Master of Science, Forensic Science

Contact Information

Questions concerning enrollment in the program should be directed to Dr. Jason Linville, UAB Department of Justice Sciences. U 238, 1530 3rd Avenue South. Birmingham, Alabama 35294-4562.

Telephone (205) 934-2069 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Admission Requirements

Because the MSFS Program is laboratory-based, students seeking admission to the MSFS Program should have a strong background in the physical or natural sciences, including such disciplines as biology, chemistry, or physics. Beyond a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, the admission requirements include the following:

• Minimum acceptable GPA for admission is 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
• The recommended GRE score for admission is 1100 (combined) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the test.
• Students seeking admission to the MSFS Program must have taken at least two semesters of laboratory-based general chemistry, and two semesters of laboratory-based organic chemistry. It is recommended that students also have completed one semester of quantitative analysis (wet analytical chemistry), and earned a minimum grade of "B" in each of the above courses.

Application Deadline
Students are admitted to the MSFS Program in the Fall of each year. The usual application deadline is January 31st for the following Fall semester
Late applications will be accepted until April 30th. However, if all spots in the program are filled, late applications may not be considered.

Application for admission can be made online through the UAB Graduate School website http://www.uab.edu/graduate (UAB, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-1150; telephone 205-934-8227).

Please review the admissions checklist for additional details.

Application Process

Letters of recommendation can be completed online by the evaluator (instructions are given to the student during the online application process). Alternatively, a recommendation form can be downloaded and mailed to:

MSFS Director
UBOB 210
1530 3rd Ave. S
Birmingham, AL 35294-4562

Official Transcripts should be mailed directly from the student's university to:

MSFS Director
UBOB 210
1530 3rd Ave. S
Birmingham, AL 35294-4562

Your application is considered complete when:

1. payment of the application fee is received
2. the online application (including personal statement) is completed
3. official transcripts are received by the MSFS Director
4. three letters of recommendation are received by the MSFS Director
5. standardized test scores (e.g., GRE, TOEFL and TWE for applicants whose native language is not English) have been received by UAB

Although you may apply to our program at anytime during the year, we do not admit students on a rolling basis. Rather, we evaluate all completed applications (collected May-January) in mid-February and try to finalize admission decisions in early March. After this first evaluation, if no vacancies in the incoming class remain, any applications arriving in February - April will not be considered. If vacancies do remain, "late" applications will be considered at a later date (normally in mid-April). Thus, it is very important that all application materials be received by the end of January to insure your application receives full consideration.

With 50-100 applications coming in each year, we recommend potential students delay a visit to UAB until after they have been accepted into the program. This recommendation is based on two reasons:
(1) It is much more economical (in terms of time and money) for an applicant to send additional applications to other schools that it is to pay for a visit to UAB;
(2) It is difficult for us to arrange "tours" for individual students given the large number of requests we receive.

Financial Aid

No separate application for merit-based financial aid is needed. We assume all applicants are interested in funding and will contact those who most qualified to receive some form of department aid. Please note, however, that interviews with prospective candidates for funding are normally conducted and awards granted after enrollment in the Fall (i.e., funding is not used as a recruiting tool).

The University's Office of Student Financial Aid (205 934-8223) has complete information for prospective students who are interested in need-based financial assistance.