What A Levels should I pick for Forensic Sience?

5

I am currently in Year 11 and I really want to be a forensic scientist. I know it is very hard to get into. The A- Levels I'm thinking of are:
Applied Science (BTec), Psychology and Sociology/ Criminology

Are these good choices and will they lead me to becoming a forensic scientist?

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

StudyMind

8

Original post

by anon78691

I am currently in Year 11 and I really want to be a forensic scientist. I know it is very hard to get into. The A- Levels I'm thinking of are:
Applied Science (BTec), Psychology and Sociology/ Criminology

Are these good choices and will they lead me to becoming a forensic scientist?

Heya!
I would recommend going on unis website and checking out the entry requirements on their pages. You can use unicompare as a start! Unis specify what they want in terms of entry requirements :h:

I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

Reply 2

MindMax2000

22

Original post

by anon78691

I am currently in Year 11 and I really want to be a forensic scientist. I know it is very hard to get into. The A- Levels I'm thinking of are:
Applied Science (BTec), Psychology and Sociology/ Criminology

Are these good choices and will they lead me to becoming a forensic scientist?

There are usually steps to choosing your subjects:

1.

Find out what is required for the specific career that you want to do (google for their job profiles, but do make sure it's specific to the country i.e. UK)

2.

From the job profile, you would find out which specific degree or qualifications that you would need; also check whether they need to be accredited by a certain professional body

3.

From the list of accepted degrees, look at the entry requirements of the degree

4.

If the degree has subject specific requirements for A Levels, BTECs, etc. make sure you have those subjects in your list.

Just to do some of the work for you:
1. See:

•

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/forensic-scientist

•

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/forensic-scientist

•

https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/forensic-scientist-job-description

•

https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/science/job-profile/forensic-scientist

2. From the job profiles, they all concur that you can get in with a degree in forensic science (accredited), chemistry, biology, biological sciences, medical sciences, etc.
3. If you just want an accredited forensics science degree: https://www.csofs.org/quality-standards/accredited-course-search/

4. Say you want to do the following degree: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/73/forensic-science-bsc
Its entry requirements are:
A level: BBB in 3 subjects including Chemistry or Biology
GCSE: Mathematics grade 4/C (I assume you have this since you would be going into 6th form)
Access to HE Diploma: The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.
BTEC Nationals: The University will consider applicants holding/studying BTEC Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) in a relevant Science subject at 180 credits or more, on a case by case basis. Please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances.
International Baccalaureate: 30 points overall or 15 at HL including Chemistry or Biology 5 at HL and Mathematics 4 at HL or SL
International Foundation Programme: N/A
T level: The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.

If you're doing Applied Sciences BTEC, you would need to check with the undergrad admissions of the subject's department (in Kent's case it's School of Chemistry and Forensic Science), not general undergrad admissions.
If the university has any specific issues, they can compare the content of the qualification in relations to their A Level requirements. If the Applied Science BTEC alone is not enough, they will ask for an extra A Level(s) in the required subjects, so long you meet the grade requirement (UCAS points) for the course.

To my knowledge, Applied Science would at best cover most of the requirements for A Level Biology. If the university has any issue with it, they usually require you to do Chemistry A Level on top. In Kent's case, you should be fine, but I would check with the Chemistry and Forensic Science School just to be sure.

Requirements for the degrees can vary from university to university. To play things safe, I would try to ensure to have the following in my list:

•

Biology A Level

•

Chemistry A Level

•

Any random A Level that I can get a high grade in.

Biology will be required for biology degrees. Chemistry will be required for Chemistry degrees. Biology and Chemistry will pretty much cover anything in life sciences, which is what you are looking for if you're going into Forensics Science.
If I am doing any other qualification that is not A Level, I would do a lot of investigation looking into the specific degree courses to see what their requirements are, and whether the qualification is accepted by the individual university and for the individual degree course. If I am not sure, I would contact the undergrad admissions of the specific school before enrolling onto the qualification, not after.

Reply 3

anon78691

OP

5

Wow, thanks for all the info, I appreciate it!

Reply 4

anon78691

OP

5

Original post

by StudyMind

Heya!
I would recommend going on unis website and checking out the entry requirements on their pages. You can use unicompare as a start! Unis specify what they want in terms of entry requirements :h:

I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

Ok, thanks.

Reply 5

crazy_diamond

11

Original post

by anon78691

I am currently in Year 11 and I really want to be a forensic scientist. I know it is very hard to get into. The A- Levels I'm thinking of are:
Applied Science (BTec), Psychology and Sociology/ Criminology

Are these good choices and will they lead me to becoming a forensic scientist?

Hi, I'm also looking to get into forensic science. You would definitely need to do chemistry or at least biology to go into forensics if you're thinking of the investigative side of it. You should look at unis and see the type of course you would like to do and pick the alevel entry requirements for that. I wanted to try for a chem degree but turns out the uni I wanted to go to needed alevel maths which I didn't pick so you should definitely look at unis and job qualifications to get a good idea of what subjects you should pick
good luck :smile:

Reply 6

anon78691

OP

5

Original post

by crazy_diamond

Hi, I'm also looking to get into forensic science. You would definitely need to do chemistry or at least biology to go into forensics if you're thinking of the investigative side of it. You should look at unis and see the type of course you would like to do and pick the alevel entry requirements for that. I wanted to try for a chem degree but turns out the uni I wanted to go to needed alevel maths which I didn't pick so you should definitely look at unis and job qualifications to get a good idea of what subjects you should pick
good luck :smile:

Hi,
Applied Science has all three sciences so that should be okay right?
I looked online and it says you can go into forensics with applied science

Reply 7

Bradford Rep 3

Official Rep

6

Original post

by anon78691

I am currently in Year 11 and I really want to be a forensic scientist. I know it is very hard to get into. The A- Levels I'm thinking of are:
Applied Science (BTec), Psychology and Sociology/ Criminology

Are these good choices and will they lead me to becoming a forensic scientist?

Hi there!

My name is Aimee and I am a third year criminology and criminal behaviour student.
I have looked at the entry requirements for this course at my university. They are as following:
112 UCAS points overall
A Levels BBC (To include one science at B grade)
GCSES grade C or 4 and equivalents accepted.
I would attend open days at universities that you are interested in for this subject. They will be able to tell you exactly what you need. For this course it looks like you would need a science A level so pick one that interests you the most possibly biology?
Good luck with your A Levels :smile:

Reply 8

anon78691

OP

5

Hi,
Thanks for the info! But don't you think applied science is enough, I looked online and it says applied science level 3 can lead you to different science careers such as forensic science?

Reply 9

Bradford Rep 3

Official Rep

6

Original post

by anon78691

Hi,
Thanks for the info! But don't you think applied science is enough, I looked online and it says applied science level 3 can lead you to different science careers such as forensic science?

Hi!
I would query it with a few of your chosen universities. I don’t want to deliver you the wrong information, if that makes sense. I’m not much from a forensic background but do understand that you need atleast one science at A level.
Aimee :smile:

Reply 10

anon78691

OP

5

Hey,
So does that mean applied science is not enough?

Reply 11

crazy_diamond

11

Original post

by anon78691

Hey,
So does that mean applied science is not enough?

you should check the entry requirements for unis, I don't know what applied science is and courses may not accept that alevel
most don't credit alevels like critical thinking and general studies so it's worth checking. Also what are you planning to do as a degree?
If you're trying to do something like chem or bio it's definitely not enough and it's better to do that subject as an alevel

Reply 12

anon78691

OP

5

Applied Science is BTEC and some unis accept BTECs

Reply 13

playful-accident

1

Original post

by anon78691

Ok, thanks.

What did you end up choosing x

Reply 14

anon78691

OP

5

Original post

by playful-accident

What did you end up choosing x

Thanks for asking, I picked Forensic Science BTEC, Psychology and Law

Reply 15

playful-accident

1

Ooohh cool. I'm also thinking about doing similar subjects to u, would u recommend them?

Reply 16

anon78691

OP

5

Original post

by playful-accident

Ooohh cool. I'm also thinking about doing similar subjects to u, would u recommend them?

Yes I would recommend Forensic Science as I enjoy it and for psychology and law there is a lot of work and essays you do and you have to memorise a lot of it so if you're okay with all that then I would recommend it :smile:

Reply 17

playful-accident

1

Original post

by anon78691

Yes I would recommend Forensic Science as I enjoy it and for psychology and law there is a lot of work and essays you do and you have to memorise a lot of it so if you're okay with all that then I would recommend it :smile:

Kk thank youu
😁

Reply 18

enfysl

3

Original post

by anon78691

I am currently in Year 11 and I really want to be a forensic scientist. I know it is very hard to get into. The A- Levels I'm thinking of are:
Applied Science (BTec), Psychology and Sociology/ Criminology
Are these good choices and will they lead me to becoming a forensic scientist?

i no longer want to go into forensics, but i chose my a-levels when i did. you absolutely need biology (i haven't seen a single uni that doesn't have it as a requirement), and oftentimes chemistry is preferred but not needed (i've only seen one or two courses where it's mandatory). i don't enjoy chemistry so i chose biology, history and religious studies (the latter two i chose because i was specifically interested in forensic anthropology and i thought they tied in well).

Reply 19

enfysl

3

Original post

by enfysl

i no longer want to go into forensics, but i chose my a-levels when i did. you absolutely need biology (i haven't seen a single uni that doesn't have it as a requirement), and oftentimes chemistry is preferred but not needed (i've only seen one or two courses where it's mandatory). i don't enjoy chemistry so i chose biology, history and religious studies (the latter two i chose because i was specifically interested in forensic anthropology and i thought they tied in well).

LMAO i didn't even notice this thread is from a year ago, hope ur enjoying forensic science btec !! i'd have loved to have taken it but my school doesn't offer btecs

What A Levels should I pick for Forensic Sience?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated