Best Universities for Masters certificate program in Intelligence

Review the Academic Calendar for all important Spring 2023 dates.

This 15-credit Post-Baccalaureate certificate is composed of 5 Customizable Core Courses.

The Art Practice of Intelligence 473.600.

This course introduces students to the field of intelligence, particularly as practiced in the United States. After a brief of the historical foundations of modern intelligence, it discusses how intelligence is conducted including collection, analysis, counterintelligence, covert action, and oversight. It also discusses intelligence ethics, as well as the disruptive influences of September 11, new technologies, and emerging social trends.

Core Course Customizable Law and Ethics.

Intelligence Community and national security system, both foreign and domestic. While discussion of the history of intelligence activities and laws dating from the origins of our colonial days will necessarily shape the framework of the class, the focus shall particularly be on current debates and challenges faced by the United States in the 21st Century.

This course will address the ethical dilemmas and issues that challenge intelligence and government decision makers in an increasingly complex operational and technological environment. We will examine basic moral, ethical and privacy considerations at several key points in intelligence operations from collection to covert action. The course will analyze the evolving nature of privacy concerns worldwide, with an emphasis on the balance between individual rights and national security. Students will examine the policy implications inherent in seeking to address these tensions. The readings will include diverse and opposing viewpoints as well as practicums and simulations to allow debate of the key positions. Prior enrollment in 406.665 The Art and Practice of Intelligence or 470.711 Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy is strongly encouraged.

This course addresses the legal, policy and cultural issues that challenge the government and its citizens in the increasingly complex technical environment of privacy. We will examine the challenges in balancing the need for information and data against the evolving landscape of individual privacy rights. The course will examine privacy at all levels: by analyzing the shifting views of individual privacy by citizens as well as the technological challenges in both protecting and analyzing personal information for government use. Using case studies and hypotheticals, we will discuss the issue of transparency in the government use and retention of data. We will trace the development of legal and policy measures relevant to privacy concerns and envision future solutions needed in an era of great technological innovation including the use of big data. Prerequisite: none.

This course exams the interpretation of constitutional powers and rights under conditions of heightened national security. We will consider the Supreme Court role in constitutional interpretation, and the balance of power among the three branches. The course will also examine the tension between security and liberty during a time of war. Topics covered during this semester will include military tribunals, unitary theory of the executive, congressional oversight, war-making power, intelligence authorities, and treatment of detainees.

Core Course Customizable Theory and Context.

Social Science in National Security and Intelligence 470.792.

This course examines the role of social science in national security decision making and intelligence. The course lectures, readings and classroom discussion are intended to help students understand the ambivalent relationship between social scientists on the one hand and intelligence personnel and national security policy makers on the other. It also considers the opportunities and limitations in the ways social science could contribute to policy making and how social science has contributed to key national issues. The course will help the student become a savvy consumer of social science.

This course examines the role that strategic culture plays in intelligence analysis. Students leverage strategic culture analysis to better understand the policies and responses of foreign actors to U.S. policies, increase accuracy in intelligence analysis, and enhance predictive and forecasting capabilities. The course will also highlight the role that U.S. strategic culture plays in responding to foreign actors. motives, intent, and capabilities, as well as their ability to actualize political ideologies.

Introduction to Intelligence in the Five Eyes Community 473.609.

This course provides students with an of intelligence structures within the Five Eyes community (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand). It covers both foreign and domestic agencies, be they civilian, military or police HUMINT or SIGINT enabled security-intelligence or foreign-intelligence oriented and tactically or strategically-focused. The course will compare how the various Five Eyes security or intelligence services set priorities and objectives, define national interests (versus shared requirements), develop tactical intelligence, create actionable insights, and how they craft timely and relevant assessments for both domestic and foreign partners. Students are expected to be able to draw conclusions on the value of different types of intelligence, from tactical operations intended to mitigate threat to life cases, to strategic insights relating to proliferation or espionage cases. Upon completing the course, students will understand the dynamics that exist amongst operators and analysts, as well as partners within and outside of the alliance, between domestic intelligence clients and foreign agencies, in regards to sensitive national interests and those of the international partnership.

This class will consider theoretical ways of understanding and assessing national intelligence systems. intelligence agencies and systems. The class will include an examination of the ways of intelligence of the United States, the United Kingdom, the USSR Russia, Germany, China, and Iraq, among others.

Counterintelligence and National Security: 21st Century Challenges 470.607Future course number: 473.640.

Counterintelligence information regarding and operations against foreign intelligence services has always been central to the intelligence process. In many places and at various times, it has been clearly the most significant part of that process. For reasons that will be discussed during the semester, this has not been true in American intelligence for the last half century or so. This class will examine the doctrine and processes of counterintelligence through the 20th century, with the second half of the class pivoting to address the challenges posed by a volatile information and communications environment, a geopolitical environment in which non-states operate as both potential threats and potential partners, and in which insider threats may be as great as those emanating from foreign actors. Finally, the course will address the challenges of operating effective counterintelligence operations in a manner that respects democratic processes and values.

Political risk affects almost every major decision that governments, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and even individuals make, sometimes turning what appears to be a good decision into a bad one, with severe implications. However, few people really understand political risk or how it can be evaluated and mitigated. The goals of this course are to ensure that all students can assess the political risk of a particular country or situation assess the political risk of a particular business investment take a much broader perspective on the possible sources of political risk understand how the way people think and groups function preclude effective decision making (thus making bad decisions common) evaluate risks using a variety of different risk assessment tools and leverage a variety of mechanisms to improve risk management.

This course will provide an of current issues in the cyber realm, focusing on policy and conflict from a U.S. and international perspective. We will begin with an understanding of the power inherent in cyberspace and consider the policy issues facing the civilian, military, intelligence and private business sectors in dealing with offensive and defensive cyber activity. Through the use of case studies, we will examine previous and ongoing cyber conflicts to understand their impacts on international relations. We will analyze the roles of several different types of cyber actors including state actors, non-state actors such as criminal and terror groups and private sector business responses. This course will also examine the issue of cyber deterrence, and the unique aspects of offensive and defensive cyber activities by all cyber actors. A technical background is not required and basic aspects of cyber operations will be discussed and demonstrated as part of the introductory class sessions.

This course provides an of the four disciplines that have merged to create the new discipline of geospatial intelligence and an introduction to the content of the program. The history of imagery analysis and digital cartography, the art of turning observation into insight and communicating those insights to non-experts, the science behind the sensors and platforms, and the mathematics behind imagery collection sampling strategies. The course studies the issues, technologies, and changes over the past 60 years that have developed into geospatial intelligence, and it will introduce the students to the opportunities and challenges of geospatial intelligence as it has shaped intelligence collection, analysis, reporting, and policy decisions. The outcomes of success in this profession have created new industries, and the course will also review the effects of commercial imagery, smallsats, non-governmental collection, and remotely piloted sensors.

Social media is now present globally in everyday life, and in conflicts. With its reach, social media has also become an increasingly meaningful information source for scholars, advocacy groups, intelligence agencies, and others who are interested in shaping public discourse. This course introduces students to social media as part of present day open source information gathering, and plan collection and conduct analysis of information from social media. The course covers the operations security considerations, monitoring real time events, verification of online material, basics of social network analysis, and work with imagery sourced from social media, including geolocation of imagery. Automation and the limits of it in different phases of the process, and future developments in social media exploitation will also be discussed. During the course, students will conduct a hands-on investigation using social media data.

Intelligence analysis is fundamentally understanding and communicating to decision makers what is known, not known, and surmised, as it can best be determined. Students will read seminal texts on intelligence analysis, discuss the complex cognitive, psychological, organizational, ethical, and legal issues surrounding intelligence analysis now and in the past, and apply analytic methodologies to real-world problems.

A key function of national security analysis is to dissect and explain foreign militaries to lay bare for senior authorities the perceptions, intentions, and capabilities of potential opponents and allies. This course prepares participants to perform such assessments. It explores what senior decision makers need to know, potential sources of information and the most important questions to ask of analysts, and the analytic tools to parse and understand a complex and partially hidden world. It uses a variety of materials including in-depth case studies, exercises, and discussions to develop the necessary knowledge and skills. The course addresses topics such as the operational level of war, manpower, training, morale, and readiness, technology, weapons assimilation, logistics, the prediction of outcomes. It also discusses how these considerations apply to cyber war.

This course covers the application of technologies to intelligence collection. It includes remote sensing technology as applied in geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), measurements and signatures intelligence (MASINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT). It examines the tradeoffs associated with the use of different imaging, radar, and passive radiofrequency sensors and collection platforms. It also addresses a number of specialized but increasingly important collection methods such as cyber intelligence, materials and materiel collection, and biometrics. The methods for processing, exploiting and analyzing raw intelligence are discussed. The final segment of the course investigates the management issues associated with technical intelligence collection.

Covert action (CA) remains a highly controversial and generally misunderstood element within the Intelligence Community. when addressing foreign policy issues that impact on U.S. national security interests. Through selected case studies, we will review the mechanisms by which CA is initiated, managed and executed, determining what CA can and equally important, cannot accomplish. We will also see how CA, as conducted by the CIA, is often used in a dual track program alongside State Department initiatives in an effort to resolve particularly difficult foreign policy dilemmas. CA is not unique to the U.S., and is often employed by other countries as well. variants of CA continue to form an integral, albeit highly secretive, element of statecraft.

Core Course Customizable Applications of Intelligence.

International Security and Intelligence 470.707Future course number: 473.624.

This course offers a unique opportunity to work with leading British and American practitioners and academics from the security and intelligence worlds. It considers the claims of state secrecy, the threat of nuclear proliferation, of cyberattack, terrorism, the problems generated by the demand for regional security, and the security challenges of revolutions and governing diversity. Intelligence collection, analysis of the product, and its dissemination to customers remain at the core of the intelligence cycle. Counterintelligence and covert action play opaque but still vital roles at the heart of the nation state. Understanding these perspectives, what intelligence can achieve, but also its limitations, are major themes. This four-week course is offered at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

Defense Intelligence in War and Peace 470.722Future course number: 473.662.

Will examine the use and misuse of intelligence in the warning of, preparation for, and conduct of war. It will highlight its endemic nature, and its applicability to prevailing in as well as preventing armed conflict. The evolution of intelligence capabilities will be reviewed, and its current status and relevance examined.

The course examines how terrorist groups finance their operations. It also explores current policy approaches to curb to terrorists through the application of U.S. and international sanctions, in particular how multilateral fora, such as the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force, disrupt and deter terrorist financing. financial networks and activities. Through this course, students will develop proficiency in a series of analytic methods used to study terrorist financing and counter financing. Students will use structured analytic tools such as weighted ranking methods, scenario trees, causal flow diagramming, hypothesis testing, and utility analysis, as well as game theory and logic to form analytic judgments. Prior coursework or professional experience in intelligence, (counter) terrorism, or finance recommended.

Counterterrorism is essentially an intelligence war. By definition, both sides use small forces and clandestine means, hiding their presence and activities not only from each other, but often from friends and allies as well. This course will explore the many roles of intelligence in every facet of counterterrorism, and ask students to evaluate their practical, legal, and moral effects and implications. between terrorists and counterterrorists. There are no pre-requisites for this course.

Intelligence to Secure the land and town 473.668.

This course provides students with an intellectual foundation for understanding the concepts underpinning land security intelligence, as well as an of the US national land security framework including organization and policies. It examines the underlying intellectual constructs used to frame the comprehension of security issues, intelligence based on those issues and the development of policies and strategies that lead to implementing programs that protect the United States infrastructure and its people from attack. Over the term, students will be challenged to examine the various paradigms that shape land security intelligence and critically apply them to contemporary land security challenges and examine how well or poorly these paradigms are reflected in current responses, organizations and policies.

Students should be aware of state-specific information for online programs.

Broaden your career opportunities by taking graduate-level classes in computational intelligence through this certificate program. This program offers working professionals an opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills.

Learn the ways in which computers may learn and adapt based on data so as to solve complex problems in various areas of computer science with the Certificate in Computational Intelligence. Develop skills in the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence.

The certificate program offers courses in artificial intelligence, computer vision, data mining, machine learning, natural language processing, and all of which are building blocks to artificial intelligence.

Or higher was earned in that particular course.

Advanced knowledge in the concepts of artificial intelligence may help land a career in this growing and evolving field.

The information provided is sourced from a third party, Lightcast, and is provided here for informational and educational purposes only. Illinois Tech makes no representation, warranty or guarantee, express or implied, that the information presented herein is reflective of the outcomes you can expect if you enroll in or graduate from an Illinois Tech program. You are encouraged to conduct your own thorough research into job opportunities and outcomes in your field of study.

Admission to a graduate certificate program is limited to students who qualify as non-degree graduate students who hold a bachelor degree with a GPA of 2.5 4.0 or higher.

View all of Illinois Tech programs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, computation, and data science.

A two hour CE course that the four traits of emotional intelligence.

With independent study courses you can enroll anytime and work at your own pace.

Course cost is $25, which includes tuition and online learning materials.

Complete a 10 point quiz at the end of the course.

Print your certificate of completion for your records.

You will learn emotional intelligence, be able to list and discuss the four traits of emotional intelligence and have an increased appreciation of mindfulness.

Students will have access to this online course for up to six (6) months.

Upon completion of the course you will be able to print a certificate of completion for two hours of CE.

You have 6 monthsfrom your enrollment date to access this course. There are no refunds and no extensions offered.

Completed online application:Must be completed a fewweeks before the start of the semester in which you intend to enroll. Our Spring 2023 cohort will beginon January 17, 2023.

A personal statement: Please submit a 450-650 word double-spaced personal essay describing your interest in pursuing this graduate certificate in cyber intelligence.

Two professional letters of reference:Each letter should provide information your character, ethical conduct, and ability to perform graduate-level work. Acceptable substitutes include a work supervisor or someone who can speak to your potential for graduate-level work.

Land intelligence jobs for government agencies like the CIA and FBI or with global corporations by earning the applied intelligence online graduate certificate at Mercyhurst University.

The 12 graduate credits awarded in this applied intelligence online graduate certificate program may be used to partially satisfy degree requirements for the Master of Science in Applied Intelligence degree offered by the Mercyhurst Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences.

Mercyhurst is the originator and leader of intelligence education at the university level. Our online certificate program in applied intelligence can help you qualify for intelligence jobs with an unparalleled, sophisticated skillset in research, writing, and communication. You can also choose one elective to enhance the certificate in your specific field, such as law enforcement, counter terrorism, business analysis, social media, or competitive intelligence.

Gain a competitive edge with the applied intelligence graduate certificate.

Put your applied intelligence graduate certificate to work.

Use your graduate certificate in applied intelligence from Mercyhurst across a variety of businesses, industries, and organizations.

Our graduates with an applied intelligence graduate certificate have worked in places ranging from the CIA, NSA, and FBI, to the United States military and global corporations.

Perfect for those looking to earn a quick credential or ease into graduate school, the four-course, 12-credit graduate certificate in Applied Intelligence is available 100 percent online. The graduate certificate can be completed in as little as nine months.

Our than 1,000 alumni of the intelligence programs at Mercyhurst work in a wide range of fields and for a wide range of organizations.

Graduates of the program have accepted employment in variety of positions, including:.

Prospective applicants for the graduate certificate in Applied Intelligence must fulfill the following admissions requirements.

Our applied intelligence graduate certificate can help you learn the skills you want and need to further your career, or help you start a new one. It can also satisfy core requirements toward our MS in Applied Intelligence.

Business AnalyticsCybersecurityGeopolitics and StrategyIntelligence and Security StrategyRegions of Strategic Intelligence.

Courses included in the certificate introduce students to national security and transnational threats, comparative intelligence cultures, and aspects of diplomacy, military intervention, and economic and political reconstruction in peaceful and conflict-ridden states.

This course examines the application of national security into the global arena and how complicated transnational threats represent unique dangers to American interests.

Examines in comparative perspective the intelligence communities of various important states around the globe, including both allies and adversaries of the U.S.

This course examines how and what happens when states fail, the challenges and debates surrounding rebuilding conflict-ridden states, the methods available to achieve such objectives, and the criticisms and opponents of peacekeeping. The course exposes students to aspects of military intervention, economic and political reconstruction, and diplomatic engagement in terms of establishing peaceful and stable societies.

Boost your knowledge of intelligence development, collection, analysis, and structure with a graduate certificate in intelligence studies from American Public University (APU).

Supported by a network of intelligence industry experts from government, military, and private sectors, APU has designed a curriculum for this intelligence certificate online program that explores various intelligence theories and practices, data intelligence development, security threats, countermeasures, and counterintelligence.

As a student in this graduate program, you will evaluate the capabilities and limitations of intelligence collection and psychological concepts in the intelligence analysis field. You will also become proficient in using select research methods and tools.

NOTE: Completion of this program does not award any professional certifications, but may be helpful in preparing to earn such certifications.

Assess the evolution, structures, functions, capabilities, and activities of the national intelligence community.

Evaluate the fundamental capabilities and limitations of intelligence collection.

Analyze the foundation and application of psychological concepts to the study of intelligence analyses.

Program of interest (You can modify it later).

RECOMMENDED AS THE FIRST COURSE IN THE PROGRAM. This course examines the current structure, function, capabilities, and contributions of individual U.S. national intelligence community members. Students appraise the intelligence cycle by an of the intelligence planning, collection, exploitation, analysis, production, and dissemination phases. The course also evaluates the intelligence oversight system, the restrictions on national intelligence community activities prescribed by federal law, executive and agency directives.

This course is a study of intelligence collection and information gathering. It focuses on a variety of aspects related to how both the United States and foreign nations gather and process intelligence. The student will develop a comprehensive understanding of the role collection plays in the intelligence community, how various policies affect collection, and how different intelligence agencies monitor and collect intelligence.

This course focuses on intelligence analysis including the analysis of international threats to security. The course will provide students with a foundation of human cognition in an effort to help understand why we think the way we do, how we come to formulate biases, and the many analytical, perceptional, and cognitive errors we frequently make in conducting analyses. Students will be provided with a foundation from which to understand and conduct critical analysis. This course affords an opportunity to look at a variety of case studies related to both US and foreign threat analysis and action, including the evolution of responses to threats, perspectives on threat action, principles of threat analysis and response, and assessments of successes and failures of such actions. Students will develop a comprehensive knowledge of intelligence analysis, how intelligence agencies assess and counter international threats in order to guard global security interests, and how various threats affect national security policy and decision-making. (Prerequisite: SSGS500).

This course examines issues of ethics, morality, and legal principles in the context of Intelligence through an in-depth critical analysis of the primary ethical philosophies and legal doctrines as they apply to contemporary U.S. Intelligence. Students will research the moral, psychological, and legal issues pertaining to a variety of topics. The course concludes with an evaluation of an issue within the intelligence community related ethical-moral and legal choices.

This course provides basic research methods skills for addressing problems and issues specific to the programs within the School of Security and Global Studies (SSGS). The course covers four basic approaches to social research including experimentation, survey research, field research, and the use of available data. Students will gain foundational knowledge in research planning, design, methodology, data collection, and analysis. This course prepares students for advanced research methods. Students in SSGS graduate studies are expected to be completely familiar with Turabian and APA writing styles. Purchase of the most recent writing guide in use in your program is highly recommended.

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of intelligence operations. The course will focus on the intelligence resources necessary to carry out the full range of intelligence operations using the tools, techniques, and resources available to intelligence agencies.

The course focuses on both U.S. and foreign aspects of counterintelligence, including the history and evolution of counterintelligence, the differences between passive and active CI measures, principles and processes of counterintelligence and its relationship to covert action, the ethics of counterintelligence, and the evaluation of CI successes and an estimate of the damage caused by failures. The student will develop a comprehensive knowledge of the use and practices of counterintelligence, especially in protecting land security and national security interests against foreign adversaries. Additionally, the collection process and the changes for the future in the infusion of CI technology will be discussed.

This course constitutes an intensive introduction to OSINT and its related disciplines and will focus on the following areas: definition and nature of OSINT, OSINT policy and management, history and development of OSINT, current OSINT trends, OSINT-focused organizations, challenges, reform, and future prospects. The course constitutes an intensive introduction to OSINT and its related disciplines. (Prerequisite: SSGS500).

This course will focus on advanced geospatial analytic techniques and how these techniques aid in decision making in various operational environments. This course will include study of geospatial collections and teach the application of theory and practical utilization of analytical tools, techniques and procedures. Students will be exposed to and are expected to develop an understanding of emerging technology, trends and intelligence applications within the discipline of geospatial intelligence. The course will focus on geospatial concepts, techniques, and maximize focus in geospatial in support of emergencies, national and human disasters, and national security environments. (Prerequisite: SSGS500).

This course provides an of the analysis of political leaders. It explores various political psychological approaches to studying leaders to include biographies, psychoanalysis, traits, characteristics and motivations. Examples of specific political leaders are discussed throughout the course to offer the student a broad knowledge of world leaders. The course also provides students with a solid foundation from which to conduct their independent analysis of political leaders.

This course will provide an of transnational crime and narcotics and its effects on national security, political, social, and economic development of countries around the world. The focus of this class will be the proliferation and expanding influence of organized crime groups, the increasing links among crime groups, corruption, and links to terrorism from transnational crime and narcotics. This class will examine the diverse dimensions of transnational crime and narcotics in the context of increasing globalization and the exponential impact of technology advances.

This course is a study of Cyber Intelligence from its nascent stages to its current operational and policy impact. Students will explore the full range of cyber capabilities from exploitation to defense including several case studies that demonstrate the challenges and benefits of cyber intelligence operations. The course will demonstrate how cyber has changed the natures of intelligence collection, operations and analysis across the US Intelligence and Defense communities. (Prerequisite: SSGS500).

Note: Not all courses are taught each month.

Please read all graduate admission requirements before applying to this program and be prepared to submit the required documentation.