From the physics of bullet trajectories to the grim details of human decay, forensic science is a challenging discipline for any student to enter. This program ushers viewers into the prestigious Forensic Science department at the University of Central Lancashire in Great Britain. Tests and coursework involve ballistics experiments used to solve a shotgun shooting case; an introduction to blood splatter analysis at the school’s mock crime scene facility; and an ordeal that every first-year forensics school scholar, regardless of his or her personal goals and sensitivities, is required to undergo—the Death and Decomposition lecture. Viewer discretion is advised. (23 minutes)

First-year students experience death and decomposition lectures, exposing them to the harsh realities of forensic science. Unlike the glorified media depictions of forensics, these students find the real work emotionally draining.

Second-year students take a blood-spatter test. From their observations they glean as much intelligence as they can. The average person contains more than a gallon of blood.

In the death and decomposition class, students observe slides of gruesome deaths and mutilations. In both cases, the crime is not what it seems to be. A student studies the results of a ballistics test.

Forensics students face grim photographs of dead and decomposing babies. Halfway through the lecture, no one has fainted. Approximately 12 children are killed every day in the USA.

A comparison of two bullets found at crime scenes links them to the same gun. In a staged crime scene house, students observe replica blood splatter from real crime scenes. They determine trajectories of the blood spatter.

From their experiences in a death and decomposition class, future forensic scientists anticipate their jobs in dealing with blood, gore, and their own emotions.