Jurisprudence Associate Member Requirements

AAFS Requirements:

The entry level at which most applicants enter the AAFS (with the exception of Trainee Affiliate and Student Affiliate).  Advancement to Member and then to Fellow is accomplished by meeting additional criteria established by each section.  Associate Member status is granted to individuals:

  1. Who are actively engaged in the field of forensic sciences and who have made some significant contribution to the literature of forensic science, or
  2. Who have advanced the cause of the forensic science in some other significant manner, and
  3. Who satisfy the requirements for membership of the section applied to or recommended for, and
  4. Who have earned a baccalaureate or higher academic degree from a U.S. college or university accredited by one of the regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education, or from a non-U.S. college or university bearing equivalent accreditation.

Jurisprudence Requirements:

  1. Applicant must have received a law degree at least two (2) years prior to the date of application for Associate Member; or
  2. Have had a license in good standing to practice law for at least two (2) years immediately prior to application for Associate Member; or
  3. Have received a law degree at least one (1) year prior to the date of application for Associate Member and have participated in a minimum of one (1) program of the Academy prior to becoming an Associate Member. Participation may include the presentation of papers, acting as a moderator or panelist of a program, or serving as an active member of a committee of the Jurisprudence Section; or
  4. Have a license in good standing to practice law at least one (1) year immediately prior to the date of application for Associate Member and have participated in a minimum of one (1) program of the Academy prior to becoming an Associate Member. Participation may include the presentation of papers, acting as a moderator or panelist of a program, or serving as an active member of a committee of the Jurisprudence Section; or
  5. Have received a law degree or a license in good standing to practice law during the year immediately prior to the meeting at which Associate Member is considered and have participated in a minimum of one (1) program of the Academy as a Student Affiliate; or
  6. Have completed such other academic and professional achievements, both in law and in forensic science, in a foreign country over a period of not less than six (6) years deemed to be substantially equivalent to the requirements of the Academy by the section chair and secretary at the time of the application; and
  7. Two (2) letters of reference. References are not required to be members of the AAFS, but must be able to comment knowledgeably on the applicant’s qualifications.

To apply online for membership, click the button below

Apply Now

or Download the Application Form and return to

American Academy of Forensic Sciences
410 N. 21st Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80904