Degree Programs - Law Enforcement
Students at the Faculty are offered four-year full-time and three-year part-time BA programs, two-year part-time MA programs, three-term specialised further training courses, and also a four year-long doctoral program. All degree programs are in Hungarian.
BA in Criminal Investigation (4 year-long full-time program, 240 ECTS)
Specializations in:
- Criminal Intelligence
- Criminal Investigation
- Economic Crime Investigation
- Financial Crime Investigation
- Cybercrime Investigation
The goal of the Criminal Investigation BA Program is to train highly qualified detectives who are able to conduct and eventually to lead investigations and to solve criminal cases. The specializations prepare students for the different types of criminal investigations, but all focus on the special knowledge in criminalistics, criminology, criminal law, and criminal procedure law, which is needed to handle criminal cases and to obtain evidence against the offenders. The Criminal Intelligence specialization, which is not open to civilian applicants, introduces the covert intelligence methods allowed by law to use in Hungary in criminal cases. The Economic Crime Investigation specialization adapts the existing overt and covert investigative methods to the fight against economic crimes and offers special classes in the field of financial law, commercial law, and accounting. The Financial Crime Investigation specialization prepares students to work in the Criminal Division of the National Tax and Customs Office. This BA program is offered as a part-time program as well, a good choice for non-commissioned law enforcement officers to get a BA degree in three years while working, to be eligible to get appointment as a commissioned officer.
BA in Criminal Investigation Administration (3 year-long part-time program, 180 ECTS)
Specializations in:
- Criminal Intelligence
- Criminal Investigation
- Economic Crime Investigation
- Financial Crime Investigation
- Cybercrime Investigation
The goal and the content of the Criminal Investigation Administration BA Program is mostly identical with the Criminal Investigation BA Program mentioned before. The main difference between the two programs is, that this is a part-time program, and the students are non-commissioned officers who are working in the field.
BA in Law Enforcement Administration (3 year-long part-time program, 180 ECTS)
Specializations in:
- Private Security (for civilians)
- Corrections (for correctional officers only)
- Administrative Policing
- Border Policing
- Migration Administration (for civilians)
- Traffic Policing
- Public Order Policing
- Customs and Excise Administration
The Law Enforcement BA Program is the most diverse educational program at the Faculty of Law Enforcement. It includes specializations for classic police fields, but there are also two civilian specializations in the framework of the program. One of the civilian specializations is on private security, which prepares students to be CEOs or other leaders of private security companies offering protection for persons and property (even by armed security guards), or eventually private investigative services. The other civilian training is Migration Administration: students will have career opportunities in the National Directorate-General for Alien Policing, handling immigration cases. The Corrections specialization is not open for the general public, only correctional officers can be enrolled into the program where they can improve their knowledge on handling, guarding, educating, and rehabilitating inmates. Traffic Policing is one of the classic police fields, the specialization prepares police cadets to carry out tasks in traffic control. Public Order Policing specialisation graduates are trained to organise and carry out leadership tasks in activities related to police support units, maintaining public order, and managing special situations. Public Administration in Police Matters specialization is for police cadets, who will work as police officers handling cases and matters under the jurisdiction of the police except for criminal cases and law and order matters, e.g. gun control administration, control over private security companies, procedures conducted against perpetrators of administrative infractions. Hungary does not have a separate border guard agency, the Border Policing specialization is for police cadets who will later carry out tasks related to border enforcement (e.g. border surveillance, administration of aliens, conducting criminal investigations, handling asylum cases.) Students choosing the Customs and Excise Administration specialization will learn about the policy and law of tariffs, excise, and trade. The Private Security, the Corrections, and the Migration specialization are offered in the form of full-time studies as well.
BA in Law Enforcement (4 year-long full-time program, 240 ECTS)
Specializations in:
- Border Policing
- Migration administration
- Customs and Excise Administration
- Administrative Policing
- Public Order Policing
- Traffic Policing
The contents of the specializations in this BA program are for the most part identical with the specializations in the Law Enforcement Administration BA Program presented above. The main difference is that this is a full-time program that lasts for four years instead of three. Originally, these specializations were three-year-long as well, but in 2017, the program was modified in order to improve the curricula of the specializations and to be able to provide increased knowledge for students during their studies.
BA in Disaster Management (3 year-long program, 180 ECTS)
Specializations in:
- Disaster Management Operations
- Fire Protection and Rescue Control – only uniformed officers can apply
- Industrial Safety
The program aims to train Disaster Management specialists who, employed by full-time professional, local governmental or industrial fire brigades, are capable of carrying out tasks related to disaster management, fire protection, and industrial safety. They also need to possess the necessary knowledge of legislation, standards, principles, procedures, and tools applied in disaster, fire protection, and industrial safety management. Graduates have career opportunities in disaster management, within fire protection, fire brigades, in public administration, and many different sectors of the economy.
MA in Law Enforcement Leadership Management (2 year-long part-time program, 120 ECTS)
Specializations in:
- Law Enforcement Theory
- Commanding Police Support Units
- Crime Analysis and Assessment
- Combating Organized Crime
- Integrated Border Management
Applicants can be enrolled into this master’s program if they are employed by a law enforcement or a national security agency at the time of the application, they hold a university degree, and they have served as officers at least for two years at a law enforcement or national security agency after graduation from university. The goal of the master’s program is to improve the leadership and management skills of the students, to train law enforcement professionals who are suitable to fill mid-level or high-level leadership positions in the field of justice, local government, corrections, policing, disaster management, private security, national security, as well as in the financial sector and positions at the National Tax and Customs Office.
MA in Disaster Management (2 year-long program, 120 ECTS)
The Disaster Management MA course integrates the three professional fields of Disaster Management, such as civil protection, fire protection, and industrial safety, putting special emphasis on the development of the leadership skills of disaster management. The course aims to provide graduates with knowledge on disaster management law, defence and security policy, human resources policy and leadership, and management methodology as well. These main skills are all necessary to fulfill middle and senior management positions in disaster management, public administration and municipal bodies, and in the private sector safety organisations.
MA in Criminalistics (2 year-long part-time program, 120 ECTS)
Specializations for:
- civilians,
- law enforcement officers.
Applicants can be enrolled into this master’s program if they are employed by a law enforcement agency at the time of the application, they hold a university degree, and they have served as officers at least for three years at a law enforcement agency after graduating from university. The goal of the master’s program is to improve the investigation skills of the students by introducing the traditional tools and methods used in criminalistics, but also the newest achievements in forensic sciences, by presenting and explaining all effective investigative measures and tactics detectives have to use to solve criminal cases. Most of the subjects in this program are connected to criminalistics and criminal procedure law. Graduates from the specialization for law enforcement officers will be qualified to fill mid-level and high-level positions in law enforcement agencies.
MA in Security Management (2 year-long program, 120 ECTS)
Applicants can be enrolled into this master’s program if they have 60 ECTS deriving from prior studies, in the following fields: law enforcement, social studies, legal studies, general management studies, special professional management studies, financial-economic studies, public administration and about law studies, economic management studies, European Union studies. A pre-condition for admission to the master’s training is that the applicant hold at least 30 credits in the studies listed above. 15 credits from work experience may be acknowledged. Missing credits must be acquired concurrently with the master’s training. The goal of the program is to train security managers who are capable of designing and operating integrated security systems of civil law legal entities and public institutions, in cooperation with state and municipal law enforcement, security technology, and security managing specialists. Most of the subjects in this program are connected to close protection and property protection, leadership skills, information protection, and general corporate security studies. Graduates from the Security Management MA program will be qualified to fill mid-level and high-level positions in private security agencies.
Specialised Further Training Courses:
Law Enforcement Organiser
Law Enforcement Economic Expert
Forensic Expert
Theory and Practice of Combating Organized Crime
Law Enforcement Spokesperson