Outdoor Research Facility
Students and faculty in the program in Forensic Anthropology have access to our Outdoor Research Facility in Holliston, Massachusetts. Spanning 32 acres, the facility provides unique opportunities for students and faculty members to conduct research investigating topics in taphonomy, decomposition, skeletal trauma, mortuary archaeology, forensic entomology and crime scene investigation. Frequently, our students put their newly acquired skills to work and conduct “mock” skeletal recoveries and crime scene investigations at our outdoor research facility
Students will complete practical exercises at the facility for various courses including:
- Outdoor Crime Scene Investigation
- Forensic Photography
- Field Methods in Forensic Anthropology
- Applied Forensic Anthropology
- Advanced Crime Scene Investigation
- Total Station Mapping Techniques
Resources located on the property include a ranch-style house with classroom facilities, several small sheds, a large kennel, cranberry bogs, wooded areas and several open fields.
To date the facility has been used for student research activities and as a training facility for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Students interested in completing research projects at the facility must submit a research proposal to the Graduate Student Committee for review. Transportation to and from the facility is the responsibility of the student.