Master's in Applied Intelligence
On-Campus Course Schedule for Spring 2025

Counterterrorism and Intel

This course examines the role of intelligence analysis and how it is used in current counterterrorism efforts. Students develop extensive knowledge of the roles of intelligence agencies in assessing terrorist threats and how government agencies, military personnel, and local police collaborate to address these threats. In addition, students examine and critique domestic counterterrorism efforts employed since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

Advanced Analytical Techniques

This course is designed to provide an opportunity for students to explore techniques used by the intelligence community and to apply those techniques to intelligence problems. Focusing on a variety of techniques and technological tools, this course will expose students to new and useful methods for conducting intelligence analysis. Students will also refine their skills in advanced analytic techniques by completing multiple analytical projects.

Applied Intel Communications

This course focuses on oral and written communication skills in applied intelligence. Students will learn how to communicate information effectively to leaders and decision makers in areas of law enforcement, homeland security, and competitive business intelligence. Students will learn about practical techniques and concepts for producing reports, briefs, and infographics relevant to each of these fields within applied intelligence.

Capstone

See section description for more details

Note: This is a core requirement of the degree. Students must earn a grade of "B" or better.

Capstone

See section description for more details

Note: This is a core requirement of the degree. Students must earn a grade of "B" or better.

Competitive Intel Org Design

Competitive intelligence analysis is the process that agencies and organizations use to assess their institutional strengths and weaknesses relative to peer organizations. Students in this course gain insight into how competitive intelligence informs and supports an organization’s ongoing strategy. Throughout the course, students examine case studies and the history of competitive analysis in both government and industry. By the end of this course, students will be able to gather organizational data, interpret relevant data, and evaluate and recommend organizational strategies based on their research. The course places a strong emphasis on the development and application of data analysis and presentation skills.

Cyber Surv. Op&Legal; Framework

Cyber Surveillance Operation & Legal Framework Cyber surveillance operations are indispensable to collect the information necessary to anticipate, discover and investigate malicious activities on the Internet. This course prepares students to execute surveillance and counter-surveillance operations and learn about the different phases of cyber surveillance operations including planning, targeting, collecting and terminating. Students will also study legal implications and apply diverse regulations to the conduct of cyber surveillance operations.

Cyber Threat Intelligence

This course focuses on profiling adversaries in the cyber space (hackers, organized crime, insiders, foreign states) and analyzing techniques, tools and processes they are using to perpetrate attacks against critical assets. Students will be able to develop threat indicators, determine potential implications for existing information systems and exploitation systems, and formulate advice on how to neutralize threats or thwart possible attacks.

Defense, Diplomacy & Intel

This course examines the roles, applications, and mutual dependence of three key tools of national power—diplomacy, defense, and intelligence. This course will explore and analyze salient national security challenges facing the United States, including the rise of China, Russia’s growing geopolitical ambitions, Iranian and North Korean nuclear ambitions, cyber as the “fifth domain” of international conflict, transnational terrorism, and the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This course will focus on the integration and interplay of diplomacy and defense as instruments of national power as well as the ways in which national and military intelligence enable both. Students will approach the issues discussed in this course as future practitioners in training, learning to support national objectives as analysts, policymakers, and senior officials. As future intelligence professionals, students will learn the roles of various intelligence disciplines, methods of analysis, and how their work supports and shapes diplomatic and defense decision-making.

Ethics: Applied Intelligence

The Ethics course is a core course in all of SCS’s MPS programs. In the first part of this course, students are introduced to appropriate ethical methodologies, principles, values, and frameworks. In the second part of the course, students study discipline- and field-specific codes of ethics within the profession. The course explores the ethical responsibilities all intelligence professionals have toward themselves, corporations, the government, and the public. Students contrast the roles and responsibilities of intelligence professionals among other law enforcement, homeland security, and competitive business professionals. In the third part of the course, students apply an appropriate decision-making framework and gain experience in decision-making surrounding ethical issues. Course discussions will center on issues involving privacy and confidential or sensitive information. During their final project, students codify an individual code of ethics in relation to professional codes of conduct.

Note: This is a core requirement of the degree. Students must earn a grade of "B" or better.

Homeland Sec. & Domestic Intel

This course is designed to provide foundational knowledge about policy, organizations, legal issues, crisis communications, fear management, and current management approaches related to homeland security.

Information Security

This course provides theoretical and applied foundations of information security and assurance. Students will study various types of cyber-crime and vulnerabilities of government computer systems and information networks and learn about strategies for the protection of information and computer systems and how to mitigate and respond to breaches of those systems.

Intro to Applied Intelligence

This course provides a thorough understanding of intelligence analysis as a field and the tools and techniques associated with intelligence as related to law enforcement, homeland security, cybersecurity, and competitive business intelligence. Students gain a solid grounding in fundamental intelligence concepts and learn how to develop an intelligence strategy, select frameworks and tools for gathering and processing relevant data, and present findings in an effective manner. Assignments include case study assessment and the creation of a strategic intelligence plan.

Intro to Financial Intel

Money plays a central role in all criminal and other illicit activity, and disrupting threat actors’ financial operations depends on financial intelligence. This course examines the types of information, data, and methods investigators and analysts use to support investigations and inform policy decisions and actions. The first section of the course explores the nodes, enablers, mechanisms, and indicators of illicit financial activity and financial crime as well as the vulnerabilities of threat actors’ financial operations to provide a baseline understanding of the challenges of following the money. The second section examines the development of international standards and U.S. legal authorities for countering money laundering and other criminal and illicit financial activity and the types of information used to implement and enforce laws and regulations. The course gives special emphasis to the role open-source information can play in financial intelligence. The third section of the course explores financial intelligence techniques and best practices and the importance of international, domestic, and public-private sector collaboration.

National Intel and Emerg. Tech

This course explores the integration of intelligence with emerging and disruptive technologies, emphasizing their transformative impact on intelligence collection, analysis, dissemination, and covert operations. Students will examine the evolving challenges faced by intelligence agencies as technological advancements reshape interactions with policymakers, societies, academia, and the private sector. The course also provides an in-depth analysis of ethical implications associated with employing these rising technologies for intelligence purposes.

Psych of Applied Intelligence

This course examines the mental machinery behind intelligence analysis and focuses the learner on understanding the fundamental thought processes behind how our mental machinery works in an analytical setting. With specific focus on critical thinking and understanding and moving beyond biases, the course provides students with an opportunity to examine cases in which objectivity and critical thinking have not been present and allows students to explore how those case studies would have been different with an understanding of the psychology behind intelligence analytics.

Understanding Int. Collection

Before conducting threat assessments or making strategic recommendations, intelligence analysts must first collect data relevant to their goal. Learning objectives for this course include demonstrating knowledge of proper techniques for various types of intelligence projects, such as open-source intelligence, human intelligence, and imagery intelligence. Students develop the fundamental skills and abilities involved in assessing the accuracy and relevance of collected intelligence. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify and use the different means of intelligence collection to resolve a variety of challenges.

Understanding Int. Collection

Before conducting threat assessments or making strategic recommendations, intelligence analysts must first collect data relevant to their goal. Learning objectives for this course include demonstrating knowledge of proper techniques for various types of intelligence projects, such as open-source intelligence, human intelligence, and imagery intelligence. Students develop the fundamental skills and abilities involved in assessing the accuracy and relevance of collected intelligence. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify and use the different means of intelligence collection to resolve a variety of challenges.

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