Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 44

Strategic Warning and Anticipating Surprise: Assessing the Education and Training of Intelligence Analysts
Tulane University in New Orleans, LA offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Homeland Security. This program is part of the professional advancement Emergency
and Security Studies Department. Tulane partners with the Naval Postgraduate
School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security providing recent
graduates an opportunity to further their professional education. Tulane is also
a member of the University and Agency Partner Initiative that establishes an
environment for sharing curriculum related to the homeland security field. The
Homeland Security program at Tulane calls attention to leadership and handson
training. Students are also taught critical thinking and decision-making skills.
The program includes courses related to security and border protections as well as
counter terrorism. Students are also taught skills used in emergency management.
The program caters to students furthering their education who are already in the
profession and those just starting their education in Homeland Security Studies.
Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in National
Security and Foreign Affairs. This program is taught through the College of Liberal
Arts and Human Sciences. Virginia Tech is partnered with the Department
of State’s Diplomacy Lab Program in which students conduct research through
the Department of State. Students in the National Security and Foreign Affairs
program at Virginia Tech are encouraged to study foreign languages. The program
also teaches students to analyze the role of intelligence analysis in shaping
US strategy for diplomacy and foreign policy, as well as adding a new focus on
cyber security. Students will relate their teachings to actual scenarios, providing
them with a hands-on approach to analyzing threats and challenges.
In offering courses on intelligence analysis, each school has certain requirements
for students (e.g., prerequisite coursework and majors only.), which limits
the availability of these courses to students outside of the major field of study. For
example, at UTEP, only Intelligence Studies majors can take intelligence analysis
courses. For Introduction to Intelligence Analysis and Intelligence Collection and
Analysis, UTEP students need to take a seminar, Introduction to Intelligence and
National Security course. This course provides a very broad overview of the field,
to include the basic context of the Intelligence Community, the intelligence cycle,
etc. Graduate-level courses are reading intensive, so students are expected to be
familiar with most of the significant literature in the field of intelligence studies.
Teaching Intelligence Analysis
Although coursework in intelligence analysis comprises most intelligence
studies programs—whether these are standalone degree programs, minors,
or areas of concentration—there is a wide berth of pedagogies,
methodologies, and course content involved. The following discussion includes
insights offered by course instructors at some of the colleges listed above, as well as
a comparison of course content from actual syllabi available on intelligence anal-
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