A handful of Quinnipiac University science professors banded together to establish a forensic science minor that will enable students to take courses incorporate hands-on activities while satisfying natural science credit requirements.

Many professors have been teaching three-credit forensic science-related courses at Quinnipiac already, including forensic science, forensic anthropology and introduction to forensic psychology.

In a statement to The Chronicle, Jaime Ullinger, director of anthropology, wrote that the forensic science minor will offer students new opportunities — namely, new forensic science classes. These one-credit courses, she said, will introduce students to specific topics, including the role of DNA in forensic science, forensic odontology and forensic imaging.

“All of the courses will talk about the ways in which we build arguments and ideas using evidence,” wrote Ullinger.

For Kylie Allardice, a junior psychology major, said forensic psychology had always intrigued her but that it was a high school class that sparked her interest in forensic science.

 “I found it super interesting and unlike most other science classes I had taken,” Allardice wrote in a statement to The Chronicle.

But it was only after taking an anthropology course with Ullinger that Allardice decided to declare her minor in it, she said.

“Seeing all the different ways forensics can be applied in different disciplines was super interesting,” Allardice wrote.

Lisa Kaplan, professor of biology, has been teaching forensic science at Quinnipiac since 2007. She expressed her passion for the subject, noting that studying forensic science feels to her like being in an experiment.

“Forensic science has this really unique ability to allow people to explore science in a way that they might not normally be thinking it’s something they want to do,” Kaplan said.

Ullinger noted that students who have declared minors in forensic science have been active participants in the local community as well.

“We have been working with some high school students in Connecticut, and QU students have participated in sharing forensic science that they have learned in the classroom with the students,” Ullinger wrote.

High school students from New Britain, Connecticut, visited Quinnipiac last fall. Kaplan and Ullinger “offered some hands-on activities related to forensic science” and many Quinnipiac students helped with the event, Ullinger wrote.

New Britain High School students will visit Quinnipiac again this year on Oct. 20.

Although Kaplan acknowledged the minor will likely attract predominantly science majors, she said the specialization is uniquely connected to a range of studies.

“It’s a great match for the biological sciences,” Kaplan said. “But it’s also a great match for criminal justice, sociology, psychology, basically, for anybody who has an interest in it.”

Forensic science is integrative and examines how the medical field and legal system work together to solve problems.

“This minor will give students an opportunity to learn about forensic science and give them a foundation to go onto an advanced degree in the field that they may be interested in pursuing as a career,” Ullinger wrote.

While the National Institute of Standards and Technology defines forensic science as “the use of scientific methods or expertise to investigate crimes or examine evidence that might be presented in a court of law,” professors at Quinnipiac define it differently.

Forensic science combines a lot of aspects of physical science in terms of how to gather and inspect data, with social science, Ullinger wrote.

“You could take all these courses, and not even recognize what it is you were doing, because they’d be associated with other disciplines,” Kaplan said. “Whereas now that we have a forensic minor, students can see how it’s a composite science.”

This allows students who may not excel in physical science to be exposed to a type of science that utilizes their strengths in humanities and social science, Kaplan said.

“Biology, chemistry and physics aren’t necessarily the ways that people feel comfortable being exposed,” Kaplan said. “So forensics has a little bit of all of those disciplines in it. That makes it great. It’s an equally valuable exposure to science.”

Television dramas that focus heavily on the role of forensic science in criminal investigations — “CSI” and “Law and Order,” for instance — often pique viewers’ interest in the subject.

“There’s a lot more people who now incorporate this science into their understanding, at least how it’s portrayed on television, which isn’t super accurate all the time, but at least it gets them interested,” Kaplan said.

Taking these courses will give students real-life experience and knowledge that television shows cannot provide, Allardice argued.

“Oftentimes, forensics can be brushed off as a topic that is dramatized in TV shows and shouldn’t actually be taken seriously,” Allardice wrote.

Kaplan said she believes that forensics is equally as important in regards to other science courses taught at Quinnipiac.

“This is now the time to be able to give them a nice formalized way to express that interest by exploring courses that will give them little tastes, and then a better understanding of what forensic science actually is,” Kaplan said.