A Virac resident who graduated summa cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry has earned her master’s degree in forensic science with distinction from a university in the United Kingdom.
After her college graduation in 2022, Nicole Clarence Louise Laynes Gapaz she worked at the University of the Philippines as a researcher on dementia and took an interest in forensic science.
In 2023, she applied for entry and was accepted to several universities in the United States of America, Australia, and the UK for her master’s degree.
She decided to enroll at the University of Huddersfield based in West Yorkshire, England after the school granted her a Dean’s Scholarship – a merit-based financial award offered by the academic dean to students who demonstrate exceptional academic potential or achievement.
Nicole, who graduated from senior high school with the highest honors, belongs to a family of Thomasian alumni.
Last November 2025, her proud parents joined her at the university when she received her master’s degree in forensic science (with a focus on forensic chemistry).
The university website describes its postgraduate education in Forensic Science as one with specialization in a number of core areas of forensic chemistry, including toxicology, arson and ballistics.
The year-long course includes a series of crime scene exercises in the university’s crime scene facilities, covering strategies for crime scene examination and an exploration of techniques associated with crime scene examination.
In the Philippines, only three schools offer forensic science programs: UP Diliman, UP Los Baños and Our Lady of Fatima University.
In October last year, UP Manila partnered with Monash University of Australia to offer specialized forensic science programs in the Philippines through a hybrid setup.
The courses can eventually be developed into a jointly recognized master’s degree in forensic science, a UPM official said. (with a report from Jove Jim S. Aguas)