Rate My Professor Patricia Eddings

Patricia Eddings serves as Distinguished Senior Lecturer and Director of the Forensic Applications of Science and Technology (FAST) minor program in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Arlington. With almost fifty years of professional experience in forensics, she specializes in trace evidence analysis, crime scene investigation, and death investigation. Eddings earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Mississippi College and a Master of Science degree in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven. Her career includes positions as Senior Trace Analyst at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office Crime Laboratory and Trace Evidence Analyst at the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Forensic Laboratory. She has provided expert witness testimony in trace evidence for numerous court cases.

At UTA, Eddings teaches courses including Introduction to Forensics, Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Firearms Investigation, Forensic Death Investigation, Forensic Examination of Impression Evidence, Forensic Hair and Fiber Examination, and Forensic Expert Testimony. She developed a cold case analysis course that has enabled students to assist the Arlington Police Department in reviewing unsolved cases, culminating in a breakthrough in a 34-year-old murder investigation in 2025, leading to an arrest. Under her leadership, UTA students achieved notable success in the 2024 Crime Scene Investigation Competition, marking the university's first participation. Eddings has received teaching awards from the College of Liberal Arts. As FAST Director, she oversees an 18-credit-hour interdisciplinary minor requiring a 3.0 GPA, preparing students for non-laboratory forensic careers through courses like Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Biology. Her integration of practical forensic expertise into teaching has significantly impacted student training and community service in criminal justice.