Preparing students and practitioners through interdisciplinary learning, applied training, mentoring, field experiences, and professional development.

Disappearance and missing persons investigations require practitioners who can combine technical knowledge with practical decision-making in complex and unpredictable environments. Universities and institutions increasingly recognize the need to prepare students and field personnel not only in search and recovery methods, but also in the social and political realities that shape investigations in conflict settings. Through a missing persons forensic investigation field school, an international distance-learning platform, and undergraduate education, The Search Lab supports ongoing fieldwork through training and professional development opportunities, while also helping develop the next generation of researchers and practitioners across forensic, medical, and social science fields.

_{Photo by Paul Villanueva}