Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies

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The Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies (MCIIS) [1], located on the campus of Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, offers undergraduate and graduate studies programs in intelligence analysis. MCIIS "promotes the study of Intelligence in higher academic settings, while seeking to identify, promote, and employ best practices in the study and application of intelligence studies throughout its various disciplines (national security, law enforcement, business intelligence and academia)."[1] [2]

While between 6 and 10 schools offer similar classes to MCIIS, no other school in the United States offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in these intelligence-related fields.[2]

MCIIS was founded in February 2004, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). For a dozen years before the opening of the institute, Mercyhurst College offered an undergraduate degree in intelligence studies as part of its bround-breaking Research/Intelligence Analyst Program (RIAP, or R/iap). Nestled within Mercyhurst College's Department of History, RIAP was the first non-governmental initiative of its kind in the U.S. The program began in 1992 with only 14 students, but the competence of graduates eventually attracted the attention of the U.S. Intelligence Community.[3][4] [3]

The intense public debate in the U.S. following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, focused on U.S. intelligence analysts and their need for training, which directed attention to Mercyhurst's already-growing program. RIAP's success at the undergraduate level led to the offering of a graduate program by 2004.[5] The Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted a sabbatical program in 2005, through which senior analysts began to attend MCIIS for advanced training.[6] [4] [7] [5]

Robert J. Heibel, a retired FBI agent, founded the undergraduate program in 1992 and is now Executive Director of MCIIS.[8][9] [6]

James G. Breckenridge, a retired US Army officer and former member of the faculty at West Point, chairs the undergraduate Department of Intelligence Studies.[10] [7]

Contents

[edit] Undergraduate Program in Intelligence Studies

The Bachelor of Arts in Intelligence Studies is a four-year interdisciplinary baccalaureate program which prepares a graduate to become an entry-level analyst for the government or the private sector. The undergraduate program, which continues to be referred to as RIAP, consists of nine core intelligence-related courses, plus 13 interdisciplinary courses.[11] [8]

School administrators expected approximately 250 undergraduate students to register for the Intelligence Studies program for the 2006-2007 school year. These same officials estimated job placement for previous graduates as of the end of the 2005-2006 school year to be in the 90th+ percentile range.[12]

[edit] Certificate in Intelligence Studies

MCIIS has developed a distance-learning undergraduate-level certificate program for use by contracting organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It is expected that 60-65 students will be enrolled in the certificate program by the fall of 2006.[13]

[edit] Graduate Program in Applied Intelligence

The Masters of Science in Applied Intelligence is a thirty-three-credit two-year program designed to prepare graduates to pursue analyst careers in law enforcement, national security and competitive intelligence. School officials expected approximately 50 graduate students to enroll for the Applied Intelligence program for the 2006-2007 school year.[14]

[edit] Professors

The 2006-2007 school year is expected to include seven faculty and six adjunct faculty. [15] Current professors include retired members of the Los Angeles Police Department, the National Drug Intelligence Center, the US State Department, the United States Army, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[edit] Center for Information Research Analysis and Training

The Center for Information Research And Training (CIRAT) is a nonprofit arm of Mercyhurst College whose mission is to develop contracts, grants and partnerships that test and enhance the capabilities of MCIIS students, staff, facilities, and systems.

Examples of research CIRAT has conducted:

  • Case studies developed for the 1996 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) research project Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents [17] [10]

[edit] Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies Press

MCIIS Press opened as a publishing house in 2005. MCIIS cited the need for additional textbooks in the field as its reason for getting into publishing. Three books had been published as of August 2005.[18] [11] [19] [12]

[edit] Affiliations

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies
  2. ^ Breckenridge, James, radio interview about MCIIS on "We Question and Learn", a public interest show on FM 91.3 WQLN in Erie, Pennsylvania on 2 July 2006
  3. ^ Breckenridge, radio interview on 2 July 2006
  4. ^ Heibel, Robert J., Catalyst and Enabler, "Liberal Studies At Georgetown", Vol. 3 No. 2 pp 13-15
  5. ^ Breckenridge radio interview on 2 July 2006
  6. ^ Statement of Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, April 5, 2006
  7. ^ Statement of Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies, March 28, 2006
  8. ^ Breckenridge radio interview on 2 July 2006
  9. ^ Heibel, pp 13-15
  10. ^ Mercyhurst Undergraduate Course Catalog 2006-2007
  11. ^ Mercyhurst Undergraduate Course Catalog 2006-2007
  12. ^ Breckenridge, radio interview on 2 July 2006
  13. ^ Breckenridge radio interview on 2 July 2006
  14. ^ Breckenridge radio interview on 2 July 2006
  15. ^ Breckenridge, radio interview on 2 July 2006
  16. ^ Biography of James Sutton, Sourcewatch, Center for Media and Democracy
  17. ^ Smith, Brent L., et. al., Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents: The Identification of Behavioral, Geographic, and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Conduct, NIJ, March 2006, pp 26, 92
  18. ^ Black Family Foundation Makes Gift to Mercyhurst Institute for Intelligence Studies, College News, Mercyhurst College, 4 August 2005
  19. ^ Wheaton, Kristan J., Et al, Structured Analysis of Competing Hypotheses: Improving a Tested Intelligence Methodology, Competitive Intelligence Magazine, vol. 9 no. 6, November-December 2006, pp 12-15
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