Forensic pathology is a highly specialized program that a medical student chooses to get into while he or she is still in med school. Usually, a student has to take and pass pathology courses and that is why you have to make sure that the med school that you are enrolled in offers such courses if you are really keen on becoming a pathologist.



Take note that you will not automatically have the title of “forensic pathologist” after you take the program. What you have is a degree as a Doctor of Medicine (M.D) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. This time of residency would take about 4 to 5 years. After which, another year would be allocated to study the topic. Luckily there are several schools available nowadays so those who are interested to start a degree in this field will not run out of options. After the residency, the student will then have to take the United States Medical Licensing Exam. Once you pass the exam and you are a certified medical doctor, you can head towards the path of pathology.

Forensic Pathology Colleges

Below is a list of some of the prominent forensic pathology colleges across the United States. It includes a brief description of the program to help you decide which one best suits you as a student.

  1. The University of California in San Francisco is one of the forensic science colleges that offer a degree in pathology. They also offer a fellowship in forensic pathology every year. If you are unsure on how to go about it and which specialization to take, do not worry because the counselor of the university will work closely with you and will offer you guidance on how to best achieve your goal in starting your career as a forensic pathologist.
  2. The New York Medical College is another one conveniently located in the up state of New York and they offer residency training at Westchester Medical Center and Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center. The competition is pretty steep though since they only admit a total of 9 students in a yearly basis. If you are one of the lucky ones who got picked, you have the option of specialization once you have completed the first part of your residency.
  3. John Hopkins School of Medicine located in Baltimore has a slightly different program compared to other colleges as residents are allowed to do rotation in forensic pathology programs. It is interesting to note how extremely competitive it gets there but once you hold a degree, you are guaranteed to not have any problem finding a job. They allow their students to participate in daily autopsy gross conferences as well as surgical pathology case conferences that happen on a weekly basis as well.