A NORTH-EAST university will soon be training detectives of the future by using methods seen in TV shows such as CSI Miami and Waking the Dead.

The University of Sunderland's BSc in forensic computing - dubbed CSI Sunderland - is a unique degree that teaches students the latest technologies used to catch criminals.

Undergraduates will be taught how to use criminology, forensic psychology, chemistry, pharmacology and computing to help solve crimes.

The four-year degree will produce professionals with a grounding in the advanced technologies used by modern police forces.

Students will use case studies and be challenged to use modern techniques, such as artificial intelligence, to analyse forensic crime scene data.

They will take their knowledge and skills into the workplace with placements at Northumbria and West Midlands police forces, the Harperley Hall Police training centre, in County Durham, for crime scene officers, and with local groups such as the Northumbria Coalition Against Crime.

The degree is run by Dr Giles Oatley, senior lecturer at the university's Centre for Adaptive Systems.

He said: "The degree provides students with an understanding of criminology, different types of forensic data and analysis techniques - just like the techniques used on CSI Miami."

The degree begins in September next year. To apply for a place, call the university on 0191-515 3000.