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At the graduate level, crime analysis is usually delivered as a track or concentration inside a master’s in criminal justice or criminology, and less often as a standalone MS in Crime Analysis or Criminal Justice Data Analytics. A shorter graduate certificate in crime analysis is also common and is frequently the more sensible purchase for someone who already holds a master’s or already works in an agency and needs the technical skills rather than the credential. Because the titles vary so widely, the required course list matters far more than the diploma text.
This page explains how these programs are structured, what prerequisites they assume, how thesis and applied tracks differ, and what to compare across schools.
It is a graduate program that builds advanced training in crime pattern analysis, spatial and temporal methods, intelligence analysis, and research design through online coursework. It is most often structured as a track inside a criminal justice or criminology master’s rather than as a standalone degree title.
Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a crime analysis concentration is the most common. You will also see MS in Criminology with an analytic track, MS in Criminal Justice Data Analytics, and occasionally a standalone MS in Crime Analysis. Graduate certificates in crime analysis, typically 12 to 18 credits, are widely offered and often share courses with the master’s track.
Typically 30 to 36 semester hours, commonly one to two years full-time and longer part-time. Programs designed for working analysts and sworn officers often stretch across three years at a reduced course load.
Most assume a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate statistics. Programs vary in whether they expect prior GIS experience; many teach it from the beginning, which is one reason a master’s works as a pivot for people coming from unrelated fields. Confirm the specific expectations before applying.
A thesis track culminates in original research supervised by a faculty member and is the better preparation for doctoral study or a research position in a research center or federal statistical agency. An applied or capstone track culminates in a substantial project, often an analysis done for a real agency, and is generally the better fit for practice. Many programs offer both.
A completed bachelor’s degree, transcripts, a resume, and a statement of purpose are standard. Some programs request letters of recommendation or evidence of prior statistics coursework, though many online programs are test-optional and do not require the GRE.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| Course Topic | What You Learn |
|---|---|
| Advanced Research Methods | Design, measurement, and the limits of official crime data as a research instrument |
| Applied Statistics for Criminal Justice | Regression, time series, and count models appropriate to rare-event crime data |
| Advanced Crime Mapping & Spatial Analysis | Kernel density, spatial autocorrelation, near-repeat analysis, and risk terrain modeling |
| Temporal & Pattern Analysis | Seasonality, aoristic methods for uncertain offense windows, and series identification |
| Intelligence Analysis | Link and network analysis, organized offending, and the intelligence cycle |
| Problem-Oriented & Evidence-Based Policing | Problem analysis frameworks, intervention design, and evaluating whether a strategy worked |
| Ethics, Bias & Civil Liberties in Data-Driven Policing | Feedback loops in enforcement data, transparency obligations, and analytic products you should decline to produce |
| Thesis or Applied Capstone | Original research, or an end-to-end analysis delivered to a partner agency |
Outcomes vary by program, but you can compare:
For pacing and delivery comparisons, see: How Online Crime Analysis Degrees Work
Requirements vary by school, but most programs require a completed bachelor’s degree in any field. Common elements include transcripts, a resume, and a statement of purpose. Many programs also want evidence that you can handle quantitative work – typically prior coursework in statistics or research methods, or demonstrated equivalent experience.
Applicants coming from outside criminal justice are not automatically excluded, and this is a field where career changers are common: people move in from geography, public administration, military intelligence, and general data analysis. Some programs admit them with conditional status or a required bridge sequence in criminal justice foundations. Working officers and agency staff are a large share of enrollment in these programs, which tends to shape scheduling in ways that also suit other working students. Ask admissions directly what they expect rather than inferring it from the catalog.
A bachelor’s pathway – typically a criminal justice major with a crime analysis concentration or certificate – is the standard entry point for civilian analyst positions, and most agencies hire at that level. A master’s is more commonly pursued to reach supervisory analytic roles, to compete for federal, fusion center, and intelligence positions where graduate credentials are more often expected, to pivot into analysis from an unrelated bachelor’s degree, or to move toward research and program evaluation work. Before enrolling, ask the agencies you want to work for whether a master’s changes your pay grade or your competitiveness; in many local agencies it does neither.
Compare degree options:
For a value and fit discussion, see: Is an Online Crime Analysis Degree Worth It. For the broader field, see the Criminal Justice Program Guide and the Criminology Program Guide.
Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
Back to Online Crime Analysis Degrees: Crime Analyst Programs
