About Us

The Department of Sciences at John Jay boasts one of the oldest and most prestigious Forensic Science programs in the country. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience in this field, the Department offers a Bachelor's of Science, where students can choose to specialize in criminalistics, molecular biology or toxicology and a Master's of Science, where graduate students can concentrate in either criminalistics or forensic toxicology. The Department of Sciences also offers a Bachelor's of Science in Toxicology and Cell and Molecular Biology.

The Toxicology major provides students with a solid grounding in the general sciences, a robust foundation in general toxicology, and a diverse selection of specifically focused toxicology courses, such as Cellular and Molecular Toxicology, Public Health, Environmental Toxicology, Forensic Toxicology, and Clinical Toxicology. The Cell and Molecular Biology major provides students with an in-depth exploration of the underlying chemistry and molecular biology in living cells. 

The faculty are internationally recognized scientists who are often called upon to provide their expertise to pubic safety agencies, to the courts and to the news media. Using state-of-the-art equipment, the academic programs prepare our students for all levels of forensic science work in laboratories, in pursuit of careers as scientists, and also to provide further education to those currently employed in crime laboratories and in related fields of public safety. With the growing importance of physical evidence in the criminal justice system, the curriculum offered by the Department of Sciences at John Jay is designed to meet the increasing demand for highly trained professionals while also fostering the research to improve the accuracy of forensic analyses.