MD Forensic Medicine: Career, Fees, Admission, Salary, Cutoff, Placement

MD in Forensic Medicine is a 3-year full-time postgraduate course, the minimum eligibility for which is an MBBS degree attained with a compulsory 1-year internship completed. The program is conducted over 6 terms/semesters. Eligible candidates aspiring to pursue the course need to be registered with the Medical Council of India or any State Medical Council for applying to the course.

Admission to the course is based on merit obtained by the candidate in a relevant entrance examination, followed by university-level counseling.

Successful postgraduates of the course are hired in government institutes in the autopsy departments. Currently, many States in India do not allow private institutes to conduct autopsies, however, such postgraduates can also pursue further research within the field and also teach the course professionally.

The average tuition fee charged for the course in India ranges between INR 1 and 10 lacs. The average annual salary offered to such postgraduates ranges between INR 1.5 and 2.7 lacs, with senior technicians receiving higher salaries.

Course Level	Postgraduate
Duration	3 years
Examination Type	Semester System
Eligibility	MBBS with a 1-year rotating internship
Admission Process	Based on counseling after qualification of entrance tests.
Course Fee	INR 1 to 10 Lacs per annum
Average Starting Salary	INR 1 to 1.5 lacs per annum
Top Recruiting Companies	Private medical colleges, government medical colleges government institutions including CBI, Forensic laboratories, Narcotics Department, Research and Analysis Wing and other law enforcement agencies.
Job Positions	Lab technician, Professor/ Associate Professor/Resident, Medical Officer, Manager-Forensics, etc.

 

MD-Forensic Medicine Fees

Name of Institute	City	Average Annual Fees in INR
All India Institute of Medical Sciences [AIIMS]	Delhi	1,944
Kasturba Medical College	Mangalore	12.5 lacs
Maulana Azad Medical College	Delhi	10,000
Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research	Pondicherry	6,200
Lady Hardinge Medical College	Delhi	10,000
Madras Medical College	Chennai	13,667
Grant Medical College	Mumbai	82,400
King George’s Medical University	Lucknow	–
Sri Ramachandra University	Chennai	14 lacs
Government Medical College	Amritsar	11,000
Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College	Mumbai	86,825
Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College	Pune	72,650
Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research	Kolkata	10,000
Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute	Bangalore	95,000
B.J. Medical College	Ahmedabad	3,000
Government Medical College	Nagpur	64,000
Government Medical College	Surat	14,000
Government Medical College	Thiruvananthapuram	1,667
Government Medical College	Kozhikode	20,000
Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College	Ajmer	7,225

 Admission Process

Most institutes offering the course admit students based on their performance in a relevant entrance test. Some institutes conduct their own entrance tests for offering admission. The admission process generally varies across colleges.

Generally, the following admission tests are preferred by top colleges across India offering the course:

• National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET)
• Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination (UPSEE)
• Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET)
• All India Combined Entrance Test (AICET)
• Other state-level entrance examinations

 

Cuttoff

Colleges	Cutoff(Rank Range)
Bidar Institute Of Medical Sciences, Bidar	2592-2592
Goa Medical College And Hospital, Tiswadi	3822-13039
Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal	6213-6213
Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram	7549-14279
Government Medical College – [GMC], Nagpur	8927-8927
Ranga Raya Medical College, Kakinada	9366-25418
Indira Gandhi Government Medical College & Hospital – [IGGMCH], Nagpur	9476-9476
Maulana Azad Medical College – [MAMC], New Delhi	9884-59687
Government Medical College, Kottayam	10435-10435
Grant Medical College And Sir J. J. Group Of Hospitals, Mumbai	11129-11129
Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad	11138-11138
Bangalore Medical College And Research Institute – [BMCRI], Bangalore	11270-11270
Lady Hardinge Medical College – [LHMC], New Delhi	11332-11332
Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College-[LTMMC], Mumbai	11710-26871
Government Medical College – [GMC], Amritsar	11914-18615
T.D. Medical College – [TDMC], Alappuzha	12504-12504
University College Of Medical Sciences – [UCMS], New Delhi	13735-13735
Stanley Medical College, Chennai	13761-13761
Sardar Patel Medical College – [SPMC], Bikaner	14803-14803
Coimbatore Medical College – [CMC], Coimbatore	15213-15213
Thrissur Govt. Medical College, Thrissur	15426-18589
Government Medical College, Latur	15610-15610
Jawaharlal Nehru Institute Of Medical Sciences – [JNIMS], Imphal	15910-15910
Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute Of Medical Sciences – [PGIMS], Rohtak	16355-23584
Dr SN Medical College & Hospital, Jodhpur	17119-36505
Mysore Medical College – [MMC], Mysore	17530-17530
Guru Gobind Singh Medical College & Hospital – [GGSMCH], Faridkot	18294-30261
Swami Ramanand Tirth Rural Govt. Medical College, Ambajogai	18743-33214
Regional Institute Of Medical Sciences, Imphal	20259-20259

Career Prospects

Postgraduates of the course are broadly labeled as Forensic Pathologists. They are generally responsible for conducting medico-legal autopsies as requested by government bodies such as the Police Department. At research institutes, they may conduct autopsies to study a case in detail. In rare cases, professionals may also examine victims of abuse, rape, or others in relation to suit of nullity of marriage, divorce, and legitimacy affiliation cases, etc.

They are generally also recruited as professors who train undergraduate students and postgraduate students in the same field. In general, they are trained mainly in conducting autopsies to determine a myriad of information about the cadaver starting from the sex, age, race, drug use history, medical history, all the way to the cause of death.

 

Placement Opportunities

There is high demand for forensic criminologists and scientists in both the public and private sectors.

There are several job opportunities for professionals in this field as research assistants, forensic scientists, criminologists, investigators,s and an approaching profession in various governments, private and public sector organizations such as private investigation agencies, CBI, AIIMS, police, etc.

Government organizations that recruit forensic criminologists are railways, banks, forensic labs, armed force departments, insurance companies, etc.

Those who have relevant experience in the field of criminology can set up their own private detective agencies to perform operations.

Criminologists can focus on different specialized areas related to crime such as robbery, murder, rape, and other areas.

After passing the course, applicants can find employment in law enforcement agencies, police, the legal system, investigative services of the government, and also private agencies.

Salary

Job Position	Job Description	Average Annual Pay Scale in INR
Forensic Medicine Assistant Professor	They teach and conduct research in the field of forensic medicine, produce journal articles, seminar reports, and research papers.	6,40,000
Medical Officer	They conduct autopsies as directed by government bodies, and produce medico-legal reports.	2,64,000
Manager- Forensic Advisory	They manage the forensic department, oversee autopsies, and ensure smooth running of the department. They often also oversee legal issues.	2,64,000
Lab Technician- Forensic Pathology	They conduct autopsies and relevant tests as directed by supervisors	96,000
Forensic Scientist	They conduct autopsies on cadavers donated to medical research so as to contribute to the existing body of medical knowledge.	1,80,000