Online Crime Analysis Graduate Certificate

At a Glance

Completion Time

Months

Credits Required

Tuition

$11,290–$13,070

Part-Time*

*Based on 2026–2027 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 public safety and related domains in criminal justice, community-based organizations, and private firms. 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)

MET CJ 591 Applied Analytical Methods

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Evidence-based and data-informed approaches are now central to modern criminal justice practice. How can data help you understand crime problems, evaluate programs, and support better policy decisions? Develop practical skills for analyzing and interpreting quantitative data used in justice policy and administration. You will learn how to frame research questions, summarize patterns in data, and draw meaningful conclusions from statistical evidence. The course introduces key analytical tools—including descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and measures of association—and demonstrates how they are used to analyze crime and justice data. Working with real datasets and justice-system contexts, you will build experience conducting analyses and communicating findings clearly to diverse audiences. By the end of the course, you will be able to interpret statistical evidence and “tell the story” behind the numbers.

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Holt	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CJ 612 Crime and Intelligence Analysis

4 credits. Fall and Spring

How do crime analysts turn complex data into insights that guide investigations and crime prevention strategies? Explore the analytical techniques used by contemporary law enforcement and public safety organizations to identify crime patterns, assess emerging problems, and inform operational decisions. You will examine the principles and practices of crime and intelligence analysis, including how analysts collect, interpret, and communicate information that supports investigative, tactical, and strategic decision-making. The course also considers the role of analysts within justice organizations and the legal and policy frameworks that shape their work. Through applied exercises and case-based simulations using real-world data sources, you will develop practical analytical skills used to address common crime problems and support effective public safety strategies.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Cronin	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	PSY B55

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Cronin	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET UA 598 Foundations of GIS and Spatial Analysis

4 credits. Fall and Spring

How can maps and spatial data reveal patterns in cities and communities that aren’t visible at street level? In this project-based course, you learn how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) help planners and urban professionals analyze places, understand patterns, and make better decisions. You’ll build practical skills in spatial thinking and spatial analysis while working with real geographic data. Through hands-on projects, you’ll learn how to collect, organize, and analyze spatial information, create maps that communicate clear insights, and evaluate the strengths and limits of different data sources. Along the way, you’ll explore how GIS is used to address real urban challenges—from understanding neighborhood change to informing planning and policy decisions. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to use GIS tools to analyze places, visualize patterns, and communicate spatial insights that support sustainable and more equitable communities.

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Sungu-Eryilmaz	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

And one course from the following (some courses may not be available in the online format):

MET CJ 640 Performance Management Analytics

4 credits. Fall and Spring

How can justice organizations use data to strengthen performance, accountability, and public trust? Explore how analytical tools support modern management and decision-making across policing, courts, corrections, and community-based organizations. You will examine contemporary performance management approaches and learn how data can be used to assess effectiveness, fairness, transparency, and responsiveness within justice systems. Working with real-world data sources, you will develop skills in identifying meaningful performance measures, organizing and analyzing datasets, and interpreting findings in organizational contexts. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to translate data into clear analytical products—such as reports and dashboards—that inform management decisions and support accountability to both agency leadership and community stakeholders.

MET CJ 705 Threat Assessment

4 credits. Spring

How can potential acts of violence be identified and prevented before they occur? Explore the principles and practices of behavioral threat assessment, a structured approach used to identify, evaluate, and manage individuals who may pose a risk of targeted violence. Drawing on insights from criminology, psychology, psychiatry, and law enforcement practice, you will examine how threat assessment teams analyze behavioral indicators, contextual factors, and warning signs associated with potential acts of violence. Through case studies and research on school shootings, targeted violence, domestic violence, and lone-actor terrorism, the course explores how professionals assess risk and develop prevention strategies. The course reflects contemporary practices used by multidisciplinary threat assessment teams working to prevent targeted violence in schools, workplaces, and communities.

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Silver	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CJ 840 Applied Crime Analysis Project

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Students in the Crime Analysis (CA) concentration or certificate program are encouraged to engaged in a supervised project as part of their degree. The project is supervised by an instructor, typically the concentration area coordinator. It can be used to fulfill a 4-credit elective course within the concentration or certificate. Project-based and experiential learning activities are central to graduate professional education and to our own program's learning outcomes. The project gives students an opportunity to enhance and synthesize skills learned in other courses, apply skills to real-world problems and settings, and make connections into the professional field. Projects in the CA concentration or certificate will focus applied research and analytical methodologies and/or organizational processes connected to analysis within criminal justice or related agencies.

MET CS 521 Information Structures with Python

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Creativity/Innovation
Critical Thinking
Quantitative Reasoning II

Prerequisite: Programming experience in any language. Or Instructor's consent. Explore the object-oriented approach to software design and development using Python. You will engage in a detailed discussion of programming concepts starting with the fundamentals of data types, control structures methods, classes, arrays and strings, and proceed to more advanced topics such as inheritance and polymorphism, creating user interfaces, exceptions and streams. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to apply software engineering principles to design and implement Python applications that can be used with analytics and big data. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Critical Thinking, Quantitative Reasoning 2.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pinsky	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	COM 217

Section A2, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Lu	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SHA 206

Section O1, FALL 2026 Sep 1st to Oct 19th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pinsky	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 555 Foundations of Machine Learning

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: MET CS 544 or MET CS 550 or consent of instructor. You will learn the foundations of statistical machine learning, regression, and classification, and explore the key components of statistical models, including how to construct, interpret, and evaluate them. Topics include data description and visualization, statistical inference, one- and two-sample tests for means and proportions, simple and multiple linear regression, multinomial and logistic regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression diagnostics. For each topic, you will examine the methodology, underlying assumptions, interpretation of results, and model assessment. The course includes a programming component using R or Python, providing hands-on experience that reinforces theoretical concepts. Methods are presented through real-world examples to help you understand when and how to apply different statistical techniques effectively.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Alizadeh-Shabdiz	Independent	R	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SHA 202

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Alizadeh-Shabdiz	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 577 Data Science with Python

4 credits.

Prerequisite: (MET CS 521) or equivalent or instructor's consent. Students will learn major Python tools and techniques for data analysis. There are weekly assignments and mini projects on topics covered in class. These assignments will help build necessary statistical, visualization and other data science skills for effective use of data science in a variety of applications including finance, text processing, time series analysis and recommendation systems. In addition, students will choose a topic for a final project and present it on the last day of class.

Section A2, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	R	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	PHO 202

Section A4, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pinsky	Independent	T	09:00:00 AM–11:45:00 AM	STH 113

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Mohan	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 699 Data Mining

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Prerequisites: MET CS 521, MET LB 103 and MET LB 104; and either MET CS 579 or MET CS 669; or consent of instructor. - Study basic concepts and techniques of data mining. Topics include data preparation, classification, performance evaluation, association rule mining, regression and clustering. You will learn underlying theories of data mining algorithms in the class and practice those algorithms through assignments and a semester-long class project using R. After finishing this course, you will be able to independently perform data mining tasks to solve real-world problems.

Section A1, FALL 2026 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Lee	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	SOC B63

Section O2, FALL 2026 Oct 27th to Dec 14th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Lee	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Dates & Deadlines

View BU MET’s academic calendar for online programs, including important dates and deadlines.

Application Requirements

Learn about application requirements for BU MET graduate degree and certificate programs.

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How You Benefit from a
Boston University Education

A BU credential can help lay the foundation for career advancement and personal success.

Benefit from a 24:1 average 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.

Rankings & Accreditations

U.S. News & World Report - Best Online Programs - Criminal Justice - 2026

#5 in 2026, and top 6 since 2015

MET’s criminal justice graduate certificates share curriculum with MET’s online master’s degree in criminal justice, which is ranked #5 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News & World Report - Best Online Programs - Veterans - Criminal Justice - 2026

#8, Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs for Veterans

MET’s online master’s degree in criminal justice is ranked #8 in the nation for veterans and active-duty service members by U.S. News & World Report for 2026.

Graduate with Crime Analysis Expertise

Students who complete the Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis will be able to:

Acquire, clean, integrate, and manage complex public safety datasets (e.g., incident, calls-for-service) for analytical use.
Apply statistical, spatial, and predictive analytical techniques—including mapping, GIS, and emerging data science tools—to identify crime patterns, trends, risk factors, and actionable insights.
Produce professional analytical products (e.g., intelligence bulletins, tactical briefings, dashboards, and executive reports) that directly inform investigations, deployment strategies, and policy decisions.
Evaluate and apply ethical, legal, and governance standards in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of crime and intelligence data within democratic public safety systems.

Overall employment of police and detectives is projected to grow 4 percent from 2023 to 2033.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

“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.

Caitlin Kloess (MET ’22)
Crime Analyst, Denver Police Department
Graduate Certificate, Crime Analysis; Undergraduate Certificate, Criminal Justice

Advance Your Career in Criminal Justice

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)

Criminal Justice Faculty

Shea W. Cronin

Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice

Chair, Applied Social Sciences

Abby Ballou

Visiting Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice

Director, Prison Education Program

Kyung-shick Choi

Professor of the Practice, Criminal Justice

Director, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity

Danielle Rousseau

Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice

James M. Silver

Visiting Associate Professor, Criminal Justice

April Gile Thomas

Associate Professor of the Practice, Criminal Justice

View All Faculty

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Online Crime Analysis Graduate Certificate

At a Glance

Learn to Lead Investigations through Crime Analysis