BMED19007 - Forensic Science

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to explain the roles and guiding ethical principles for forensic scientists in cases of law and in incident investigations. You will interpret information from the current forensic science literature, methodologies and technologies including methods for dealing with trace evidence and the use of DNA profiling for identification, and how forensic science results are interpreted and analysed. These topics will be explored through practical classes.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites CHEM11041 Chemistry for the Life Sciences or CHEM11043 Atoms, Molecules and Matter

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026


Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 50%
2. Practical Assessment 0%
3. Take Home Exam 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 100% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback.
Feedback:
 Overall, the students were satisfied with the unit and the feedback was positive.

Recommendation:
 Continue to monitor student satisfaction and gather student feedback.

Action Taken:
 Student feedback was analysed to maintain student satisfaction.
Source: Self reflection
Feedback:
 The PowerPoints used in the lectures need updating with more Australian focused information.

Recommendation:
 Update the PowerPoints.

Action Taken:
 The PowerPoints were updated to more closely reflect Australian practices.
Source: Self reflection.
Feedback:
 The PowerPoint lectures require more interesting material.

Recommendation:
 Consider introduction of more case studies.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: Student feedback servery.
Feedback:
 Students stated the PowerPoints needed improvement.

Recommendation:
 Consider ways to incorporate more case studies and shorten the PowerPoints. Also consider introducing guest lectures.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Explain the roles and the guiding ethical principles for forensic scientists in cases of law, in incident investigations, and in international collaborations
  2. Interpret information obtained from a variety of forensic science laboratory techniques for physical evidence analysis
  3. Describe and critique current forensic science literature and technologies including methods for dealing with trace evidence and the use of DNA profiling for identification
  4. Analyse and communicate forensic science results clearly and accurately, drawing appropriate conclusions.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment •
2 - Practical Assessment • •
3 - Take Home Exam •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy •
5 - Team Work •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10