduate degree at The University of
Texas at Austin; students pursuing an integrated undergraduate/graduate program must complete the
requirements for the certificate within one year after completing the undergraduate requirements of
their program. A maximum of nine credit hours in the certificate program may be taken after
completion of the undergraduate degree.
b) Transcript-recognized undergraduate academic certificate programs must require a minimum of 18
hours of certificate course work, but not more than 24 hours.
c) At least half of the required coursework in the certificate program must be completed in residence at
The University of Texas at Austin.
d) A student may not earn a certificate in the same field of study as his or her major, and at least one
course required in the certificate program must be outside the requirements of the major. However,
courses in the certificate program outside the major may fulfill other degree requirements such as
general education requirements or required elective hours.
e) Students apply for transcript recognized undergraduate academic certificates at the time they complete
their undergraduate degree or the certificate program, whichever comes later. Transcript recognition is
awarded at that time.