ncisficfind (here) that mentioned information acquired by 
taylorgibbs from an actual NCIS agent. According to the information, to hold the positions they have at NCIS, Tony and Gibbs would need Master degrees. So, I decided to play with Tony's timeline and see if it would be possible for him to have time for a Masters degree program and what I found seems to make it fit perfectly...1971, July – Date of Birth
1989, May – Graduated High School (Age 17)
1993, May – Graduated Ohio State (BS in Phys Ed) (Age 21)
1993-1998 – At least attending the Police Academy and worked for Peoria PD
1998, Spring – Joined Philly PD (Age 26)
1999, Fall – Joined Baltimore PD (Age 28)
2001, Fall – Joined NCIS (Age 30)
The above outline is based on information gathered from various episodes and then just counting back time. Below is an outline of content I went from:
In 01x06 High Seas, we learn the locations of Tony's previous jobs with various police departments:
GIBBS: Yeah, DiNozzo was a Baltimore cop before coming to us.
BURLEY: Is that right? How long?
TONY: Almost two years.
BURLEY: And before that?
TONY: Philly P.D.
KATE: Eighteen months, right?
TONY: There were extenuating circumstances.
KATE: And what was before Philly, I forgot. Pittsburgh?
TONY: Peoria.
KATE: Right.
TONY: And it doesn’t matter how long. All that matters now is that I’m here at NCIS.
KATE: Oh, and you’ve been here for um… refresh my memory…
TONY: Two years.
We do not learn how long he actually worked for Peoria PD, just that he did.
Other lengths to note is police academy training and FLETC.
Assuming Tony went to the Illinois State Police Academy since he started out in Peoria and assuming that training length is comparable to today's length for training then Tony had to have the following within the 1993-1998 time frame:
26 Weeks (6.5 Months) is the current length of training at the Illinois Police Academy. There is also a 14 week (3.5 months) transition before the officer is allowed to patrol alone.
NCIS Special Agents are required the following at FLETC:
CITP (Criminal Investigators Training Program) – 56 Days
SABTP (Special Agent Basic Training Program) – Unknown Length
Now, according to posts on LJ (Like This One), senior agents are required to have a Masters Degree.
So, could Tony have gotten a Masters Degree during that five-year period?
It is possible. Here's a hypothetical situation:
1993, May – Graduated Ohio State w/ BS in Phys Ed
Let's say that he also got a minor in criminology at this time.
1993, Fall – Began graduate program at Indian State University (I picked this because they have a Master's program in criminology and criminal justice)
From what I've seen, it can take 2-3 years to complete a Masters degree (longer depending on the subject).
Let's say Tony does his in 2.5 years. This would put him graduating in the summer/fall of 1995.
Then, if he went straight to the police academy, that would be half a year and put him graduating from the academy in the early part of 1996.
Then, going straight to Peoria from there means:
1996, Spring – Joined Peoria PD
1998, Spring – Joined Philly PD
That would equal two (2) years at Peoria and put him right on his two year path…
Working with this hypothetical scenario, here's the full timeline:
1971, July – Date of Birth
1989, May – Graduated High School (Age 17)
1993, May – Graduated Ohio State (BS in Phys Ed) (Age 21)
1995, Summer/Fall – Graduated Somewhere with a Masters Degree (assume Criminology) (Age 24)
1996, Late Winter/Spring – Graduated Illinois State Police Academy (Age 24)
1996, Spring – Joined Peoria PD (Age 24)
1998, Spring – Joined Philly PD (Age 26)
1999, Fall – Joined Baltimore PD (Age 28)
2001, Fall – Joined NCIS (Age 30)
Read the comments below for other great ideas/input on the Masters degree and what could have been going on during that 1993-1998 time period. :-)
ETA: Some looking into the full length of the other course at FLETC that I couldn't find a time length for and part of the application process at / security checks, might bump my timeline just a bit... maybe around 6 months. If so that would make the 2.5 year period more like a 2-year period between college and the police academy.
Crossposted:
tonydinozzo; navy_ncis; ncis 
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