MA in Government/ Certificate in Intelligence
Students pursuing an MA in Government may obtain an additional credential by completing courses that lead to the Certificate in Intelligence. This combined credential prepares graduates for careers in the U.S. Intelligence Community and in those parts of the government and private sector that use intelligence or work with the Intelligence Community, as well as other parts of the national security community. Students can complete the program with 15 courses.
Admissions Criteria for all Advanced Academic Programs
PROGRAM-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
Interested applicants must complete all admission requirements for both the Master of Arts in Government and the Certificate in Intelligence.
In addition to the materials and credentials required for all programs, the Master of Arts in Government also requires:
- A writing sample of five to ten pages that is research-focused. The purpose of the writing sample is to demonstrate the applicant’s ability to make and support an argument.
If the applicant does not have an existing research-focused writing sample that they wish to submit, the applicant may write a five-page paper responding to the following:
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” — James Madison, Federalist 51
In this well-known quote, Madison points toward the age-old problem of reconciling democracy and political power. Discuss this problem in reference to some recent policy issues or political events, citing at least three references.
Program Requirements
Students pursuing an MA in Government may obtain an additional credential by completing a sequence of courses offered by the Certificate in Intelligence. This combined credential will require students to complete 15 courses (in lieu of 17 to complete both programs separately). Students are required to take the courses noted below.
MA in Government Requirements
- Three required core courses
- Two customizable core courses for those pursuing applications of research
- One customizable core course for those pursuing thesis
- Seven or eight electives to meet the 12-course requirement
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Course: Required | ||
| AS.470.602 | Government & Politics | 3 |
| AS.470.850 | Research and Thesis I: MA in Government | 3 |
| AS.470.800 | Thesis and Applications of Research | 3 |
| Core Courses - Customizable for Applications of Research | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Bureaucratic Politics | ||
| Race, Politics, and Policy | ||
| Models of Democratic Leadership in America | ||
| Democracy and Its Modern Critics | ||
| Separation of Powers and Democratic Governance | ||
| Religion and American Political Culture | ||
| Political Debates and the US Constitution | ||
| Legislative Language and Policymaking | ||
| Political Institutions and the Policy Process | ||
| Comparative Democracies | ||
| American Exceptionalism | ||
| Congress: Why the First Branch Matters | ||
| Comparative Federalism: The United States and the European Union | ||
| Western Political and Constitutional Thought | ||
| American Political Development | ||
| Nationalism in the Democratic Age | ||
| Core Courses - Customizable for Thesis | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Research and Thesis II: MA in Government | ||
| Fundamentals of Quantitative Methods | ||
| Probability and Statistics | ||
| Electives (7 or 8 to reach 12 courses) | 21 -24 | |
Certificate in Intelligence Requirements
Completion of five courses, one each from the following areas:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses - Customizable | ||
| Required course: | 3 | |
| The Art & Practice of Intelligence | ||
| Select one Theory and Context course: | 3 | |
| Applied Critical Thinking and Analysis | ||
| Strategic Culture Analysis | ||
| Introduction to Intelligence in the Five Eyes Community | ||
| The Intelligence-Policy Nexus | ||
| Select one Law and Ethics course: | 3 | |
| Privacy in a Data-driven Society | ||
| The Constitution and National Security | ||
| Legal Issues in Intelligence | ||
| Intelligence Ethics | ||
| Select one Intelligence Operations course: | 3 | |
| Managing Dangerous Futures: Global Political Risk Analysis | ||
| Cyber Policy, Strategy, Conflict and Deterrence | ||
| Introduction to Geospatial Intelligence | ||
| Analyzing Social Media and Geospatial Information | ||
| Intelligence Analysis | ||
| Technical Collection of Intelligence | ||
| Select one Intelligence Applications course: | 3 | |
| Leading Intelligence Organizations | ||
| The Politics and Process of American Foreign Policy | ||
| Terrorist Financing Analysis and Counterterrorist Finance Techniques | ||
| Intelligence and Counterterrorism | ||
| Intelligence to Secure the Homeland and Hometown | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |