Best Forensic Science Technician programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Perform tests on weapons or substances, such as fiber, hair, and tissue to determine significance to investigation.
172 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 17,017 people a year. The job pays a median of $102,100 in California across about 2,800 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 26.0101In California → | 13,861 | 81.5% | 171 | $32,152 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 40.0501In California → | 2,644 | 15.5% | 131 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 3 | Forensic Science and Technologymain feeder CIP 43.0406In California → | 504 | 3.0% | 22 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 40.0510In California → | 6 | 0.0% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 5 | CIP 43.0100In California → | 2 | 0.0% | 1 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 50 of the 172 schools in this state.
All 172 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 1,033 | 2 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 747 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 681 | 2 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 560 | 2 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 432 | 2 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 422 | 3 |
| San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public | 412 | 2 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 391 | 2 |
| Los Angeles Harbor College | Wilmington | Public | 362 | 2 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 347 | 2 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 336 | 2 |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public | 310 | 1 |
| University of California - Merced | Merced | Public | 308 | 2 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 302 | 2 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 300 | 2 |
What forensic science technicians earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $72,060. California pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Forensic Science Technicians page.
How to become a Forensic Science Technician
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Forensic Science Technicians7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 26.0101Biology/Biological Sciences, General
- 40.0501Chemistry, General
- 40.0510Forensic Chemistry
- 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
- 43.0402Criminalistics and Criminal Science
- 43.0406Forensic Science and Technology
- 45.0205Forensic Anthropology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing forensic science technicians programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Forensic Science Technician?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Biology/Biological Sciences, General, which awarded 13,861 degrees in California in 2024-25, 81.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Forensic Science Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Chemistry, Security Science and Technology, Criminal Justice and Corrections. Together they graduate about 17,017 people a year in California.
How much do forensic science technicians earn in California?+
The median is $102,100 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 41.7% above the U.S. median of $72,060. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for forensic science technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +12.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 2,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
172 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do forensic science technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Criminalist, Forensic Scientist, CSI (Crime Scene Investigator), Crime Scene Technician (Crime Scene Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4092.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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