1-Study Program:

Students enrolled in the Associate Degree in the Institute of Forensic Sciences (FS) must successfully complete the following (77 credit hours) during four regular semesters

2-Courses:

In the following table, the names of the courses, their credit hours, the type of prerequisites, the nature of those prerequisites, and their previous requirements are listed:

3-Courses Descriptions:

1. English Language – Writing Skills (ENGL1001): This course is designed to prepare students for writing in English, with a focus on reading and writing as integrated skills. Students will study and practice reading comprehension, the writing process, and critical thinking. They will develop the necessary skills to create clear and correct sentences while working on writing various types of focused, developed, organized, and/or short essays. Students will be responsible for writing several practical paragraphs/essays. The course may include competency testing in sections or a portfolio assessment.
2. Islamic Culture (HUMA1001): This course introduces students to the sources of Islamic legislation, characteristics of Islamic legislation, Islamic systems, family system, judicial system, governance system, economic system, characteristics of Islamic economic legislation, Islamic education, goals and characteristics of Islamic education, religious activity, general educational principles in Islamic education, principles of teaching Islamic education, rules of recitation, and steps for teaching Islamic education branches.
3. Communication Skills (HUMA1002): This course introduces students to communication, its types, and levels, describing the concept of self, enabling students to understand and know themselves. During this course, students study the foundations, principles, and theories of communication and the factors affecting communication effectiveness. The course focuses on developing communication skills in various forms, emphasizing individual interaction with the group and individual interaction with the environment.
4. Arabic Language (ARAB1005): This course is designed to introduce students to the Arabic language, including verb forms, subjects, predicates, interrogative tools, exclamation tools, conditional tools (assertive and non-assertive), oaths, and numbers and their writing. The course also covers common mistakes.
5. General Anatomy (MEDI1166): This course covers basic information about the different systems of the human body in terms of structure and function. It includes the study of cell structure, body fluids, the nervous system, the digestive system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the urinary system, the reproductive system, the muscular system, the skeletal system, and metabolic processes. The course also introduces medical terminology related to each system and connects basic anatomical knowledge to clinical anatomy.
6. Computer Skills: This course discusses basic information related to using computers in education and employing educational computer capabilities in the educational field. It covers working with essential MS Office applications and dealing with digital images and their editing using computer applications.
7. Electronic Crimes (Information Protection): This course provides students with Information security and its importance, types of threats and attacks facing information security, legislations and legal frameworks related to cybercrime and information security at the national and international levels, combating electronic crimes and cyberattacks, information protection techniques, encryption techniques and their importance in protecting digital information, investigating cybercrimes, human behavior and cybercrime, current challenges, and future trends. Practical applications of cybercrime prevention and investigation procedures.
8. Forensic Toxicology: This course identifies toxic substances and their selective deposition in various body tissues, methods of taking various samples for study, and processing them. Legal and Sharia aspects of different poisonings and how to deal with these cases. Legal and ethical aspects of the profession and the laws governing it, along with introducing important forensic medical topics.
9. Fire and Explosives Chemistry: This course discusses different theories about describing fire occurrences, ignition accelerants and combustion tools, types of fires, forensic analysis of fire residues, methods for collecting fire residue samples, preparing and processing fire residue samples, analyzing fire residue remnants, explosives (definition, classification, and effects), collecting explosive residue samples, explosive residue analysis methods, and fire and explosive reports.
10. Forensic Medicine 1: This course Introduces to forensic medicine, crime scene, medical report, science of death, post-mortem signs, causes of death by injuries, wounds, fractures, thermal injuries, electric shock injuries, violence against children and domestic violence, identification and identity determination, genetic fingerprinting.
11. Criminal Chemistry: This course provides students with the basic steps for handling samples at the crime scene, fire chemistry, firearm residues, paint chemistry, glass at the crime scene, soil at the crime scene.
12. Turkish Language for Non-Specialists (TURK1022): This course introduces students to the Turkish language, starting with how to read and pronounce Turkish letters and the grammatical and spelling rules related to this language. It then progresses to listening to simplified Turkish texts and comprehending them, reading, understanding, and comprehending simple daily-life-related texts, and finally, conversing in Turkish and conducting dialogues among students to provide a comprehensive understanding of the language and set students on the right path to master it.
13. General Statistics: This course equipes students with a set of skills and knowledge, such as understanding the importance of statistics, the ability to select appropriate statistical methods for data, applying computer programs, analyzing and interpreting outputs, comprehending statistical concepts, and understanding the role of a statistical analyst. It also enhances students’ ability to participate in solving statistical problems and learn data collection methods through interviews, surveys, and more.
14. English Language – Conversation Skills: This course includes conversations, discussions, and presentations on a wide range of concrete, abstract, and specialized topics. It is designed to enhance speaking and listening skills for non-native English speakers, focusing on pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and American English language patterns. Emphasis is placed on oral communication, auditory comprehension, and vocabulary development. Students build their skills through intensive teaching and practice.
15. Professional Ethics: This course introduces students to the Law as one of the fundamental pillars behind the progress of societies and their advancement. It holds a prestigious place among developed countries, being the main tool for building capabilities, preparing human resources, equipping them with knowledge and skills to enable them to compete locally and internationally, and deal with society in all its aspects. This is especially important given the changes that we are witnessing locally, regionally, and globally. This course covers topics such as quality management in public institutions and its development, institutional governance, financial and administrative corruption risks, accountability mechanisms for heads of administrative and economic institutions, state supervisory bodies, transparency principles, and professional ethics.
16. Blood and Serology: This course introduces students to the role of bloodstains and serology in crime detection and evidence. Methods for detecting blood and serology at the crime scene.
17. Criminal Terminology: This course introduces students to the terminology used in forensic science in both English and Turkish.
18. Research Methodology: This course introduces students to the principles and fundamentals of scientific research, providing them with the ability to think scientifically, identify scientific problems, and determine the appropriate methods for addressing and studying them.
19. Forensic Linguistics: This course delves into the intersection of language and crime. Topics include proving the identity of a speaker, linguistic fingerprinting, suicide notes, ransom demands and threat letters, dialects and regional accents, linguistic profiling, hate speech and sexual harassment, intent and purpose in linguistic forensic analysis, and discourse analysis.
20. Drug Law: This course covers international efforts to combat drug abuse, the legislative evolution of drug laws in the Syrian Arab Republic, objective elements of drug crimes, defining drugs and their types according to Syrian drug law, drug trafficking, manufacturing, and cultivation, the crime scene, the elements of the crime, drug possession, drug trafficking, importing and exporting drugs, fabricating physical evidence of drug offenses, unauthorized or excess handling of drugs, penalties and measures for drug crimes, procedural rules for drug crimes, and legal provisions related to the treatment of drug addicts.
21. Fingerprint Science: Topics in this course include the evolution of fingerprint science, types and patterns of fingerprints, materials used for lifting fingerprints, general and individual characteristics of fingerprints, writing expert reports, and the value of physical evidence in criminal investigations.
22. Firearms Ballistics: This course provides a historical overview of the development of firearms, types of firearms, firearm classification, firearm imprinting, rifles, types of ammunition, bullets and cartridges, preparing expert reports, the material value of firearms in criminal evidence, firearm categorization, microscopic examination techniques for firearm evidence, the new generation of firearm imprinting, Arab and foreign ammunition, packaging firearms, and collecting criminal traces from firearms.
23. Forgery, Counterfeiting, Writings, and Signatures: Topics include printing and its types, signatures (types, study methods, characteristics, comparison, expert reports), handwriting (types, spelling mistakes, individual writing rules, differentiation between inks used in writing), typewritten and computer-generated documents, currency and postage stamps, paper currency, coins, seals, and clichés, and expert report writing.
24. Crime Scene 1: This course focuses on the importance of the crime scene, practical errors that occur at crime scenes, preserving the crime scene, investigation and management of the crime scene, types of crime scenes, the crime scene team, the role of experts in gathering evidence, the tasks of experts at the crime scene, raising awareness among employees about the crime scene, crime scene equipment, crime tools, and methods of preserving them. It also covers the evidence of glass, dust, hair, and tissues, as well as bloodstains, sperm stains, and their traces.
25. Psychotropic and Illicit Drugs: This course covers psychotropic drugs (psychological stress reducers, stimulants, illicit drugs).
26. Criminal Photography and Documentation: Topics include the importance of criminal photography and its techniques, equipment used in criminal photography, sketching, image processing, image archiving, traffic accident diagrams, image restoration, and the tasks and skills of criminal photographers.
27. Criminology and Penology: This course introduces students to the field of criminology, including the definition of criminology, the concept of crime, characteristics of criminals, legal means used in investigating crime phenomena, theories explaining criminal behavior, factors influencing deviant behavior, criminal punishment, rehabilitation philosophies, and various forms of criminal penalties.
28. Forensic Medicine 2: Topics include head injuries, firearm injuries, hanging, strangulation, suffocation, compression of the chest, drowning, sexual assault, pregnancy and childbirth, infertility and impotence, abortion, infanticide, poisons, oxygen deficiency, and asphyxia.
29. Criminal Investigation and Evidence: This course covers the definition and types of evidence, criminal records, the role and qualifications of an investigator, the investigator’s work in different types of incidents and areas, investigator and laboratory procedures, forensic evidence departments, criminal statistics and their development, and criminal investigation in various types of crimes.
30. Crime Scene 2: This course delves further into crime scene investigation, including examination methods, evidence collection, and transportation, sketching crime scenes, contamination issues, contamination prevention, documentation procedures, the “golden hour,” security cordons, technical examination of crime scenes, the importance of rapid reporting, inspection techniques, searching for evidence at crime scenes, the Locard exchange principle, and the significance of the crime scene in identifying perpetrators and solving crimes.
31. Criminal Psychology: In this course, students study criminal psychology, including its definition, subject matter, historical development, definitions of crime, research methodologies for studying criminal behavior, characteristics of criminal behavior, theories explaining criminal behavior, different types of deviant behavior, elements of criminal acts, methods of criminal investigation, psychological aspects of judicial testimony, and the role of psychological specialists in correctional institutions.
32. General Penal Law 1: This course provides students with an understanding of legislation as a reflection of the governing authority’s philosophy, policies, strategies, and societal organization. It covers Islamic jurisprudence regarding crime and punishment, criminal policy, and categorization of criminals. Students learn about the sources of criminal law in Syria, the principle of legality, and penalties. They also study the value of social defense theory in legal thought, the definition and components of crime, classification of crimes based on their severity or material and moral elements, the elements of the material component of a crime, the concept of attempted crime, and its elements and penalties, as well as the concept of impossible crime.
33. Crisis and Disaster Management: Topics covered include the nature and causes of crises and disasters, the ideal crisis management model, the management of disasters and their causes, disaster prevention methods, and strategies for managing disaster risks.
34. First Aid: This course provides an introduction to first aid, covering topics such as initial response to unconscious casualties (DR.CAB), actions to take with conscious casualties, treating various types of injuries (bleeding, burns, fractures), transportation and immobilization, and first aid for specific conditions (chest pain, choking, carbon monoxide poisoning, carbon dioxide deficiency, seizures, heatstroke).
35. Eyewitness Testimony: This course explores the concept of eyewitness testimony, its characteristics, cases in which it is applicable, the conditions for it to be considered valid, the effects of eyewitness testimony, crimes committed within a dwelling, the delegation of judicial authority for investigation, the judicial system’s organization, and the jurisdiction of criminal justice.
36. International Organizations: This course introduces students to international organizations, their elements, forms, mechanisms, constitutions, rights, duties, responsibilities, and legal authorities exercised under various circumstances, whether during peacetime or wartime, and regardless of their operating locations. Topics include international organization classification, membership and affiliation, organizational bodies and employees, financial resources, international legal personality, specific international organizations (the League of Nations, the United Nations), the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice, peace and security maintenance, international cooperation in various fields, improving living standards and human rights, investigating disputes or situations that may lead to international conflicts, recommending settlement terms, devising plans to counter hostile acts, taking military action against aggressors, the International Criminal Court, and the principle of universality in international organization.
37. Introduction to Tissues, Hair, and Fibers Analysis: This course covers histology, tissue analysis methods, cell structure, tissue classification, epithelial tissues, connective tissues, and fibers (types, properties, functions).
38. General Penal Law 2: In this course, students further explore the theory of punishment in the field of penal law, which complements the theory of crime. The logical sequence in the academic methodology requires studying punishment theory after examining the theory of crime, as the punishment of an individual necessitates their commission of a crime first. Once a person is convicted of a crime before a competent judicial court, the judge proceeds directly to apply the penalty specified for that crime in the legal criminalization text. This course aims to equip students with the following legal concepts and knowledge:
39. Security and Safety of Facilities: This course covers the concepts of security and safety, occupational safety from various risks, security and safety agreements, and the administrative organization of public security and safety.
40. Mental Health: In this course, students study the concept of mental health, its foundations, approaches, goals, and related concepts such as harmony, adaptation, psychological prevention, psychological conflicts, anxiety, frustration, defense mechanisms, some models of psychiatric and mental disorders, characteristics of personality disorders, healthy personality traits, and methods of preventing these disorders.
41. Human Rights: This course explores human rights, including their definition, characteristics, sources, types, individual and collective rights, the legal system for protecting human rights, general principles of human rights, the historical evolution of the concept of human rights, individual duties and obligations, corruption (its concept, prevention, types, causes, and effects), anti-corruption measures, the legislative framework for combating corruption, and the role of national oversight agencies in anti-corruption efforts.