Indiana University of Pennsylvania will launch a new forensic sciences major for fall 2025.
The forensic science program draws on collaborators from across IUP departments and PennWest University. It will be administered by IUP’s Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences in the John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
The new major, which will use existing courses and faculty, includes three specializations: Applied Crime Scene Investigation, Laboratory Forensics, and Digital Forensics.
In June, the IUP Council of Trustees approved advancing the proposal for the forensic science major to the Office of the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education for consideration. The Office of the Chancellor approved the program in July.
“This new program introduces students to the breadth of forensic sciences, while allowing them to focus in areas that dovetail with IUP’s strengths,” Andrea Palmiotto, faculty member in the Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences, who authored the major proposal, said. “This program is unique for its three-specialization approach. The crime scene investigation track in conjunction with laboratory and digital forensic sciences provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary forensic science program.”
In addition to coursework, the new major will require a final capstone project, which can be an internship or independent research on a relevant forensic topic.
“The building blocks for this major, including faculty with international expertise and experience, a new outdoor forensic lab, and a university-wide commitment to research and health sciences, perfectly position IUP to be a leader in providing the highest level of preparation for students interested in this field of study,” Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Dean Steve Hovan said. “The faculty involved did an excellent job in developing the proposal for this major, and the Kopchick College is very pleased to add this new program to our portfolio,” he said.
“There is no school in Pennsylvania that offers a robust degree program combining all three focus areas—crime scene, laboratory, and digital—so IUP’s program will fill a unique niche,” Hovan said.
IUP established a taphonomic and decomposition outdoor facility on IUP’s South Campus in 2024. It is supported by faculty from anthropology, criminology, biology, geoscience, and the Criminal Justice Training Center and is available for research projects. The Indiana County Coroner and Forensic Science Center are interested in its use for collaborations to benefit both organizations, Palmiotto said, including developing an internship with the Indiana County Coroner’s office to introduce students to the laboratory and administrative work done by coroner’s offices.
This new major also offers opportunities for increased interdisciplinary courses and visiting faculty or professionals in the field who could teach courses in multiple departments, such as a trace evidence analyst between biology and geoscience; a forensic geneticist between biology and anthropology; or a specialist in race and/or gender in criminal justice settings, who could reside in anthropology and criminology.
“The development of this major has included extensive collaboration with departments and faculty across the university, including biology, criminology, chemistry, mathematics and computer sciences, and others,” Palmiotto said. “It has truly been a cross-disciplinary effort and reflects the hard work and collaboration of many faculty and departments,” she said.
Graduates of the forensic sciences major will learn the basic theories, methods, and techniques used in various forensic science disciplines; demonstrate ethical principles and an understanding of legal precedents to make decisions related to the investigation, analysis, and testimony of evidence; apply knowledge and skills through an applied capstone experience; and demonstrate competency in the identification, collection, analysis, and interpretation of forensic evidence.
The proposed program builds on existing IUP successes in disciplines across the university, including anthropology, biology, criminology, chemistry, geosciences, computer sciences, and mathematics.
“Faculty and administrators in colleges and departments across the university worked hard to develop partnerships and collaborations that provide meaningful hands-on work for our students and are important resources for many community agencies,” she said.
Most recently, the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency credited the work of IUP faculty and students working at a field school in Germany directed by Palmiotto and her faculty colleague William Chadwick in assisting in the identification of a World War II soldier’s remains found at the site in Germany. IUP has received funding for the past five years from the agency for field schools in Germany from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
IUP was reaffirmed as an R2 university by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2025, which recognizes IUP’s institutional commitment to research and role as a public, doctoral research university. The university first received the R2 ranking in 2022, and it remains one of only two public universities in Pennsylvania and one of only 97 public universities with this ranking nationwide.
In addition to the Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences, IUP’s Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics includes the departments of Biology, the Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics; Mathematical and Computer Sciences; and Safety Sciences and Environmental Engineering.
For more than two decades, IUP has been a fixture in Princeton Review’s Best Colleges guidebook, which selects universities based on surveys and interviews with students. Students tell guidebook editors that IUP is a place of “truly stellar academic departments” and “professors feel like family and express that they genuinely care about the students outside of just the classroom situation.”
IUP is the only member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education selected for the “Opportunity College and University-Higher Access, Higher Earnings” designation by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education, which recognizes institutions with graduates who earn salaries that are 50 percent above (or more) than their peers in similar fields and institutions that provide access to students that reflect the communities that they serve.
Only 20 Pennsylvania public institutions earned the “Higher Access, Higher Earnings” designation, and only 16 percent (479) of colleges and universities in the nation earned the recognition, which was also open to career-focused area institutions.
IUP offers 100 academic majors, more than 60 graduate programs, and more than 40 graduate degrees. In addition, students can complete more than 70 minors—including a unique teamwork minor—and scores of specialized tracks and certificate programs, including certificates in athletic coaching, photography and digital imaging, popular music, geospatial intelligence, and public history.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.