*Based on 2025–2026 Boston University tuition and fees.
Learn to Lead Investigations through Crime Analysis
The online Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis at Boston University’s Metropolitan College provides students with a set of courses that develops their ability to use and analyze a variety of data sources to inform the investigations, strategies, and policy decisions of criminal justice organizations. This set of skills is crucial to a growing field within law enforcement and related domains in criminal justice. Data-driven and intelligence-led approaches to crime have become the standard among contemporary criminal justice organizations. The certificate prepares students to fill in-house crime analyst roles or similar positions, while strengthening the skills of students working in investigations, management, and operations to utilize analysis more effectively.
The Crime Analysis Graduate Certificate is also available on campus in Boston. Learn more.
Curriculum
Boston University’s Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis consists of four required courses (16 units).
Coursework from the Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis can be applied toward the Boston University Metropolitan College Master of Science in Criminal Justice.
Certificate Courses
(Four courses/16 units)
And one course from the following (some courses may not be available in the online format):
Learn about application requirements for BU MET graduate degree and certificate programs.
How You Benefit from a Boston University Education
A BU credential can help lay the foundation for career advancement and personal success.
Benefit from an average 24:1 student-to-instructor ratio.
Four-course, interdisciplinary program includes courses in crime and intelligence analysis, mapping and spatial analysis, and other essential database and analytics skills.
Our faculty share your passion for criminal justice and are committed to your success. They bring to the classroom subject-matter expertise, research-based insight, and extensive field experience in crime analysis, policing, cybercrime, the judicial system, and corrections.
Throughout your program, you can rely on faculty to provide mentorship via assistantships, academic support, and career advising.
BU MET has offered criminal justice education since 1973, introducing its master’s degree in criminal justice in 1980, which became BU’s first fully online program in 2002.
Learn from the best—since 2015, BU MET’s online master’s degree in criminal justice has been ranked among the top 6 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Graduate with Crime Analysis Expertise
Students who complete the Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis will be able to:
Prepare different sources of data for analysis (e.g., data reorganization, matching) and carry out analysis using a variety of different techniques, including mapping and spatial analysis and other advanced techniques.
Incorporate analyses into effective analysis products (e.g., written reports, presentations, interactive dashboards) that are useful to investigation, strategy, and policy decisions within law enforcement organizations.
Comprehend the ethical and legal rules and values that govern crime analysis within law enforcement organizations operating in democratic society.
Inform and critically evaluate data-driven or intelligence-led investigations, strategies, and policies based on awareness of the contemporary law enforcement and security approaches.
“Completing this program allowed me to move forward in my crime analysis career by expanding the range of positions that I could apply for in the field. While I did undertake this program with the intention of advancing my career, I also had the opportunity to learn skills that were applicable in my current position. After completing this program, I could perform more varied and elaborate analyses of the kind expected of traditional crime analysts.” Read more.
Data-driven and intelligence-led approaches to crime have become the standard among contemporary criminal justice organizations. The Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis at Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) prepares students to fill in-house crime analyst roles within a variety of justice organization settings, and strengthen the skills of those working in investigations, management, and operations to utilize analysis more effectively.
Recent graduates have found job opportunities and career paths at companies such as:
Louisiana State Police
Pennsylvania State Police
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
Wilmington Police Department
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Capital One
Roger Williams University
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
United States Army
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC)
United States Department of Justice (DOJ)
United States Department of State (DOS)
Take Advantage of Career Resources at BU MET
You will find the support you need in reaching your career goals through MET’s Career Development office, which offers a variety of job-hunting resources, including one-on-one career counseling by appointment for online students. You can also take advantage of tools and resources available online through BU’s Center for Career Development.
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