Cole graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1986 with a degree in Natural Sciences. He obtained a Ph.D. in Natural Product Chemistry from the University of London in 1990. In 1990, he joined the staff of the Forensic Science Unit at the University of Strathclyde as a short-course tutor, from where he progressed to Director of the Unit in 2000. In 2001, Michael was appointed Professor of Forensic Science at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge, where he now heads the Department of Forensic Science and Chemistry.