Forensic investigators dressed in blue hooded suits, face masks and plastic goggles step carefully over pools of claret fluid and snap pictures of stained clothes in an effort to unlock the science, and the story, behind an obviously gruesome crime.

It might have all the hallmarks of true murder, but the mock set up is an average day in the classroom for the next generation of crime scene sleuths who learn their trade at Canberra Institute of Technology's Bruce campus.

The institute's forensic science course teaches students to collect and analyse physical evidence, such as bullets, murder weapons, fingerprints and tyre marks, at a crime scene.

Tutor and blood stain pattern analyst Shawn Harkinssteered the students through their most recent challenge - learning to read blood splatters which could provide key scientific evidence to a jury in a criminal trial.

He said students quickly learned crime scene investigation did not involve the slick Armani suits, dimmed lighting and rapid forensic results often seen in popular crime shows such as CSI and Dexter.

"The reality is you couldn't stand in a crime scene these days wearing a suit and heels because it's likely you would contaminate the crime scene," Mr Harkins said.

"And it's very rare to solve a crime in half an hour."

CIT's head of forensic science Dr Kym Turnbull said the course had run for about 20 years and had ridden the wave of popularity which flowed from popular Hollywood crime shows and began more than a decade ago.

That had died down and students now came to the course with more realistic expectations, she said.

"I think these days it's attracting people who have a good mind for the science and a methodical mind."

She said the three-year bachelor's degree opened the door for highly competitive roles with federal, state and territory police forces, the Immigration department, private investigation companies, research and academics.

The night before the subject's practical exam, Mr Harkins donned a white full-body suit before he splashed, smeared and sprayed sterilised horse blood throughout the rooms to mimic splatters from a victim who was viciousy bashed, shot or stabbed.

"You can use theatrical blood, or you can buy mixtures online to use, but nothing acts like the real thing," he said.

Second-year students put weeks of theory into practice when they were faced with the gory product of his labour at the campus's specially designed forensic science facility.

A pool of blood or large drops indicated a victim had bled passively and a high level of violence was unlikely, Mr Harkins said.

"Where things start to get a bit different is where we start to apply force," he said.

Students observed sprayed blood to calculate the angle the fluid hit the surface at, and to gain an idea of where the victim was when they were struck or shot.

One former student told Mr Harkins he had never gotten out of the shower in the same way since he took the class; every time he flicked his arm under the water he would look to see how the droplets moved through the air and where and how they landed.

For second-year student Stephanie Oliver, 24, forensics was an opportunity focus her prior studies in physics on something useful, albeit grim at times.

Earlier in the degree, students had left a pig carcass to rot in an outdoor cage so they could observe the stiffness, bugs and maggots that came as the flesh decomposed.

"A lot of us have strong stomachs and a unique sense of humour; I think that saves us," Miss Oliver said.

Mr Harkins said students were prepared early on for the potentially confronting nature of some of the evidence they would need to examine.

"It's really about the separation of events and looking at the forensic science, rather than the human tragedy," he said.