Law Enforcement Intelligence (M.S.) Program

Admission Deadline

• Fall admission – July 1st
• Spring admission – November 1st
• Summer admission – March 1st 

Admission Requirements

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution, with a minimum 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA) in all coursework attempted while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student working towards a bachelor’s degree; or a graduate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution; and test scores from a nationally standardized graduate admission test. Commonly accepted GRE scores will range between 148 and 160 on both the verbal and quantitative tests. In addition, all students must have been in good academic standing at the last institution.

Program Application Requirements

The intelligence profession collects and evaluates data from a variety of human and technological sources. Our program incorporates this data to provide subject matter expertise required by the profession. In addition, all law enforcement and intelligence agencies have character and fitness eligibility requirements supported by extensive background investigations and many require their applicants to pass a polygraph.  In order to evaluate and select students who best meet both academic and professional requirements, applicants will also be required to

1. Complete and submit the University Admissions Office Online Application Form
2. Pay a non-refundable application fee of $30.00.  Application packets will not be reviewed until the fee has been paid.
3. Submit a completed Residency Affidavit. All applicants must submit this form, which is completed online.
4. Arrange for an official transcript from each college or university attended to be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Transcripts may be sent digitally but must come directly from the institutions attended. An unofficial transcript may be uploaded for the College of Applied Studies for review.
5. Take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and request scores to be sent to FSU.  Commonly accepted GRE scores will range between 148 and 160 on both the verbal and quantitative tests. FSU’s school code is 5219. The GRE requirement has been waived for all master’s applicants applying through fall 2026. If students choose during this time to not include GRE scores, it is important to have strong GPAs to be considered for admission.
6. Applicants must arrange for the submission of three letters of recommendation through the FSU application process. The letters should provide an accurate assessment of your accomplishments and ability to succeed in graduate school and in the workplace.
7. Applicants should submit/upload a self-authored, original, personal statement addressing their interest and fit for this program.
8. Applicants should submit/upload a resume which is carefully proofread, professional in nature, and outlines all related academic and professional experiences relevant to this program. 

A holistic approach will be used to evaluate the GRE score, GPA, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and resume in order to achieve both the desired academic excellence.

Graduation Requirements

The graduation requirements for the Law Enforcement Intelligence Master’s degree will include completion of seven (7) core courses (21 credit hours), four (4) elective courses (which can be across disciplines; 12 credit hours), and a capstone project (3 credit hours), totaling to 36 credit hours.  All courses must be passed with a “B-” grade or better and students are expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout enrollment in the program. If a “B-” grade or better is not achieved in a course, the course must be repeated.

Degree Requirements

CORE COURSES - Collection

• DSC 5595 3 hours Human Intelligence Collection (fall)
  This course focuses on how to develop, recruit, maintain, verify and secure human intelligence sources. 
• CCJ 5079 3 hours Managing Intelligence Analysis Functions (spring)
  This course provides the students with a foundation in the myriad of software that must be managed for effective intelligence gathering, analysis and dissemination.

CORE COURSES - Analysis

• CJE 5739 3 hours Research Methods for Law Enforcement Intelligence (spring)
  This course focuses on the use of basic statistics and research methods in the analysis of various types of intelligence data.  Emphasis will be on selecting the appropriate technique for the different problems and evaluating the results rather than the application procedures.
• CCJ 5748 3 hours Advanced Evidentiary Reasoning for Criminal Intelligence (fall)
  This course provides case studies for practice in evaluating investigative evidence and developing that information into intelligence.
• CCJ 5616 3 hours Profiling Criminal Behavior (summer)
  This course introduces the student to legal profiling of criminal behavior, how to recognize trends in individual and organizational behavior, and provides practice creating effective prevention strategies and responses to criminal events.

CORE COURSES – Management/Decision-making

• CJE 5737 3 hours Law Enforcement Intelligence (fall)
  This course focuses on the use of intelligence by law enforcement agencies as both consumers and producers along with procedures for external communication with other formal intelligence agencies as well as the private sector.  Included are the latest trends in local policing to use intelligence in the local sector to not only increase case clearance, but to affect crime prevention.
• CJE 5743 3 hours Public Safety Leadership (fall)
  This course gives the student the basic foundational skills to manage sections within public safety organizations. This course gives the student a foundation and practicum in the establishment and on-going management of the intelligence apparatus within a law enforcement organization.

ELECTIVE COURSES

Subject Matter Expertise: Will be developed by Public Safety and Security faculty

• CPO 5429 3 hours Political Islam (fall)
  This course gives the student an introduction to and thorough examination of the history, trends and current movements in the political structure and influence of Islam domestically and abroad.
• CJE 5738 3 hours International Crime & Domestic Terrorism (spring)
  This course studies real world examples of transnational crime with the emphasis on the conflation of terrorism and crime, as well as the cross-national and international efforts to combat transnational crime, including the roles of local law enforcement intelligence operations.
• CJE 5745 3 hours Use of Force (summer)
  This course is designed build on prior investigative courses and to give the student an in depth look at the law as it applies to the use of force, both lethal and non-lethal. Relevant court decisions that drive the investigation of use of force will be examined and their applications explained.
• SCC 5406 3 hours Market and Competitive Intelligence (summer)
  This course provides students with a knowledge base of practical tools and methods to research a businesses’ micro and macro environment exposing the student to analytical models and other resources an organization utilizes in the process of competitive intelligence.
• CJE 5631 3 hours Financial Intelligence (summer)
  This course examines the nature and scope of financial crimes and the use of financial analysis and other investigative techniques to proactively detect a variety of white-collar crimes to include money laundering schemes. 
• CJE 5XXX 3 hours Cyber Threat Analysis (pending)
  This course gives the student some of the online tools and methodology of investigations used by analysts and their application to real world examples in dealing with the cyber threat.
• CJL 5023 3 hours National Security Law and Intelligence (fall) 
  This course examines legal issues affecting National Security such as crimes against the State, criminal procedure in times of crisis, and United States Supreme Court rulings on the U.S. Constitutional protections of individual rights, regardless of status.
• DSC 5027 3 hours Homeland Security and Domestic Terrorism (spring)
  This course examines the history, logic, strategies and tactics of terrorism from a domestic law enforcement perspective, including an overview of weapons of mass destruction. Global, national and local counter-terrorism efforts will be explored, as well as the impact both terrorist acts and our responses have had on the way we view the world and each other.

CAPSTONE PROJECT

CJE 5715 3 hours Independent Research Capstone (offered every semester)
This research-based project integrates the coursework of the program with a practical application within either the field or an academic setting. The student will complete a major research project and professional portfolio during this course. This course is taken only once and usually in the student’s final semester.

Academic Standards and Continuation Policy

The College of Applied Studies reserves the right to discontinue a student's enrollment in the Law Enforcement Intelligence - MS program if satisfactory academic progress is not maintained. Graduate students must achieve a grade of "B-" or better in all required graduate courses and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 across all coursework applicable to their degree. Students who accumulate four or more unsatisfactory grades (C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, F, U, or IE) in program-specific courses taken at Florida State University or elsewhere, whether repeated or not, may not be permitted to continue in the program, be readmitted, or graduate with an MS in Law Enforcement Intelligence.

This worksheet is to be completed by the student’s graduate advisor and signed by the student's advisory committee prior to the end of the second semester of graduate work. After all signatures are obtained, a digital copy will be provided to the student to retain for reference. Please contact your graduate advisor for access to the Program of Study worksheet.