Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies
Encyclopedia
The Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies (MCIIS), located on the campus of Mercyhurst College
in Erie, Pennsylvania
, offers undergraduate and graduate studies programs in intelligence analysis. The program also offers graduate certificates in Applied Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Law Enforcement Intelligence. 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)."
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. The Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted a sabbatical program in 2005, through which senior analysts began to attend MCIIS for advanced training.
For many years, no other school in the United States offered a degree designed specifically for intelligence analysts.
, a retired FBI agent, founded the undergraduate program in 1992 and is now Executive Director of MCIIS.
James G. Breckenridge, a retired US Army officer and former member of the faculty at West Point, chairs the undergraduate Department of Intelligence Studies.
. The undergraduate program, which continues to be referred to as RIAP, consists of nine core intelligence-related courses, plus 13 interdisciplinary courses.
As of 2009, there are approximately 252 students enrolled in the undergraduate program. This includes students from across the United States as well as international students. Job placement for previous graduates at the end of the 2005-2006 school year were in the 90th+ percentile range.
and competitive intelligence
. As of 2009, there are approximately 53 graduate students in the Applied Intelligence program.
The graduate program's Strategic Intelligence class participated in a joint research project with the National Intelligence Council
in 2006-2007 entitled The Global Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States. The project involved the development of a Mercyhurst wiki consisting of over 1,000 pages of analysis on the threat of global disease to the United States.
, the National Drug Intelligence Center
, the US State Department, the United States Army
, the Central Intelligence Agency
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
.
Examples of research CIRAT has conducted:
Amanda Post, a MCIIS graduate, joined the ranks of the Federal 100, which recognizes individuals from government, industry and academia who have made significant contributions to the federal informational technology community. The awards, decided by a distinguished panel of judges, are bestowed annually by the 1105 Government Information Group and Federal Computer Week.
In February 2009, Assistant Professor Stephen Marrin presented two papers at international conferences. The first paper, entitled "Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between CIA's Analysis and Decisionmaking: The Case of Pre-9/11 Terrorism Intelligence" was presented at a conference in Dublin, Ireland on The CIA & US Foreign Policy: Reform, Representations and New Approaches to Intelligence. The second, entitled "The Intelligence-Policy Interface and Iraq in Britain and the United States" was given at a workshop on Intelligence, Policy and Comparative Politics in London.
Students in a class led by Assistant Professor Kristan Wheaton earned certificates of appreciation from coalition forces and the Iraqis for a 1,000-page WIKI-based analysis product they completed for intelligence authorities in Baghdad. The project, which examined Middle Eastern governments in the region and their reaction to events unfolding in Iraq, was provided to authorities in Iraq by another intelligence studies faculty member, U.S. Army Maj. Daniel Mulligan, who returned to Mercyhurst in early February after a year's tour of duty in Iraq. Mulligan presented the certificates on Monday, February 16, 2009 at the intelligence studies building on campus.
Six MCIIS students won the first-ever ODNI-sponsored 2008 Open Source Challenge which gave the students one week to thoroughly research, document and convincingly answer the question: "Is Al Qaeda a cohesive organization with strong and centralized control, intent and direction?" The team's answer surpassed those of more than 20 other competitors, some veterans of the U.S. intelligence community. Another team shared the first prize with Mercyhurst after it answered the second question option in the contest. That team, from iJET Intelligent Risk Systems, had two members who graduated from MCIIS's graduate program.
each year in Dungarvan, Ireland. The conference seeks to find the best practices in intelligence analysis and see how they can be applied to other industries and companies.
Mercyhurst College
Mercyhurst College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.-History:On September 20, 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors just a few blocks away from the city's southern boundary. It was founded by the Sisters of Mercy of the Erie Diocese, who were led by Mother M. Borgia...
in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, offers undergraduate and graduate studies programs in intelligence analysis. The program also offers graduate certificates in Applied Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Law Enforcement Intelligence. 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)."
History
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 ground-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.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. The Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted a sabbatical program in 2005, through which senior analysts began to attend MCIIS for advanced training.
For many years, no other school in the United States offered a degree designed specifically for intelligence analysts.
Administration
Robert J. HeibelRobert J. Heibel
Robert J. Heibel, is a retired FBI Agent that served as the deputy chief of the FBI Counter-Terrorism division and founder of the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies . He received his masters degree from Georgetown University in 1987....
, a retired FBI agent, founded the undergraduate program in 1992 and is now Executive Director of MCIIS.
James G. Breckenridge, a retired US Army officer and former member of the faculty at West Point, chairs the undergraduate Department of Intelligence Studies.
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 sectorPrivate sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. The undergraduate program, which continues to be referred to as RIAP, consists of nine core intelligence-related courses, plus 13 interdisciplinary courses.
As of 2009, there are approximately 252 students enrolled in the undergraduate program. This includes students from across the United States as well as international students. Job placement for previous graduates at the end of the 2005-2006 school year were in the 90th+ percentile range.
Certificate in Intelligence Studies
MCIIS has developed a distance-learning graduate-level certificate program for use by contracting organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. As of 2009, there are approximately 77 certificate students in the program.Graduate Program in Applied Intelligence
The Masters of Science in Applied Intelligence is a thirty-four or thirty-six-credit two-year program designed to prepare graduates to pursue analyst careers in law enforcement, national securityNational security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
and competitive intelligence
Competitive intelligence
A broad definition of competitive intelligence is the action of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence about products, customers, competitors and any aspect of the environment needed to support executives and managers in making strategic decisions for an organization.Key...
. As of 2009, there are approximately 53 graduate students in the Applied Intelligence program.
The graduate program's Strategic Intelligence class participated in a joint research project with the National Intelligence Council
National Intelligence Council
The National Intelligence Council is the center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the United States Intelligence Community . It was formed in 1979...
in 2006-2007 entitled The Global Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States. The project involved the development of a Mercyhurst wiki consisting of over 1,000 pages of analysis on the threat of global disease to the United States.
Professors
The 2007-2008 school year includes nine faculty and six adjunct faculty. Current professors include retired or former members of the Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
, the National Drug Intelligence Center
National Drug Intelligence Center
The U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center , established in 1993, is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice and a member of the Intelligence Community...
, the US State Department, the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
.
Center for Information Research Analysis and Training
The Center for Information Research Analysis And Training|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:
- Study of money-laundering operations for the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Enforcement Network.
- Case studies developed for the 1996 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) research project Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents
Selected Achievements
The department enjoys success from both its students, former students and faculty members. Noteworthy achievements include:Amanda Post, a MCIIS graduate, joined the ranks of the Federal 100, which recognizes individuals from government, industry and academia who have made significant contributions to the federal informational technology community. The awards, decided by a distinguished panel of judges, are bestowed annually by the 1105 Government Information Group and Federal Computer Week.
In February 2009, Assistant Professor Stephen Marrin presented two papers at international conferences. The first paper, entitled "Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between CIA's Analysis and Decisionmaking: The Case of Pre-9/11 Terrorism Intelligence" was presented at a conference in Dublin, Ireland on The CIA & US Foreign Policy: Reform, Representations and New Approaches to Intelligence. The second, entitled "The Intelligence-Policy Interface and Iraq in Britain and the United States" was given at a workshop on Intelligence, Policy and Comparative Politics in London.
Students in a class led by Assistant Professor Kristan Wheaton earned certificates of appreciation from coalition forces and the Iraqis for a 1,000-page WIKI-based analysis product they completed for intelligence authorities in Baghdad. The project, which examined Middle Eastern governments in the region and their reaction to events unfolding in Iraq, was provided to authorities in Iraq by another intelligence studies faculty member, U.S. Army Maj. Daniel Mulligan, who returned to Mercyhurst in early February after a year's tour of duty in Iraq. Mulligan presented the certificates on Monday, February 16, 2009 at the intelligence studies building on campus.
Six MCIIS students won the first-ever ODNI-sponsored 2008 Open Source Challenge which gave the students one week to thoroughly research, document and convincingly answer the question: "Is Al Qaeda a cohesive organization with strong and centralized control, intent and direction?" The team's answer surpassed those of more than 20 other competitors, some veterans of the U.S. intelligence community. Another team shared the first prize with Mercyhurst after it answered the second question option in the contest. That team, from iJET Intelligent Risk Systems, had two members who graduated from MCIIS's graduate program.
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. Four books have been published as of February 2009 and others are in the works.Great Lakes Intelligence Initiative
MCIIS founded the Great Lakes Intelligence Initiative (GLII) in 2006 to promote the development and utilization of knowledge worker skills in the schools and businesses of northwestern Pennsylvania.Global Intelligence Forum
MCIIS founded and sponsors the Global Intelligence ForumGlobal Intelligence Forum
The Global Intelligence Forum is an annual conference dedicated to exploring best practices in intelligence analysis. The conference takes place in Dungarvan, Ireland, the sister city of Erie, Pennsylvania, home of Mercyhurst College, the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies, and...
each year in Dungarvan, Ireland. The conference seeks to find the best practices in intelligence analysis and see how they can be applied to other industries and companies.
Affiliations
- Institute of Nuclear Materials ManagementInstitute of Nuclear Materials ManagementThe Institute of Nuclear Materials Management is an international technical and professional organization that works to promote safe handling of nuclear material and the safe practice of nuclear materials management through publications, as well as organized presentations and meetings.The INMM's...
Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) - The Association For Intelligence Officers (AIO)
- The International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE)
- The International Association for Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA)
- The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP)
- The International Relations And Security Network (ISN)
External links
- MCIIS academic programs home page
- MCIIS home page
- Mercyhurst College home page
- Regional Chapters of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM)
- Center for Intelligence Research, Analysis, and Training (CIRAT)
- Interview about MCIIS on "We Question and Learn", a public interest radio show on FM 91.3 WQLN in Erie, Pennsylvania on 2 July 2006
- Catalyst and Enabler, "Liberal Studies At Georgetown", Vol. 3 No. 2 pp 13-15
- Using Web 2.0 In Intelligence, Competitive Intelligence Podcast