Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis Overview
Today's students are increasingly passionate about topics such as prison reform, counterterrorism, crime trends, and crime prevention. There is no better way to combat the problems faced by society than by starting with analyzing data and other intelligence.
Program at a Glance
Degree Program:
Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis
Offered By:
School of Public Affairs
Tuition:
Cost Per Credit:
$613
Application Deadline:
Credit Hours:
15
Crime Analysis Program Details
This certificate prepares students to serve as crime analysts, who are often housed within law enforcement agencies. Crime analysts typically collect crime data, perform quantitative and qualitative analysis on the data, create reports for various governmental entities such as the city in which the law enforcement agency resides, and interpret results as well as offer recommendations.
These functions typically have the purpose of helping to identify trends, reasons for crime, and help to inform preventative measures. Other entities also hire crime analysts, such as state public safety offices, judicial, corrections, non-profit and social justice groups, and sometimes media.
Timeline
The certificate requires the completion of five courses (15 credits). Students can complete the program in as little as one year.
Admissions
Students who earned a 3.0 or higher in their bachelor’s program are fully admitted to the program.
To apply for admission, please:
- Complete a non-degree application.
- Upload your current, chronological resume.
- Upload an unofficial transcript from the higher education institution that awarded your bachelor's degree.
- Pay the $50 application fee, which can be waived for CU Denver alumni, veterans and those on active military duty, and AmeriCorps volunteers.
- Submit your application.
Tuition and Fees
Investing in your future is a big decision. However, becoming a fully online student at CU Denver is a high-quality and affordable option for learners of all types. Visit our tuition and financial aid page for more information.
Career Outlook
Demand for crime analysts is rising, particularly with police departments, courts, correctional agencies, research firms, think tanks, and private companies.
Certificate Courses
CRJU 5003 – Research Methods (3 credits): Examines applied research designs and analytical models. Research problems in the system are utilized to illustrate the application and interpretation of alternative research strategies.
CRJU 5004 – Statistics for Criminal Justice (3 credits): Introduces principles of descriptive and inferential statistics and provides tools for understanding research findings. Topics include hypothesis testing and point estimation; bivariate and multivariate measures of association; inferential statistics; ordinary least square regressions, logistic regression analyses.
CRJU 5015 – Intelligence Writing & Briefing (3 credits): This course provides an overview of intelligence analysis and aims to provide the skills and tools necessary to effectively communicate results to consumers. Students will be familiarized with the analytical, perceptual, and cognitive pitfalls of conducting intelligence analysis and learn a variety of strategies for overcoming these problems, preparing professional intelligence products, and presenting executive-level intelligence briefings.
ENGL 5175 – Writing in the Sciences (3 credits): Provides rhetorical analyses of scientific discourse and student practice in writing research reports and proposals.
CRJU 5325 – Qualitative Methods for Criminal Justice (3 credits): Focuses on qualitative methods applicable to research in the field of criminal justice. The primary focus is on ethnographic approaches employing such fieldwork techniques as observation, participant observation, interviews, content analysis, life histories and case studies.
PUAD 5007 – Qualitative Research Methods (3 credits): Focuses on qualitative research methods that incorporate field work techniques such as observation, interviews, and content analysis. The main objective is to discover practicalities and limitations of ethnographic methods with a comparative methodology perspective. Students are required to conduct a research project.
CRJU 5331 – Crime Analysis & GIS (3 credits): Serves as an introduction to the uses and applications of analysis within law enforcement, including the role of analysis in law enforcement, theories that guide analysis and police practices, commonly used data sources and technology, and techniques for various types of analysis utilized in law enforcement.