Citizens' Academy

Citizens' Academy

In addition to providing training for new agents and our law enforcement partners here and overseas, the FBI Academy also offers members of the community an up close and personal look at how we operate through our Citizens’ Academy program.The program brings the community’s civic, business, and religious leaders together to experience firsthand how the FBI investigates crimes and threats to our national security and learn about the various tools and techniques we employ to carry out our mission.

Citizens’ Academy class members are nominated by a Bureau employee or a previous Academy graduate. To be eligible, you must be at least 21 years old, with no felony convictions, and you must live and work in the Quantico area. Because of the classified investigative techniques discussed, nominees must also undergo a background check and get an interim security clearance.

Classes generally meet weekly in the evenings for three hours, for seven or eight weeks, and are taught by agents and experts from our Laboratory and Training divisions. Because the FBI Academy is where new agents are trained, the Citizens’ Academy curriculum mirrors new-agent training. That means class members get plenty of hands-on instruction—from shooting firearms and learning how to fingerprint and handcuff suspects…to collecting evidence from a crime scene and operating vehicles under emergency situations.

To learn more about the Citizens’ Academy program  visit our main Citizens’ Academy website or contact your local field office.