VCU news

By Sian Wilkerson

Over the past 20 years, the rapid growth of digital forensics – the analysis of electronic data to help solve crimes – has boosted the demand for qualified analysts. To help address this need, Virginia Commonwealth University is introducing a digital forensics and incident response concentration in its Master of Science in forensic science program this fall.

The two-year curriculum is designed to provide students with knowledge, application-based training and relevant certifications necessary for a career in digital forensics and incident response. It will be the second of its type in Virginia, and one of a small group of accredited digital forensic graduate programs in the country.

“This new concentration is interdisciplinary, incorporating a strong core of computer science coursework with a forensic science edge,” said Tracey Dawson Green, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Forensic Science in VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences. “With a significant number of hands-on, laboratory-based specialized courses, the curriculum will focus on the use of innovative technology and software to provide investigative information to the criminal justice system.”

The department has been developing the program since 2022, collaborating with advisors from the FBI’s Computer Analysis and Response Team, the U.S. Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit, the Virginia Department of Forensic Science’s Central Laboratory Digital & Multimedia Evidence Section and the Virginia State Police’s High Tech Crimes Division and its Computer Evidence Recovery Section, as well as two Virginia-based private digital investigative companies. The group also worked with VCU’s Department of Information Systems in the School of Business, the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and VCU’s Cybersecurity Center.

“With ever-increasing workloads and evidence complexity, organizations that provide digital forensics services have a constant need for personnel that have the knowledge, skills and ability to perform examinations with minimal initial training,” said Jesse M. Lindmar, a forensic scientist section supervisor in the Virginia Department of Forensic Science Central Laboratory. “Job candidates that have a strong educational background, with a demonstrated ability to apply that knowledge practically, will stand out from those that do not.”

Over the course of the master’s program, students will gain expertise in foundational and advanced concepts, evidentiary procedures, tools and legal considerations of digital forensics and incident response, and they will complete an intensive research project mentored by either full-time faculty or collaborating practitioners from around the region.

The curriculum was designed to meet admissions and curricular requirements as a digital evidence degree program through FEPAC – the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission. The concentration will become eligible for accreditation after graduating two cohorts.

“Our collective approach in formulating this curriculum is to produce graduates who are not only educated in the field of digital forensics, but have obtained the necessary practical skills to be an effective contributor in the field,” said Patrick Siewert, adjunct professor of digital forensics at VCU as well as director of digital forensics at ArcherHall.

Admission requirements include an undergraduate degree in a related field, including forensic science, computer science, cybersecurity and more. New graduates must also have 16 credits of coursework in information technology or computer science. The program also has flexibility to allow participation by current practitioners seeking to further their credentials. With the new program, the department will also be hiring new faculty to bring expertise from the area of digital forensics.

“We’re really hoping to fill a need,” Dawson Green said. “The need for this has been voiced by our partner agencies across Virginia and across the region. For years, they’ve been asking us for this … so we’re very excited to see it come to reality.”

As noted by Karen Shafer, adjunct professor of digital forensics at VCU and a master digital forensic examiner with a federal agency, digital evidence is a “key component of nearly all of today’s investigations.”

“Private companies and public agencies need qualified analysts trained in all types of digital data, from mobile devices to the cloud,” she said. “This concentration is designed to help prepare students for the various careers in digital forensics and incident response that are open across the region.”