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.

Analytic Security Tech: Europe

This course provides a comprehensive exploration of European approaches to cybersecurity, intelligence, and emerging technologies, with a specific focus on Spain’s security and technology ecosystem. Designed for graduate students in intelligence, cybersecurity, IT management, and artificial intelligence management, the course integrates academic inquiry with experiential learning to offer a comparative analysis of security frameworks, governance models, and technological advancements shaping the European security landscape. Students will examine European cybersecurity strategies and intelligence methodologies, assessing how regulatory frameworks influence security policies. Through case studies, they will explore the application of advanced analytics in security operations and decision-making, evaluating methodologies in European contexts. The course also examines emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence) in security and intelligence applications. By engaging with security and technology experts, visiting key institutions, and participating in discussions with policymakers and industry leaders, students will gain firsthand insights into Spain’s security architecture and technological innovation. Through this immersive experience, students will develop cross-cultural perspectives on intelligence, security, and technology governance, comparing European and North American approaches. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with analytical frameworks to evaluate security policies, technological trends, and intelligence practices within a globalized security environment. This study tour is organized in collaboration with the Rey Juan Carlos University and their Interuniversity Master’s degree in Intelligence and Analysis. All lectures and presentations by guest speakers will take place on the University Campus (Vicálvaro) in Madrid.

Note: This course requires travel and mandatory study tour travel fees which is $2254.

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: The Capstone course provides an opportunity for students to apply what they have learned in the program by producing a substantive piece of work under the tutelage of an industry advisor and program faculty. Projects are aligned with students’ chosen areas of interest in either public sector or private sector intelligence. Students have the opportunity to present their work to relevant professionals for review and feedback. Each student receives assistance in devising a strategy to support the topic of interest, consistent with the course goals, by semester’s end. Classroom assignments and lectures also focus on preparing students for successful careers in intelligence analysis.

Capstone

See section description for more details

Note: Each student receives assistance in devising a strategy to support the topic of interest, consistent with the course goals, by semester’s end. Classroom assignments and lectures also focus on preparing students for successful careers in intelligence analysis.

Counterintelligence

Counterintelligence refers to the activities aiming at identifying and counteracting threats to the security of an organization or a state actor. In this course, students will learn about strategic and operational counterintelligence activities as well as defensive and offensive countermeasures. The course content covers foreign collection methods, influence operations, sabotage, economic espionage, and cyber intrusions. Students will learn from case studies and discuss the future of counterintelligence in a global and digital environment.

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.

Electronic Intel Analysis

Today, effective intelligence analysts must be able to gather data from various electronic sources and draw insights from this information. This course focuses on equipping students with the skills to understand what data might need to be collected and how to analyze data from a variety of electronic sources—including metadata from telephones and signals data from radio and satellite sources. Students also review the controversial nature of electronic intelligence collection in light of recent public disclosures and controversies. Finally, students gain insights into the history of electronic intelligence analysis and learn how intelligence professionals employ these electronic intelligence techniques today.

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.

Global Comp. Intelligence

This course examines Competitive Intelligence (CI) as the collection and analysis of information to anticipate competitive activity, see past market disruptions, and dispassionately interpret events in a global perspective. In addition students will develop techniques to develop analysis, which provides insight into marketplace dynamics and challenges in a structured, disciplined, and ethical manner using published and non-published sources.

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.

Info Management for Comp Intel

This course examines how organizations can use information to create competitive advantage. Students will learn how organizations can become data driven by having the proper elements in place, such as strategy, data governance, and leadership. They will also gain knowledge on security and privacy requirements for information and how to monetize information for competitive advantage. Finally, the course covers best practices for sharing information within organizations and among organizations, and how to convert tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge.

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.

Intel Ana of Org Crime

This course is designed to give students an understanding of the unique issues surrounding investigations into organized crime by local and international law enforcement agencies. With a special emphasis on network analysis and an introduction to RICO statutes and insights into money laundering, techniques, tactics and procedures for detecting coercion, tampering, and other common aspects or organized crime, students will see how investigating and processing intelligence for organized crime both overlaps and is different from national security analytical work.

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 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.

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.

Uncv. Threats/Counterterrorism

This course will build students’ analytical skills to examine policy issues in strategic counterterrorism planning, particularly in the use of applied technologies within the context of civil jurisdiction and rule of law. Students will discuss policy issues that address the balance and tension between security and civil liberties to effectively counter terrorism.

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.