Graduate Certificate in Forensic Anthropology

1. Students will develop an in-depth knowledge of the human skeleton 
2. Participants will gain a practical understanding of the scientist’s role within the Australian legal system including ethics and research methods in the forensic sciences 
3. Students can tailor their educational experience through selection of two core and two optional units (such as medico-legal death investigation, forensic archaeology, and scientific expert testimony) 

• become familiar with the human skeleton using real bone specimens 
• have the skills to undertake a biological profile of human skeletal and dental remains 
• become familiar with sciences aligned to forensic anthropology 

Students are immersed in Forensic Anthropology at UWA, home to the Centre for Forensic Anthropology; students at all levels of their physical anthropology journey are expected to participate in discussions about recent advancements, student research, and contemporary issues within the field. This all-inclusive experience builds bonds between students and staff that continue after graduation. 

Staff within the Centre for Forensic Anthropology have industry experience, contacts and participate in fieldwork on occasion. Students are often invited to participate in any relevant opportunities that arise.     

This course is part of an articulated sequence with the:

• Graduate Diploma in Forensic Anthropology
• Master of Forensic Anthropology

The Centre for Forensic Anthropology is committed to the development of a new generation of morphometric tools and standards for application in forensic identification in Western Australia. A requirement in routine casework involving unidentified skeletal remains is the formulation of an accurate biological profile.

Choice of method is invariably related to skeletal preservation and by association the bones available. It is vital however that the method applied affords statistical quantification of accuracy rates and predictive confidence, so that evidentiary requirements for legal submission are met. Achieving the latter requires the application of contemporary population-specific standards.

Our research group is working towards developing these standards through the integration of morphological computer-based (geometric morphometric) analytical approaches and multivariate isotopic and elemental chemical methods for the identification of unknown human remains. The Anthropology research group is keen to develop a ‘Human Identification Package’ (HIP) for specific application within forensic casework and Disaster Victim Identification (DVI).

The group welcomes international and interdisciplinary collaborations of value to the fields of Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology. Follow us on Facebook.