The Certificate in Police Leadership is offered fully online, with five required courses and one elective. The practical and applied focus of the courses in this Certificate help you develop a range of current, theory-based strategies and skills to lead effectively and successfully in high-pressure, high-stakes, publicly visible and rapidly evolving situations while holding true to your organization’s foundational principles. The Certificate can be completed over several years, depending upon how many courses you take each term and year.
What Will You Learn?
The certificate provides a comprehensive grounding in key skills and strategies that allow you to navigate the complexity of decision-making and leadership in today’s dynamic policing contexts. The course assessments provide you with the opportunity to apply what you have learned to your own organizational and community context. In three of the required courses in the Certificate, you will learn theory and practice in leadership, strategy, and ethics. You will then delve into key issues in policing with policing in the modern community and evidence-based policing. Finally, you can fill in knowledge and skill gaps or pursue a personal interest with one of the elective choices.
Who Should Take This Certificate?
The Certificate in Police Leadership is intended for those who are currently working in policing or law enforcement. It is applicable to individuals pursuing or in a leadership role in a police organization.
You should take this certificate if:
- You are in a leadership or decision-making capacity in a police organization and role.
- You are new to a leadership position or moving into a leadership position in your police organization or role.
- You aspire to a leadership role in your police organization or a new organization.
How Will You Benefit?
The Certificate in Police Leadership can help you:
- Develop an authentic personal leadership style that works in high-stakes and high-pressure policing contexts.
- Apply a variety of strategies to your short-term and long-term decision-making.
- View your actions and decisions as a leader in policing contexts through an ethics lens.
- Fill personal knowledge and skill gaps in different aspects of police leadership.
- Pursue personal interest in different aspects of leadership.
- Apply foundational skills in key functional areas of leading police organizations.
- Discuss and analyze police leadership using a strong theoretical and practical foundation.
Certificate Requirements
The certificate consists of six (6) courses over 216 hours.
The five required courses (180 hours) are:
- OLCD-PALS0014 Mastering Strategy
- OLCD-PALS0013 Ethics in Action
- OLCD-PALS0012 Leadership Dynamics
- OLCD-POLC0023 Evidence-Based Policing
- OLCD-POLC0016 Policing the Modern Community: Dealing with Diversity and Difference
You can select one elective (36 hours) from the options below:
- OLCD-PALS0016 Finance Essentials for Public Sector Leaders
- OLCD-PALS0015 Strategic Communications
- OLCD-PALS0011 Global and Domestic Terrorism
- OLCD-POLC0020 Children Recruited and Used in Violence
- OLCD-POLC0025 Casino Gaming Investigations
The courses can be completed in any order.
Fees and Schedule
Tuition fees for the courses in this certificate vary according to the degree of interactivity and corresponding course hours. See each course for the applicable tuition fee. Courses start in September, January and April. Each course is offered at least once a year. All courses are 12 weeks long and require a minimum of 36 hours of learning engagement.
Note: Enrolling in OLCD-POLC0023 automatically enrols students into the Certificate in Police Leadership. There is no obligation to complete the certificate.
For assistance or more information, please contact openlearning@dal.ca.
Do you have prior learning or experience relevant to this certificate?
It may be possible to receive advanced standing in this certificate based on your prior learning from work or life experience. We provide two types of recognition of prior learning:
- Prior Certified Learning: Assessment of prior coursework or training through a provider, that is neither a university or college, for the purpose of advanced standing. Examples of certified learning may include military courses, accredited certificates, workplace training programs, etc.
- Prior Experiential Learning: Assessment of previous work and life learning that may be equivalent to learning outcomes of university courses / programs, for the purpose of advanced standing. Relevant prior learning may come from work or volunteer experience, participation on committees or boards, independent study, etc.
To discuss how to use your prior learning to apply for advanced standing, please contact rpl@dal.ca.