2025 Best Colleges for Forensic Science

Academic Highlights: Penn State offers 275 majors and a number of top-ranked programs in a host of disciplines. Unlike some public research universities that can have student-to-faculty ratios greater than 20:1, PSU boasts a solid 15:1 ratio. That level of support allows 61% of classes to have an enrollment below thirty students.  Even at such a large institution, it is possible to get involved in undergraduate research. Eberly College of Science professors are running upwards of 3,000 research projects per year, and the school has a well-maintained and up-to-date database of undergraduate research positions. All told, 16% of graduates report having engaged in undergraduate research. 22% of a recent graduating class availed themselves of study abroad opportunities in one of 300+ programs in 50+ countries each year.

Professional Outcomes: By graduation, 79% of Nittany Lions have found their next employment or graduate school home. Over a hundred alumni work at Tesla; Deloitte, Amazon, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Accenture each employ over 500 alumni. Three-quarters of recent graduates employed full-time earned starting salaries of greater than $50k. Penn State graduates mostly settle in the Greater Philadelphia area, with New York City and the Washington DC-Baltimore area also proving popular with alumni.

Academic Highlights: John Jay College of Criminal Justice fosters a dynamic community dedicated to exploring justice through diverse lenses, offering 31 undergraduate majors and 50+ minors. With a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio and representation from 130+ countries, the college combines intimate classroom engagement with global perspectives. This unique environment cultivates critical thinkers prepared to address complex justice challenges in both local and international contexts.

Professional Outcomes: John Jay graduates make immediate impacts across New York City’s essential institutions, with many joining the NYPD, NYC Department of Education, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The college’s strong career outcomes are reflected in alumni earnings—$59,300 median starting salary growing to $102,700 at mid-career—demonstrating the value of a justice-focused education. Most graduates choose to strengthen their communities by building careers within the NYC metropolitan area, underscoring John Jay’s vital role in developing the city’s public service workforce.

Academic Highlights: Saint Louis University stands as one of America’s most distinguished Catholic universities, offering students 97 bachelor’s programs within a nearly 200-year tradition of academic excellence. SLU’s global mission comes alive through its diverse community representing all 50 states and 87 countries, with 600+ students annually engaging in transformative international experiences that blend intellectual growth with Jesuit values of service and leadership.

Professional Outcomes: SLU graduates achieve remarkable career success, with 48% entering the workforce at leading employers like BJC HealthCare, Boeing, and Mercy, earning strong median salaries of $64,480. Another 39% continue their education, predominantly at SLU’s own highly-ranked graduate programs, demonstrating the university’s dual strength in launching careers and advancing scholarship. These outcomes reflect SLU’s unique ability to prepare graduates who combine professional excellence with ethical leadership in their communities.

Academic Highlights: With sixteen schools and colleges and 140+ undergraduate degree programs, Texas A&M is a massive operation. Class sizes trend large, but 25% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students and personal connections with professors are entirely possible, particularly through the research-oriented LAUNCH program. A&M excels in facilitating study abroad experiences, sending over 5,600 students to 110+ countries in a typical year, the most of any public university in the United States.

Professional Outcomes: On graduation day, 79% of students had already received at least one job offer or were heading to graduate/professional school. Many Aggies go on to work at major oil, tech, and consulting firms; Amazon, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Apple, Halliburton, and Google each employ more than 500 alumni. Starting salaries were strong—on average grads netted around $65k. The vast majority of graduates remain in Texas with Houston, Dallas, College Station, Austin, and San Antonio top in popularity.

Academic Highlights: Virginia Commonwealth University combines the resources of a major public research institution (200+ academic programs) with surprising accessibility, maintaining a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio that allows 35% of classes to cap at just 19 students. This balance of scale and personal attention serves a remarkably diverse community representing 46 states and 138 countries, creating dynamic learning environments where global perspectives thrive.

Professional Outcomes: VCU graduates find strong career success, with 41% securing employment and 22% entering graduate programs immediately after commencement. An impressive 87% express satisfaction with their outcomes, and 78% choose to build their careers within Virginia—including 34% in Richmond itself. The university serves as a vital talent pipeline for the state’s leading institutions, with alumni making significant contributions to VCU Health, Capital One, Sentara Health, and Dominion Energy, earning median salaries of $50,000. These outcomes demonstrate VCU’s dual impact as both an economic engine for Virginia and a launchpad for professional achievement.

Academic Highlights: Mason aims to make every one of its graduates an “engaged citizen and well-rounded scholar who is prepared to act.” Toward that goal, it requires a journey through the “Mason Core,” a forty-three-credit collection of foundation, exploration, and integration requirements. Thirty-two percent of sections enroll nineteen or fewer students, 14% have fifty or more students, and the remaining sections lie in between. More intimate educational experiences can be sought in the form of undergraduate research, which roughly half of all students ultimately engage in some form. There are plenty of summer research opportunities, but you can also take courses designated as Discovery of Scholarship, Scholarly Inquiry, or Research & Scholarship Intensive that offer built-in supervised research.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after receiving their degrees, 87% of the class of 2023 had accepted a job offer or started work in a graduate program. GMU grads flow into major consulting firms like Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, and Accenture, as well as Capital One, Goldman Sachs, General Dynamics, IBM, and Microsoft. Mason graduates earn a median salary of $74,000, with 83% of grads employed in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC.

Academic Highlights: As the urban satellite campus of Purdue’s renowned Polytechnic Institute, this institution delivers a focused, technology-driven education with 15 specialized majors. The curriculum bridges cutting-edge theory with hands-on application, preparing students for immediate impact in tech industries. While maintaining Purdue’s rigorous academic standards, the Indianapolis location provides unique access to the city’s growing tech ecosystem through partnerships, internships, and collaborative projects with industry leaders.

Professional Outcomes: Purdue Polytechnic graduates enjoy strong career outcomes, with 80% employed and 12% pursuing advanced education shortly after graduation. Alumni command an impressive average starting salary of $63,108, reflecting the high demand for their technical skills. They secure positions with top global employers, including Amazon, Boeing, Caterpillar, Motorola, Honeywell Aerospace, and Rolls-Royce, demonstrating the program’s success in developing workforce-ready technology professionals.

Academic Highlights: With a very high 29:1 student-to-faculty ratio, classes at UCF are fairly large as 23% contain 50 or more students. There are 100+ undergraduate majors at this institution. Those interested in research can kickstart such relationships through the Office of Undergraduate Research’s one-credit Introduction to Research & Creative Scholarship Opportunities. Ultimately, 26% of all undergraduates engage in research during their time at the university. For those set on an international experience, 71 exchange programs are available in 28 countries.

Professional Outcomes: Popular industries for UCF grads include operations, business, education, healthcare, and engineering. Over 1000 alumni work at Lockheed Martin, AdventHealth, Orlando Health, Universal Orlando, and The Walt Disney Company. The median salary for grads across all majors early in their careers is $63,700. Florida is the most popular destination of choice followed by California, Georgia, New York, and Texas.

Academic Highlights: There are 175 programs for undergraduates spread across several colleges. The average undergraduate class size is 21, and the student-faculty ratio is a favorable 13-to-1. The great bulk of courses enroll between 10 and 29 students; 11% are single-digit enrollment courses, and only 2% of sections contain more than 50 students. Full-length study abroad opportunities are offered in locations that include Amsterdam, China, Florence, Rome, and Ireland.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of exiting with their diplomas, 92% of recent grads had found employment or a graduate school destination; 77% were employed. Companies employing more than one hundred alums include Northwell Health, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, EY, and Wells Fargo. The average starting salary was $72,000. Recent grads have matriculated into a wide array of graduate and professional schools including every SUNY/CUNY institution as well as many elite universities like Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, NYU, and Princeton.

Academic Highlights: Loyola University Chicago offers students a comprehensive liberal arts foundation through 80+ majors and minors across 13 distinguished schools and colleges. With 42% of classes enrolling fewer than 20 students, Loyola ensures personalized mentorship within its rigorous Core Curriculum while providing global learning opportunities through 50+ study abroad programs—including its historic John Felice Rome Center, the oldest continuously operated American university program in Italy. The university’s commitment to discovery is further demonstrated through 45 specialized research institutes that engage undergraduates in meaningful scholarship.

Professional Outcomes: Loyola graduates achieve exceptional career success, with 96% securing positive outcomes, 82% employed at industry leaders like Apple, NBCUniversal, and PwC, with median salaries of $53,284, while 14% pursue advanced degrees at prestigious institutions including Northwestern and Marquette. These outcomes reflect Loyola’s powerful integration of liberal arts critical thinking with professional preparation, preparing graduates to excel in Chicago’s dynamic economy and beyond while maintaining the university’s strong tradition of educating leaders.

Academic Highlights: Loyola Maryland offers 45+ undergraduate programs through its three schools. A 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to average class sizes of only twenty students. The vast majority of courses enroll between ten and twenty-nine students, 13% have a single-digit enrollment, and of 889 total sections, only 14 contained 40 or more undergraduates. Students are encouraged to apply for undergraduate research opportunities such as the Hauber Summer Research Fellowship Program which, in one recent year, gave 12 students in the natural and applied sciences fields a chance to conduct ten weeks of independent research. There are 20 countries that students can choose from as study abroad options, and the participation rate exceeds 60%, one of the highest figures of any master’s-granting school in the nation.

Professional Outcomes: Members of the Class of 2023 found their way to their next employment, volunteer, or grad school home within six months of receiving their diplomas at a stellar 99% clip. Major companies and organizations employing members of this cohort include Accenture, Bloomberg, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, NBC Universal, and Viacom. Thirty-three percent of the Class of 2023 immediately enrolled in graduate or professional school after completing their undergraduate work at Loyola Maryland, enrolling at prestigious institutions like Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Northwestern, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Despite a high number of graduate students also studying at SU, class sizes are kept reasonably low; 61% contain 20 students or fewer. The Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Engagement (The SOURCE) supports student participation in faculty-guided research via a number of short- and long-term opportunities, many of which are funded. As a result, 250 students engaged in research last summer alone. The university’s office of study abroad programs arranges for 46% of undergrads to spend a semester in a foreign land.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after exiting the Carrier Dome for the final time in 2023, 63% of Orangemen and women found employment (93% related to their career goals) and 26% continued to graduate school. The companies employing the most ‘Cuse grads include major companies like ESPN, Bloomberg, and Creative Artists Agency as well as big-name corporations like GE, KPMG, EY, Lockheed Martin, and Morgan Stanley. The average starting salary for 2023 grads was a solid $63k.

Academic Highlights: UT Austin offers over 170 majors. Sn encouraging 36% of course sections enroll nineteen or fewer students. Opportunities for undergraduate research vary by school, and many student must compete for slots in programs such as Summer Research Scholars or use the Eureka database to find individual professors offering research assistantships. A robust study abroad program boasts 400 offerings in 100+ foreign countries; 4,600+ students participate each year, the third-largest number in the country.

Professional Outcomes:  Over 1000 alumni work in the offices of Dell, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Deloitte; IBM, Meta, Oracle, and AMD employ over 500 each. Graduates early in their careers earn a median salary of $77,400, with median mid-career pay reaching $141,100. Roughly one-quarter of University of Texas at Austin undergraduates go on to pursue advanced degrees after completing their bachelor’s. Many pursue advanced study at UT Austin itself, which offers more than one hundred graduate programs. Many alumni stay in Texas after graduation, settling in Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Academic Highlights: There are more than 100 majors at the University of Nebraska and students enjoy a mix of smaller classes (47% have fewer than 20 students) and larger ones (20% have more than 50). The University of Nebraska–Lincoln offers robust undergraduate research opportunities across all majors through programs like UCARE, which funds student-led projects under faculty mentorship, and FYRE, designed to introduce first-year students to research

Professional Outcomes: Businesses employing more than 100 graduates each include Mutual of Omaha, Kiewit, Fiserv, Union Pacific Railroad, Olsson, and Hudl. Median pay for graduates early in their career is $64,900 and most Cornhuskers remain in Nebraska post-graduation, settling in Lincoln and Omaha.

Academic Highlights: A freshman retention rate of 90% is excellent for a public university, and the strength of undergraduate teaching gets high marks. In part, this is made possible by a reasonable 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Each year, more than 2,800 undergrads work with professors on research, and some become coauthors of academic papers and/or find themselves presenting at academic conferences. The school also ranks in the top five among public institutions for the percent of students who elect to study abroad; a phenomenal 55% of undergrads elect to study away from Oxford.

Professional Outcomes: The overall success rate for the Class of 2023 was 99%, roughly the same as for the previous two cohorts. Fifty-five percent of recent Miami grads were employed and by mid-career, alumni enjoy a median salary of $132k. Staying in Ohio is a common postgraduate choice with 46% of grads doing so, but Chicago; New York City; Washington, DC; and Denver are also popular landing spots. The companies attracting the greatest number of RedHawk alumni are Procter & Gamble, EY, Fifth Third Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, PNC, PwC, and Amazon.

Academic Highlights: Towson University provides students with exceptional academic choices through 110+ majors, concentrations, and tracks across diverse disciplines. The university maintains an ideal 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, creating a balanced learning environment where 36% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students (average class size: 24) and only 2% exceed 50 students. This thoughtful approach ensures students benefit from both personalized attention and the dynamic energy of medium-sized classes.

Professional Outcomes: Towson’s Class of 2024 achieved outstanding results, with 90% securing positive outcomes within six months—79% employed in Maryland and 17% enrolled in graduate programs at institutions like Georgetown and Johns Hopkins. Graduates command strong average starting salaries of $60,840 while contributing to top employers, including Northrop Grumman, Morgan Stanley, and Booz Allen Hamilton. These outcomes demonstrate TU’s dual strength as both Maryland’s workforce engine and a springboard to elite graduate programs.

Academic Highlights:
San José State University offers students a broad academic experience with 250 areas of study across 9 colleges. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1, students benefit from accessible faculty and a collaborative learning environment. Over 500 students participate in research each year, many beginning as early as their first year on campus. SJSU is home to the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, the only National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center in the country dedicated to wildfire science, providing unique, hands-on research opportunities in a field of national importance.

Professional Outcomes:
Eighty-four percent of recent San José State graduates report positive career outcomes, with 76% entering the workforce and 8% pursuing further education. The average salary for recent grads is $71,489. Employers hiring SJSU alumni include Amazon, Apple, PwC, Deloitte, Kaiser Permanente, Lockheed Martin, and self-employed ventures. Those continuing their education most frequently remain at San José State, though others go on to graduate programs at San Francisco State University, UC Davis, and CSU East Bay.

Academic Highlights: Students flock to Morgantown to choose from over 300 majors across WVU’s 12 colleges and schools, enjoying an impressive 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The university maintains an exceptional balance in class sizes—44% of sections enroll 19 or fewer students, creating intimate learning environments, while just 16% exceed 50 students. WVU’s Office of Undergraduate Research provides year-round opportunities through faculty mentorship and specialized programs like the Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP). Students showcase their work at three annual Undergraduate Research Symposia and through immersive programs like the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE).

Professional Outcomes: Mountaineers launch careers with top employers, including WVU Medicine, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and global energy leader Aramco. The university’s strong industry connections yield excellent returns, with graduates earning median salaries of $67,800 early in their careers —a figure that grows to $121,800 by mid-career. These outcomes demonstrate WVU’s success in preparing students for high-demand fields, with many alumni securing positions at Fortune 500 companies and premier research institutions.