Graduate Certificate in Crime Mapping & Geospatial Intelligence Analytics
The purpose of this Graduate Certificate in Crime Mapping and Geospatial Intelligence
Analytics is to be able to train both traditional and non-traditional students, enhancing
their career prospects in the criminal justice, intelligence/security analytics fields,
academia, and the non-profit sector. The Graduate Certificate in Crime Mapping & Geospatial
Intelligence Analytics is a 15-credit hour standalone certificate with courses in
both the Department of Geography and Anthropology and the Department of Sociology.
LSU awards the certificate at a regular graduation ceremony with an official LSU diploma
and is recorded in the graduate transcript. Certificates can be earned by regularly
enrolled, degree-seeking students, as well as non-traditional, certificate-only students.
Graduate certificates provide a shortened, condensed, and focused course of study
that often draws expertise from multiple academic units. Current graduate students
expecting to complete the requirements for the certificate must file an application
for graduation with the Graduate School by the normal Application for Degree deadline
of each semester or summer term.
Students must complete one theory course (3hrs), one methods course (3hrs), one applied course (3hrs), and one ethics course (3hrs). The remaining 3 credit hours required for the certificate could be another methods or applied course (3hrs). The ethics course is cross-listed between Geography & Anthropology
and the Department of Sociology. Students should select SOCL 7901/GEOG 7911, when
registering in Sociology and GEOG 7911/SOCL 7901 when registering in Geography & Anthropology.
Each of the two cross-listed ethics courses addresses ethical concerns related to
the application of modern (geospatial) technology, geospatial privacy issues, etc.
These topics are covered in discussions of selected readings and presentations of
guest speakers. At least one-half of the minimum required coursework credit must be in courses at or above the 7000-level. Transfer work from other institutions
is not counted towards meeting the 7000-level requirement.
Course Breakdown
The course breakdown is as follows (3 credit hours for each):
Theory (3 hours)
- SOCL 4461: Criminology
- SOCL 7591 SEM: Criminology
- SOCL 7591 SEM: Ecology of Crime
Methods (3-6 hours)
- GEOG 4044: Computer Cartography
- GEOG 4047: Geographic Information Systems
- GEOG 4048: Methods of Spatial Analysis
- SOCL 4466/GEOG 3043: Crime Mapping
- GEOG 7973 SEM: Advanced Geographic Information Systems
- GEOG 7975 SEM: Advanced Remote Sensing
Application (3-6 hours)
- ANTH 4014: Forensic Anthropology
- GEOG 4043/SOCL 4467: Crime GIS
- GEOG 4046: Web GIS
- GEOG 4049: Geospatial Applications of Small Unoccupied Aircraft Systems
- SOCL 7213 SEM: Spatial Analysis
- GEOG 7911 SEM: GIS/Remote Sensing
- GEOG 7945 SEM: Socioeconomic Applications of GIS
Ethics (3 hours)
- SOCL 7901/GEOG 7911: Independent Reading (“Ethics of Crime Analytics”)/ Selected Topics in Geography (“Ethics of Geospatial Crime Analytics”)
Who should consider applying?
This graduate certificate program provides a range of knowledge, skills, and abilities that provide students and professionals a competitive edge in the growing field of spatial crime intelligence analytics. This certificate program offers the necessary skills for visualizing, analyzing, and managing spatial data for students and professionals, government or non-profit, interested in or involved with the criminal justice system. Individuals that would be interested in this graduate certificate program include:
- Graduate students already pursuing a graduate degree in another discipline, but are interested in developing specific spatial crime analytic and intelligence skills to complement their primary discipline.
- Professionals whose responsibilities include spatial analysis, but have not received formal training in this area.
- Professionals with expertise in geospatial technologies that would like to refine their skills towards criminal intelligence analytics.