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Minor in Critical Intelligence Studies

RUTGERS H RED BLACK RGB

 Click here for requirements, Minor in Critical Intelligence Studies

Housed within the SAS Political Science Department and the Center for Critical Intelligence Studies  the CIS minor will help you develop the skills and perspective necessary for a career in intelligence analysis and related fields.  This interdisciplinary minor provides students with an intellectual foundation for the study of intelligence, both as it has been practiced through history and as it is currently practiced by different nations and other entities. The foundational courses in the minor are designed to provide students with the context and concepts that form the basis for the intelligence-gathering in which the United States government engages. Students will learn to examine critically the role of intelligence in the American republican democracy and explore the concepts and practices used to identify, collect, interpret, analyze, and communicate intelligence that can be used by strategists, policy makers, military, security, and the police to advance homeland security.

Contact

Inquiries should be directed to William Field, Program Director for the Rutgers IC CAE Program/Minor in Critical Intelligence Studies.

Learning Goals:

At the end of this program students will be able to:

  • explain the intelligence gathering process in various national and historical contexts;
  • write clearly, critically, and analytically about intelligence issues;
  • demonstrate intermediate- or higher-level language skills or cultural competency skills; and
  • make strong arguments that strike a defensible balance between security and privacy in the context of the American constitutional system.

The minor in Critical Intelligence Studies offers five tracks for completion.  Each of these has the same foundational courses: Introduction to Critical Intelligence Studies, Critical Thinking and Analytical Writing, and an experiential course focusing on an internship or an independent research program.  Beyond this, most of the tracks require the acquisition of cultural competency, while the technology track exposes the student to issues of artificial intelligence and data science.  

In order to declare a minor in Critical Intelligence Studies, students are required to have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and to have completed 01:790:292 with at least a C.  To fulfill the minor requirements, students must pass an additional five three-credit courses with a grade of C or higher. Important Note for Political Science Majors and Minors: You may overlap only two courses with the major in Political Science and one course with the minor in Political Science. 

Tracks

The tracks are as follows:

Cyber track

A. Three courses (9 credits) dealing with the theory and practice of Critical Intelligence Studies, including the following:

B: Cybersecurity (6 credits)

  • One course in foundational computer science
  • One course in computer security

C: Elective (3 credits)

  • One elective course (language or area studies, 3 credits) to promote awareness of the international context of intelligence work.

Policy track

A. Three courses (9 credits) dealing with the theory and practice of Critical Intelligence Studies, including the following:

B: Policy (6 credits)

  • Two upper level courses in American public policy pertaining to general policy making or national security including 01:790:325 National Security Policy

C: Elective (3 credits)

  • One elective course (language or area studies, 3 credits) to promote awareness of the international context of intelligence work.

Language track

A. Three courses (9 credits) dealing the theory and practice of Critical Intelligence Studies, including the following:

B: Language (6 credits)

  • Two language courses in the same language that would count for a major in that language.  AP credit can be applied to one of these courses but not both.

C: Policy (3 credits)

Engineering track

A. Three courses (9 credits) dealing the theory and practice of Critical Intelligence Studies, including the following:

B: Security (6 credits)

C: Elective (3 credits)

  • One elective course (language or area studies, 3 credits) to promote awareness of the international context of intelligence work.

Technology track

A. Three courses (9 credits) dealing with the theory and practice of Critical Intelligence Studies, including the following:

B: Critical Technology Studies (9 credits)

  • One course in artificial intelligence
  • One course in data science
  • One course in design and analysis of computer algorithms