BST 611 Intermediate Statistical Analysis I

Taken Fall 2011 with Dr. Alfred Bartolucci.

I took BST 611 my first semester in the MSFS program. I had a previous statistic class in my undergraduate degree, however this course  was tailored more towards medical professions. Overall, I enjoyed the class and thought Dr. Bartolucci genuinely cared about his students and their understanding of the material.

The take home concept (beaten) into your brain is how to test a hypothesis. The material builds upon itself and all examples are medical related, however the general concept is taught so don't worry if you're not familiar with medical related topics.

The class requires a book. there isn't any real way of getting around that, however as far as text books go the example problems were helpful in understanding the material. The class also requires a software JMP (or "Jump"). It takes some getting used to but later in the course it is very helpful. Some people would try to avoid it only to shoot themselves in the foot when it gets more demanding.

Dr. Bartolucci is a very pleasant man, and easy to talk to. He is a serious Boston Redsox's fan so, if you wear anything to do with Boston or the team, he will certainly talk to you. The class, was a total of 18 lectures and he goes at a fast tempo, so falling behind with homework is not ideal. Also, a note about homework -you are required to turn in the homework and you are graded with a Pass, Fail, or Incomplete. You are penalized for not doing it however it is used to help those on the border at the end of the semester. The class had two tests: a midterm and a final. He is strict on time and deducts points on those who go over the time (I found the midterm to be more difficult than the final, so don't freak out if you don't get an A on the midterm). Dr. Bartolucci will also work with you if you go to office hours to help you bring up your grade.

My last word of advise is very simple. If you take BST 611 and there is a TA by the name of "Frank", please do yourself a favor and don't listen to a word he says. He constitently says things incorrectly and has to repeatedly correct himself later in e-mails. He wasn't helpful at all and confuses students by the masses.

Overall it is a worthwhile course to take if you are looking to brush up on Statistics as it relates to hypothesis or have a particular interest in Forensic Biology.

Good Luck and Regards!

JS 502: Intro to Computer Forensics

Taken Fall 2011 Instructor: Gary Warner I took this class because cybercrime has become the new way to commit crimes and I wanted to better understand it. I found the class very informative and interesting. You learn a lot, but as a graduate student you need to put a lot of work into the class because there is a mini-research project. This class opened the door to me working in Gary's lab, which because of it I am getting the computer forensic certificate. I am not a computer person, but you don't have to be to take this class. He is sometimes hard to get a hold because he has a lot going on, but if you don't understand something he is more then willing to help. Best time to talk to him is after class, you won't get a response if you email him because he gets thousands of emails everyday.

JS 671: Conventional Criminalistics

Taken Fall 2011 Instructor: Mitch Rector This class involved lectures and lab work in the areas such as trace analysis and fingerprint analysis. This was definitely not my cup of tea, but Mitch is great and knowledgeable teacher (he's considered an expert in this field). He says to buy the book, but don't. I opened it literally once all semester. Generally, everything you need to study for the test are the notes he gives during class. Also, start the labs early enough so you can ask questions throughout since they must be done on your own time outside of class and can be time consuming and confusing.

JS 670: Elements of forensic science

Taken fall 2011 Instructor:Elizabeth Gardner During this class, you will be exposed to a variety of disciplines in forensic science such as drug chemistry, toxicology, forensic biology, fingerprints, etc. Each week, a new speaker will present information on their particular discipline and you will have to write a paper on each speaker, due before the next week of class. Although this class was informative and interesting, it was somewhat challenging to complete a 2 page single spaced paper each week on top of the workload from other classes. However, the papers did help prepare me for when I had to write my project proposal paper the following spring.