Professional Investigator Certificate Program

View the detailed Professional Investigator Certificate Program Overview and Outline

The Professional Investigator Certificate Program (PICP) consists of 12 separate courses related to subjects within the investigative discipline.  The PICP has been specifically designed to train “allied” investigators.  An allied investigator is one who works in related investigative functions such as insurance, financial fraud, or professional law investigation, or other related areas within a larger organization.  No previous experience in either the investigative industry or law enforcement is required. Our trainees come from a variety of different venues including the corporate sector, military, and law firms. 

We identified professionals with practical field experience in the investigative, law enforcement, and legal disciplines who shared our projections that the PI industry will grow significantly as more and more entities look to safeguard their positions by expanding or implementing the use of in-house investigators.  To that end, we recruited top practitioners working in the field to help us design a training program that incorporates the “core-knowledge” required of all professional investigators.  Mastery of these “core-knowledge” concepts is critical for those who aspire to work as investigators regardless of their projected career track.  Whether it be a more traditional route such as local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, or one of the newer corporate investigative venues such as Special Investigative Unit (SIU), health-care fraud, or regulatory due-diligence, graduates of Excelsior’s PICP will possess the training to be successful investigators, regardless of where the job pursuits take them.

Program Outline

• Fundamentals and Theory of Investigation
• Jurisdictional Overview & Law Enforcement Interface
• Investigative Report Writing
• The Art & Science of Surveillance
• Interview and Interrogation
• Info, Intel, Indices and Database Searches
• CSI and Evidence Collection
• Security of Information Systems and Digital Crime
• Technical Equipment Overview
• Legal Aspects of Professional Investigation
• The Professional Investigator as a Witness
• Developing and Marketing a PI Business

Registration

To register for this program, please contact the Center for Professional Development by calling toll-free: 888-647-2388 x118211 or emailing cpd@excelsior.edu.

Required Materials

All required texts for this program can be purchased through the Excelsior College Online Bookstore.  

Click on Order Your Books, then select Excelsior - Center for Professional Development.  The Selected Course ID List should display as "Professional Investigator Certificate Program" - select all 12 texts then follow the prompts to check out.    

NOTE: A background check is required. Please click here to view the Admission Policy.