Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 42

Strategic Warning and Anticipating Surprise: Assessing the Education and Training of Intelligence Analysts
tations of the intelligence community. The Intelligence Studies program at Notre
Dame encourages students to become fluent in a foreign language and also
knowledgeable of other non-Western cultures to have a better understanding of
the world around them.
James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, VA, offers an undergraduate
Bachelor of Science in Intelligence Analysis (IA) degree program. It is administered
as part of the multidisciplinary Department of Integrated Science and
Technology (ISAT). The JMU Intelligence Analysis program is undergraduate-only,
with about 250 students in the major. There are two primary concentrations:
national security and competitive intelligence, with law enforcement possible if
the students minor in Criminal Justice. JMU’s technical specialties include cyber
intelligence—linked to computer science, and geospatial intelligence—linked to
geographic sciences. It may be best to think of JMU’s program more as an “analysis”
major which sets its graduates up well for a wide variety of different kinds of
jobs to include—but not limited to—intelligence analysis. JMU’s faculty also reflect
a diverse interdisciplinary knowledge base, with few having actually worked
in the intelligence career field.
Coastal Carolina University (CCU) in Conway, SC, teaches intelligence
analysis courses in support of CCU’s Bachelor of Arts in Intelligence and National
Security Studies (INTEL) degree program. The undergraduate intelligence degree
program is administered within the Department of Politics at CCU, and as such,
follows a traditional liberal arts curriculum. INTEL Majors at CCU complete the
University core curriculum, which includes: foreign language; sciences; arts; politics;
history; English; and math courses. Since students elect to be an INTEL major
upon enrollment, they take courses during their core curriculum required for the
major, to include: Anthropology; Communications; Geography; Philosophy; and
Statistics. Examples of foundational Intelligence courses required for the major
include: Introduction to Intelligence Studies; Intelligence Communications, Analysis,
and Operations; Intelligence Research and Writing; and either Homeland
Security or National Security. Students complete the program with a Capstone
Course, which involves a major research paper. Students in other disciplines can
also pursue a Minor in Intelligence and National Security Studies.
American Public University in Charles Town, WV offers an online Bachelor
of Arts degree in Intelligence Studies. The American Public University System is
also home to American Military University. The program’s purpose is to enable
students to research, analyze, and transform raw data into comprehensible intelligence.
The program offers concentrations in fields such as counterintelligence, cyber,
and Latin America area studies just to name a few. There are five main objectives
of the Intelligence Studies program at American Public University. The first
objective is for students to be able to outline the various elements of the changing
intelligence community and its functions. Second, students will also be capable of
41