Course Descriptions

Certificate in Intelligence Analysis

Intelligence Policy and Organization addresses the roles of intelligence in national policy, and the establishment and evolution of government institutions and processes to play these roles. Special attention is given to the findings of the 9/11 Commission and recent reforms. The course examines the future of intelligence analysis against the backdrop of emerging transnational issues, the ongoing process of globalization, advances in information technology, the open source revolution, and U.S. homeland security requirements.

Intelligence and Policy: Executive, Congressional, and Public Dimensions provides the student with an understanding of the relationships between intelligence and the policy making process. The course will focus on the American context, with unique executive branch, congressional, and public expectations for intelligence. It will compare the American context with that of other countries, especially other industrial democracies.

Critical Thinking for Analysts identifies the structures inherent in thinking as well as natural human tendencies toward biased, distorted, partial, and uninformed thinking. The course discusses ways to impose intellectual standards to improve the quality of self-directed analytic thinking, and addresses methods for communicating effectively in groups to solve complex problems. Students practice conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, and communication.

Problems of Global Security considers how the process of globalization is likely to affect the central issues of international security. The course discusses the deployment of nuclear weapons, the evolution of conventional forces, the response to communal conflict, the prevention of proliferation, the management of mass destruction technologies, and the overall effects of these issues on security relationships with Russia, China, India and North Korea.

International Security Policy - Reviews the organizing concepts, substantive content, and institutional arrangements of contemporary international security policy. The course assesses the balance of interests from a variety of national perspectives and some of the major unresolved issues within the Intelligence Community.

U.S. Foreign Policy Process - Surveys U.S. institutions and processes for making foreign policy, both security and economic. The course explores decision-making theories and their relevance to Washington practice.

Terrorism and Democracy - Analyzes the U.S. government's process for dealing with terrorism and the options available for deterring terrorist acts.

International Economic Policy - Examines current issues and institutions affecting international economic relations. Topics include theories of the international economy, trade and GATT, international monetary policy and exchange rates, international development, investment and finance, selected regional issues, and broader macroeconomic interdependence and policy coordination.

Certificate in Information Assurance

Information Security is divided into three major components: overview, detailed concepts and implementation techniques. The topics to be covered are: general security concerns and concepts from both a technical and management point of view, principles of security, architectures, access control and multi-level security, Trojan horses, covert channels, trap doors, hardware security mechanism, security models, security kernels, formal specifications and verification, networks and distribution systems, and risk analysis.

Public Management and Leadership reviews the managerial, political, and ethical problems faced by public sector managers and leaders, including setting an organization's goals, obtaining and protecting a program mandate, designing a service delivery system and implementing a new program.

Financial Management of Information Projects expands on the financial management of information projects. IT Project Management or equivalent work experience is a prerequisite. Topics include developing the project budget based on the project plan, understanding work breakdown structures and scheduling techniques, earned value, tracking and reporting project costs, risk management, best practices, and cost/benefit analysis.

Information Policy covers the nature, structure, development and application of information policy. Interactions of social objectives, stakeholders, technology and other forces that shape policy decisions.