Bachelor of Policing (Investigations)

What is this course about?

CSU's Bachelor of Policing (Investigations) is designed for serving police officers who intend pursuing a career in investigation. Enrolment in the program is restricted to those officers in policing, or other relevant organisations, who are designated as 'detective' or who are working towards that qualification in their organisation.

About the course

The course subjects are policing focused and are delivered entirely by distance education, using up-to-the-minute electronic methods, and allowing participants to carry out their study both when, and where, is most suitable to them.

The Bachelor of Policing (Investigations) is specifically focused at the needs of detectives or investigators, and aims to enhance the capabilities of those professional investigators by building upon their existing knowledge of investigative practice and procedure.   

The content of the program is structured to be directly relevant to current high-level investigation activities across a wide range of jurisdictions. The course is designed to supplement and complement existing in-service investigation training programs, or their equivalent detective education programs.

With a mandatory core of four investigation related subjects, the program is designed to enhance knowledge and practice in the areas of evidence, accountability and ethics, investigation, intelligence, and investigation management.  Those core subjects are complemented by policing related elective subjects that expand on a wide range of current and emerging policing investigation practice areas, for example, terrorism, organised crime, and forensic science.

The knowledge gained, and the wide range of abilities that are encouraged in the program, provide the opportunity for participants to improve and critically reflect on their professional capacity, and encourages them to continue their learning throughout their various careers.

Applicants are able enter the course at any of the three sessions each year (February, July, and November), and are able to study across each of those sessions.

Professional recognition

The Bachelor of Policing (Investigations) is a nationally accredited and registered award in tertiary education.

Articulation and credit

All suitable applicants into the program are granted 80 points credit (equivalent of 10 subjects study) in recognition of the learning involved in their policing experience.

Graduates of approved Detective Education Programs, and/or holders of the Advanced Diploma in Public Safety (Police Investigations) are granted a further 24 points credit (equivalent of three subjects) on entering the course, in recognition of their successful completion of that program.

Graduates of CSU’s Associate Degree in Policing Practice, or its predecessor program the Diploma of Policing Practice, are eligible for a further 48 points credit (equivalent of six subjects) on entering the course. Other applicants may be granted credit up to that level, in recognition of their prior successfully completed university subjects, restricted to subjects that are relevant to the Bachelor of Policing (Investigations).

Experienced detectives or investigators that have not undertaken tertiary level study previously, and for which credit has not been given, may be eligible for an additional credit of 24 points (equivalent of three subjects).

The maximum credit available to any participant is 152 credit points.