Hello Everybody! I plan to shoot for Master of Science in Management with Florida Institute of Technology; however, I also straight for the Marine Corps Officer Program. If I am going to receive a Military Occupational Specialty in Intelligence. I would like to attend school that offers Master degree in Intelligence. As far as I know the American Military University offers this degree. I perfer the institution that has B&M campus. The second one is Michigan State University is launching Master of Science in Intelligence and Analysis in 2008. URL: https://intellprogram.msu.edu/masters.php Also, Mcqaurie University in Australia also offers a similar degree as well. However, foreign school is not really my favorite unless the last result. Does anybody know a similar school? I am looking for any other option for me. Many thanks......
Thanks Daniel, but I think it is only on campus, and certain location with Satellite. I am looking for Online program.
Aside from the American Military University, the options for an online intel studies program is EXTREMELY limited. In fact, I think there is only one other program out there: Master of Science in Intelligence Management at Henley-Putnam University - http://www.henley-putnam.edu/101-189.htm The Joint Military Intelligence College (JMIC) is the "gold standard" for this type of degree your looking for. More than half my professors were graduates from there. You need Top Secret/SCI clearance though. The only other B&M program I currently know of in intelligence is here: Institute of World Politics M.A. in Strategic Intelligence - http://www.iwp.edu/programs/programID.6/program_detail.asp The reason the options are so limited in both B&M and Distance learning in the field of Intelligence Studies is because the academic open study of Intelligence is a rather emerging field. Its been obviously studied at the instituitional levels of both civilian and military. But as for traditional academics, its a rather new phenomenon.
Wow, true. I thought Norwich University might have one, seems like their kind of thing, but I just checked and they don't. -=Steve=-
Tekman From conversation I have had with officers, including 2 enlisted to officer Marines, one MCP the other MECEP (now its ECP I think). Your degree does not play into what your MOS is. Everyone fills out a "dream sheet" but the actual placement in MOS's is based on your standing within your class. They divide the class into thirds. the people at the top of each third get their first choices. As long as there is a need. The only way to guarantee an MOS is to go through the reserve enlisted commissioning program. Then you are selected to go to whatever MOS you applied for the program under. Good luck on finding a program and most off all on your OCS app. Cory
Thanks, Cory! I know the process, therefore I if I receive MOS in Intel. Otherwise, I'll go for Management.
I had no idea that MSU was coming out with an intel degree, thanks for the heads up, but did you see the price tag? I am not sure what category it falls under but according to their website, the graduate tuition is $378.75 in state and $800.00 out of state per credit hour, and below that it says for criminal justice it is $520 a credit hour for both in and out of state. http://ctlr.msu.edu/studrec/On-line_Prog_Fees.htm This is outrageous compared to AMU's for a mere $275 per credit hour. I think AMU is the better deal or at least wait until you get in and then attend on of the staff colleges when you a major. I have heard that these programs at staff colleges are mostly pro-service propaganda but you can't get a more respected degree.
As a former Army intelligence analyst, I'm trying to dissuade you from this route. A company grade intelligence officer is better served by having a "hard skill" degree - a foreign language, an area studies degree, history, etc. Alternatively, for certain technical intelligence areas an engineering or technical degree would be useful - telecom certainly falls into this category. A strategic intelligence degree would be of very limited utility without a foundation in either the sciences or humanities. You will always have the opportunity to pursue such a degree down the road on Uncle Sam's dime.
Another option is to shoot for a degree in Homeland Defense/Security, with an emphasis that interests you such as Intelligence, Analysis, Information Assurance. University of Maryland University College comes to mind...there are others. But based on my 18 yrs of enlisted service in the intel business I would have to agree with the previous post. Get a great foundation degree, take as many courses as you can that will develop critical thinking/analysis skills.
do you think a degree in homeland security/defense with a concertration would be more pratical than an intel degree for someone looking to work in intelligence?
People ask our department heads similiar questions all the time regarding AMU's curriculum relevance. Heres a response posted last year that may help you out atleast in regards to AMU: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW RELEVANT IS WHAT I WILL STUDY? Last year (2006) the intelligence community published a study on what the community as a whole expected in the way core competencies at the basic, intermediate, and advanced analyst levels. Some of these competencies are obtainable through education, others require specific in-house training or experience to gain. At first look, the AMU bachelors and master's programs aligned very well (over 90% match) with the education the intelligence community wanted for their basic (bachelors) and intermediate (master's) level analysts. Over the next year we will be beefing up the AMU degrees to meet even more closely the published core competencies. On the master's side we are pushing to cover all the IC core competencies at the intermediate analyst level and adding significant material at the advanced level. In doing this we are adding some courses to the core in collection management and interagency-operations and overhauling the concentrations to better reflect the IC needs. One of the concentrations we are really beefing up is the one on Intelligence Analysis which is the core of most jobs in the IC and supporting contractors. In the required core of our Master's in Intelligence Studies (renamed from SI) we have a basic social science research methods course and an intelligence analysis course which deals mainly with predictive analysis. The new Intelligence Analysis concentration will include courses on comparative and quantitative data analysis (applied stats), criminal intelligence analysis using the I2 Analyst Notebook software, geographic information system and spatial analysis, and foreign policy and security modeling--in addition to courses you already see in the concentration on intelligence profiling, etc. Once we get this new Intelligence Analysis concentration up and running, no intelligence education program in the US will offer such a robust curriculum. Within a year, the AMU Intelligence degrees will be the "gold-standard" for all other such US academic programs. SHOULD I NARROW INTO INTEL STUDIES? Our National Security Studies master's degree program is also very strong on the analytic side. It has required core courses in social science methods and foreign policy and security modeling, plus it has a Security and Intelligence Analysis concentration that will eventually mirror the one in Intelligence Studies (see our web site). With our NSS degree you can be an analyst anywhere in the security community. The Homeland Security master's at AMU is more of a professional degree. The core courses include a basic social science methods course and then there are no other required or elective courses on analysis except some in terrorism analysis. The Homeland Security degree is meant more for those who will be in HS or other emergency planning positions. You might want something even broader such as the MA in International Relations and Conflict Resolution. It is much more in the traditional academic mold. I always recommend that you study something you love, something that intellectually intrigues you. That is the biggest guarantee of success. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thats part of the response that was on going. If you really wanted to know more, in particular, about the program(s) you could email any the department heads directly ([email protected] for Department of National Security, Intelligence, and Space Studies).
No, you need something more. Do you *really* want to work in intelligence? 1. Take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitute Battery (ASVAB) and obtain a General Technical score ("GT Score") of 110. 2. Next, take the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) and score a 110. 3. Next, enlist. Make sure your enlistment contract calls for training you in Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Urdu....or Mandarin Chinese. The Defense Language Institute in Monterey California is a wonderful place to spend 63 weeks x 7 hours per day of intense language study. 4. Build your skills and reputation by paying your dues in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. There's already a large pool of intelligence analysts who have, both military and civilian. Ultimately, you will be competing against them. 5. Keep your nose clean and obtain the highest level of security clearances available, those that require a "full scope polygraph". Note: this series of examinations will probe the most sensitive and private areas of your personal life. 6. Continue your military career, or obtain an honorable discharge and join law enforcement or the lucrative community of civilian contract intelligence professionals.
In my view, that's really quite a farfetched claim. The DoD's own programs at DIA, the Naval Postgraduate School, etc. require security clearances for admission. I fail to see how an intel curriculum can cover collection management (management of sources and methods) without a security clearance. It seems to me that they're targeting an audience that couldn't gain admission to the DoD intel community and its accredited academic programs. At the end of the day, I can't envision how this audience could overcome such a handicap. Who exactly *is* their target audience?
A correction: The qualifying DLAB score has been lowered to 95: http://www.military.com/Recruiting/Content/0,13898,082707_Translators_in_high_demand.htm An older article describing the Marine Corps' efforts to recruit linguists: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/05/mil-050512-usmc06.htm Finally, here's a current Army solicitation on Monster.com for potential linguists: http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=61000595&JobTitle=Arabic+Interpreter+%2f+Translator&q=xarmytax&vw=b&AVSDM=2007-08-21+09%3a41%3a00&pg=1&seq=1
Another addition - here's a list of open current civilian intelligence analyst positions. The job descriptions list precisely the hard skills and/or academic degrees these contractors are looking for; the armed services and federal agencies generally have the same requirements of their own analysts: http://www.clearancejobs.com/index.php?action=show_all&indu=ma
From a quality of education standpoint, speaking from experience APUS (AMU/APU) classes are as complete as anything I’ve come across. Don’t know why the lean to B&M, but since this is a DL forum, just wanted to get this out there..
