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Anthropology and forensics: A more likely pairing than people realize
Nyah Courchesne graduated from Simon Fraser University in 2025 with a joint major in Anthropology and Archaeology. During her time at SFU, she completed two co-op work terms, which led to her current full-time job in forensics with one of her former co-op employers, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Courchesne shares how she found her calling through her co-op work experience, what working in forensics is like, and how her anthropology degree has shaped her approach in law enforcement.
What led me to apply
I decided to apply for the RCMP’s forensics co-op position because I needed to try something new. I previously did a co-op work placement out of Prince George with an archaeology company. While I enjoyed the traipsing through forestry blocks and how each day at work could be different, the position also had me travelling each week and staying in forestry camps and hotels. I missed my home, my friends, and my life outside of work. I wanted to pursue a position where I could live in the Lower Mainland but still do action-oriented field work.
I found the RCMP Lower Mainland District Integrated Forensic Identification Service (LMD IFIS) co-op position listed on SFU's co-op job board and it was described as a scene-based (rather than lab-based) position. While I didn’t have any forensics experience, I felt I could translate my site examination skills from anthropology and archaeology into forensic scene examination. It seemed to be the perfect mix of traveling to different places during shift and still being able to return to my own home when I clock out.
My co-op work experience in forensics
Over the course of my co-op work term, the LMD IFIS unit brought me to a large variety of scenes, working under direct supervision of a member of the unit. I worked on files related to arsons, break and enters, recovered stolen vehicles, extortions, and even homicides. They ensured I had an accurate and full picture of the career path I was considering. While attending these scenes I performed a variety of forensic techniques: I powdered and lifted fingerprints, collected DNA swabs, took preliminary blood tests, conducted line searches, used metal detectors, and learned crime scene photography. Outside of working at scenes, I also gained familiarity with lab processing and procedures, learning what chemicals should be used on different substrates and circumstances.
As I progressed through the co-op placement and was able to demonstrate the skills I had been learning, it solidified my interest in forensics as a career, so I took the next steps toward pursuing a full-time position. To obtain a conditional offer, I enrolled in their Forensic Identification Field Assessment (FIFA) program. The apex was a moot trial, where I completed a verbal exam and defended a file of mine in a mock court scenario. After successfully completing this step, I was encouraged to apply to become a member of the RCMP with the goal of returning to the LMD IFIS unit.
The anthropology component of my degree offered a set of lenses to explore policing through. My classes at SFU taught me how to understand the role policing plays in interactions throughout history, the dynamics of power, and cultural structures.
Reflecting on what I enjoy about this job, I was eager to apply. Every day is different. There is no telling what files could come in, which keeps things exciting. I also get to travel all over the Lower Mainland for files, experiencing places I would otherwise would not have found the time to visit. I attended a file on the Sunshine Coast. I’d never been there before. It was gorgeous and we saw lots of seals on the journey there and back. I also went on a week-long training program at the Pacific Regional Training Centre (PRTC) in Chilliwack in the fall. The compound is surrounded by mountains and a lovely trail nearby following the Vedder River, a picturesque background for a week of training.
Another aspect of the job I appreciate is feeling connected to the communities we serve. I’ve had the opportunity to participate in community outreach and events such as the Polar Plunge Fundraisers for the Special Olympic Games, youth camps, and career days. It is rewarding to help the public and get kids excited about science.
How did my Anthropology degree help me?
I did a joint major in anthropology and archaeology, which is a sub-discipline of anthropology. The archaeology side provided me with the physical skills—scene processing, attention to detail, scientific methodology, among many others—required to perform in a job such as this. The anthropology component of my degree offered a set of lenses to explore policing through. My classes at SFU taught me how to understand the role policing plays in interactions throughout history, the dynamics of power, and cultural structures.
In SA 301, I was fortunate enough to read The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession Along the Rio Grande (Angela Garcia, 2010). Garcia demonstrated ways in which vulnerable populations use crime and its ‘punishments’ to gain access to financially barred spaces, such as drug addiction rehabilitation centres. Emphasizing the person behind their actions will ensure that I continue to act with empathy rather than become jaded.
I took SA 443 in the semester before my co-op work placement, which was fitting as the topic was 'The Social Lives of the Dead'. Before this co-op placement, I never had any experiences with death or cadavers beyond archaeological course work at SFU. SA 443 brought perspectives on death as a social process highlighting state-violence, the physical treatment of bodies, and the concept of what makes a “good” death. The ethnographies explored furthered my understanding of how both the individual and a society interact with death.
Some of the ethnographies we read in SA 443 included Laurence Ralph’s Sito: An American Teenager and the City that Failed Him (2024), which demonstrated how people in vulnerable communities can be left behind by a justice system. This offered me valuable perspective as I entered a career within law enforcement and serves as a reminder to continuously act with integrity. Being Dead Otherwise (Anne Allison, 2023), gave me a taste of some of the environments that I might be asked to work in; and I like to be prepared. It also allowed me to interact with the concept of death, something I had not done much of prior, having not experienced it before this co-op placement. The movie shown in the course, Departures (2008), particularly resonated with me as it portrayed the care that went into preparing a corpse for funeral rites. Knowing that while many people might think working with the dead is unpleasant at best, this work is incredibly important for the people each death has affected.
What I am part of is finding answers and helping to build cases to bring perpetrators to justice. It is very meaningful work, and I’m humbled and grateful to be a part of it.
What is working in forensics actually like
I believe most people’s perception of forensics is shaped by media. Movies and television shows, such as CSI or Bones, glamorize forensics; no one is solving a homicide in under an hour. Heading into this co-op position, I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect, but the reality of the job is that it is absolutely as fascinating and varied as I’d hoped it would be. While there are inherent risks to working in policing, a thorough risk assessment and scene securing was done prior to my attendance at any scene, and as a co-op position, work was done under the supervision of a LMD IFIS member. Additionally, I was issued a soft body armour vest to wear when attending scenes. But unlike the TV shows and movies, I have never experienced a crime in progress. What I am part of is finding answers and helping to build cases to bring perpetrators to justice. It is very meaningful work, and I’m humbled and grateful to be a part of it.
