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Special investigator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, special investigators don't need a college education. The most common degree for special investigators is bachelor's degree with 67% graduates, with only 13% special investigator graduates earning associate degree. Special investigators who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Maryland - College Park or John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. Some good skills to have in this position include law enforcement agencies, background checks and child abuse.

Popular special investigator certifications include Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Professional Certified Investigator (PCI), or Certified Criminal Justice Specialist (CCJS). To improve special investigator qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in special investigator education paths.

What education do you need to become a special investigator?

What degree do you need to be a special investigator?

The most common degree for special investigators is bachelor's degree, with 67% of special investigators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 13% and associate degree degree at 13%.
  • Bachelor's, 67%
  • Associate, 13%
  • Master's, 13%
  • Doctorate, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 5%

What should I major in to become a special investigator?

You should major in criminal justice to become a special investigator. 39% of special investigators major in criminal justice. Other common majors for a special investigator include business and psychology.

Best majors for special investigators

RankMajorPercentages
1Criminal Justice39.4%
2Business13.7%
3Psychology6.5%
4Political Science5.2%
5Law3.8%

20 best online courses for special investigators

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1. International Law In Action: Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes

coursera

‘Investigating and Prosecuting International Crimes’ is the second course in Leiden University’s new series on International Law in Action. The first course covered international courts and tribunals in The Hague in general. This second course provides an insider perspective into the work of international criminal courts and tribunals. You will learn about the investigation and prosecution of international crimes in The Hague. Atrocities produce unspeakable forms of violence. We will explore...

2. Investigating Epidemics like COVID-19: An Analyst's Guide

coursera

Do you want to learn how to detect, identify the cause, and decrease the morbidity and mortality from outbreaks or pandemics like COVID-19? Are you considering a career in public health practice, but aren’t sure how health departments collect and use outbreak data? Are you working in public health, but interested in moving into analytical and/or technical roles or curious how health departments investigate outbreaks? If so, this course is for you. After taking this course you be able to define...

3. Investigative Journalism

udemy
4.4
(379)

How to find hidden sources. How to look for documents and people...

4. Forensic accounting, fraud investigation and fraud analytics

udemy
4.3
(657)

The 14 hour course(50casestudies) helps to understand fraud examination, forensic audit,financial crime, data analytics...

5. Population Health: Governance

coursera

How can we organise care in such a way that we optimize experience, quality and costs? What type of governance is needed? And how should healthcare organisations collaborate? These are central questions in this course. In answering them, we depart from a recognition of the impact of three crucial global shifts in health care governance: 1) the change in focus from cure to population health, 2) the increased attention to social determinants of health, and 3) the stronger involvement of...

6. Threat Investigation

coursera

If you are an associate-level cybersecurity analyst who is working in security operation centers, this course will help you understand how threat-centric SOC must prepare for analyzing new and emerging threats by implementing robust security investigation procedures • By the end of the course, you will be able to: • Understand cyber-threat hunting concepts • Describe the five hunting maturity levels (HM0–HM4) • Describe the hunting cycle four-stage loop• Describe the use of the Common...

7. AML Case Investigation Skills

udemy
4.5
(1,289)

A guide to conducting AML case investigations, writing quality case narratives and the submission of STRs (STR filing)...

8. IFCI Expert Cybercrime Investigator's Course

udemy
4.6
(649)

Protect your network - Put cybercriminals in jail. Learn computer forensics, malware analysis and hacker investigations...

9. Epidemiology in Public Health Practice

coursera

This specialization is intended for people working or aspiring to work in the field of public health at the local, regional, and national level. Over five courses taught by faculty from the preeminent school of public health, you'll learn to use the core epidemiologic toolset to measure the health of populations, assess interventions, collect and analyze data, and investigate outbreaks and epidemics...

10. Global Health Challenges and Governance

coursera

This specialisation serves to introduce and integrate the key concepts of global health, globalisation and governance to understanding major challenges and threats to global health. It aims to provide learners with opportunities to understand the complex international setting of global health, the role of important stakeholders and the need for good governance in global health. Learners will be introduced to some of the most important challenges to global health and their implications in global...

11. Learn Federal Government Contracting From An Expert

udemy
4
(443)

A comprehensive guide to Register, Search Opportunities, GSA, Certifications, Accounting, Marketing& Bidding to the feds...

12. The A to Z of ESG - Environmental & Social Governance

udemy
4.2
(1,318)

A Perspective for Businesses on How to Manage ESG - Why it matters to Financial Performance and to the Economy...

13. Introduction to International Criminal Law

coursera

-- About the Course -- From the Nuremberg trial to the case against Saddam Hussein, from the prosecution of Al-Qaeda terrorists to the trial of Somali pirates – no area of law is as important to world peace and security as international criminal law. Taught by one of the world’s leading experts in the field, this course will educate students about the fundamentals of international criminal law and policy. We will explore the contours of international crimes such as genocide, war crimes,...

14. Forensic Psychology - ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE

udemy
4.6
(3,931)

Become a specialist in criminal investigations and forensic profiling, start your career and add certificate to resume!...

15. Digital Forensics and Cyber-Crime Investigation

udemy
4.2
(255)

Computer Forensics...

16. Mental Health Ambassador Certificate

udemy
4.6
(1,115)

Be a leader in improving society's mental health and learn to provide mental health first aid...

17. Criminal Law in 120 Minutes: A Fast Track Course

udemy
4.6
(414)

A 2 hour fast track summary of Criminal Law, targeting all common law LL.B examinations!...

18. Educational Psychology & Special Education (Certificate)

udemy
4.4
(876)

Informational content for educators and parents to learn about teaching and understanding exceptional children...

19. Financial Accounting - Subsidiary Ledgers & Special Journals

udemy
4.5
(580)

Mastering Special Journals and Subsidiary Ledgers: A Comprehensive Guide to Streamlined Accounting Practices...

20. Data Governance - The Complete Course for Beginners

udemy
4.5
(2,304)

Make yourself standout in meetings about Data Governance. Learn everything that the experts know about Data Governance...

Average special investigator salary by education level

Special investigators with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $59,279 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, special investigators earn a median annual income of $56,477 compared to $46,922 for special investigators with an Associate degree.
Special investigator education levelSpecial investigator salary
Master's Degree$59,279
High School Diploma or Less$43,261
Bachelor's Degree$56,477
Some College/ Associate Degree$46,922

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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