Degree
Requirements
Advisement Information
Alpha Kappa Delta
Sociology Honors Program
The Christopher A. W. McGee
Scholarship
Junior/Senior
Internship Program (Sociology 488: Fall 2008)
University of New Mexico Catalog
American Sociological Association
American Society of Criminology
Social Work
UNM does not currently offer a degree in Social Work. The links listed below are useful for those seeking information on social work/counseling programs in New Mexico.
State of New Mexico Board of Social Work Examiners Information on educational and licensing requirements for individuals interested in becoming social workers.
New Mexico Highlands University at Rio Rancho Information on the undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work offered by New Mexico Highlands University at the Rio Rancho distance education center.
UNM College of Education Information on UNM's counseling program offered through the College of Education.
Forensics
Forensic Science is the application of the methods and techniques of the basic sciences to legal issues. Crime Laboratory Scientists, sometimes called Forensic Scientists or, more properly, Criminalists, work with physical evidence collected at scenes of crimes. Criminalistics is often confused with Criminology, the study of social issues and effects related to crime.
Criminalistics is that sub-field of Forensic Science dealing with the collection, preservation, examination, and interpretation of physical evidence. Criminalists usually have a four-year degree in Forensic Science, Criminalistics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology or other physical or biological sciences. A minor in chemistry (or at least 8 units of General Chemistry and 3 units of Quantitative Analysis) is also usually required. Many have advanced/graduate degrees in one of the same fields. Much training takes place on-the-job or in specialized courses offered by the FBI or BATF or at some universities.
Currently Eastern New Mexico University (in Portales) is the only New Mexico institution that offers a degree in forensics http://liberal-arts.enmu.edu/interdiscipline/forensic-science
Other areas of forensic science include Forensic Engineering (crash, accident, or structural failure analysis), Forensic Medicine (autopsy and pathology), Forensic Dentistry (identification of remains by dentition and examination of bitemarks) Forensic Anthropology (dating. identifying bones/remains), and Forensic Entomology (problems relating to time of death, body decay and the population of insect larvae). "Forensic" ("of the law") can be added to any science or applied science discipline to denote the interface of that discipline with legal questions.
Currently, there two forensics courses taught at UNM: Forensic Anthropology and Advanced Forensic Anthropology. For information on these courses, please contact the Anthropology Department at 277-5424.
For further information on forensics, check on any of the links listed below.
American Academy of Forensic Scientists: http://www.aafs.org/default.asp?section_id=resources&page_id=choosing_a_career
This Virginia site is an excellent resourse on forensics:http://www3.ccps.virginia.edu/careerprospects/briefs/P-S/SummaryForensics.shtml
last updated: 04.23.08