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intelligence studies certificate for navy intel candidates

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wpdunit30

New Member
I am a prior active duty GM2, about to receive my bachelors in Police Studies with a 3.52 GPA, currently serving as a detective for a police department, and want to put in a package for reserve intel DCO. I know that my none of the things I have listed will really shine in the eyes of the ones conducting interview and was looking for something more. My university will be starting a new undergrad certificate program in Intelligence Studies with the options of Intel Analysis or Threat Specialist. My question to the ones with experience going through the interview, and to any possible interviewer who may view this board, is which option would make my resume look better to the interviewers, intel analysis or threat specialist? Here is the curriculum.

Certificate in Intelligence Studies

Curriculum Guide

This certificate prepares students for careers in the U.S. intelligence community at federal, state, local, and tribal levels. The certificate requires a grade of “C” or better in 15 hours of required courses and 9 hours within a single option. Prerequisites for the below certificate course options do not count toward the total curriculum requirements.

Requirements (15 hours):
HLS 401 Intelligence Process
GEO 353 Geographic Information Systems
GEO 456 Geographic Image Interpretation

Select 3 hours from:
CRJ 388 Criminal Justice Research
HLS 321 Critical Problem Analysis, or
POL 280 Research and Writing in Political Science

Select 3 hours from:
CRJ 400 pplied Criminal Justice Analysis
FSE 200 Applied Fire and Safety Analysis
STA 215 Introduction to Statistical Reasoning
STA 270 Applied Statistics

Options (9 hours):

Intelligence Analysis Option:
CIS 320 Forensic Computing: Investigations
CIS 325 Forensic Computing: Acquisition and Analysis
CRJ 403 Crime Mapping
GEO 553 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
GEO 556 Advanced Geographic Imagery
STA 320 Applied Statistics II
STA 375 Sampling Methods
STA 501 Non-Parametric Statistics

Threat Specialist Option:
CRJ 403 Crime Mapping
GEO 553 Advanced Geographic Information Systems
HLS 402 Counterintelligence
PLS 375 Terrorism/Counterterrorism
POL 321 American Foreign Policy
POL 325 International Security Affairs
POL 415 Terrorism and Political Violence

Total Curriculum Requirements: 24 hours

I was thinking more along the lines of intelligence analysis with emphasis on Geographic Information systems and Imagery.
 
Marine66

Marine66

New Member
WPD-
Keep in mind the boards are looking for what you have done relative to Intel work- not really what you are going to be doing in school. Therefor the focus of your application / interviews should be to highlight your history in the intel world, leadership skills, and whole person overview. In the end, you can convey your aspirations regarding your additional college course work. Having said that- my initial assessment would be to stick with Intel Analysis. Starting off as a JO, this is where the process begins. The good ole Intel Cycle. What troubles me is the fact that the courses outlined above seem to be somewhat dis-jointed. What I mean by that is some of the courses (most) in the Threat Spec. area can and should be in my opinion, either located or co-located within the Intel Analysis block of instruction. Clearly by class description, the Threat Specialist would be more in line with Intel which leads me to believe the courses are not labeled properly. The school should have one label, INTELLIGENCE XXXX and allow you to choose from those core classes under each label. But I think that wont go over to well. Sorry I wasn't much help. But if nothing else- highlight your past- and inform the boards that you are taking Intelligence Courses in college and don't be specific as to your certificate selection unless pressed to do so. Good luck!
 
das

das

Well-Known Member
Contributor
Showing initiative, whether it's for a certificate or a graduate program, will be viewed as a positive. That said, INTEL isn't so much looking for degrees as it is looking for leadership experience. The number one thing that the IDC DIRCOM board will be concerned with is demonstrated leadership experience, and the number one reason for non-select is lack thereof. So really be thinking about how you can quantify the leadership experience you have had, whether it was previously in the Navy, as a law enforcement officer, or in your community.

I can tell you that INTEL picks up a lot of LEOs, whether they be federal or SLT. They also like the analytic skills of detectives and investigators. Some interviewers will almost like a job interview, others will get into global affairs and intelligence topics. Either way, as Marine66 said, the board and your interviews are going to look at the whole person. A lot of applicants have graduate degrees, and that's viewed as a big plus in the process, and is an easy way to improve your package if you're not selected for whatever reason.

In any case, make every effort to highlight your leadership, intelligence experience, previous Navy experience, analytic skills, law enforcement background, etc. INTEL selects the most of all the IDC communities -- usually around 70 per year. I would put the selection rate at about 15% depending on the board. I wouldn't worry about which program looks better, because every board member and interviewer will have a different opinion. You're already out front by researching what you need to do to make your package better — so focus on that!

Good luck.
 
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wpdunit30

New Member
I really appreciate your guidance on this topic. All input will be applied. I plan on moving forward and putting my package in as soon as my bachelors degree is in hand (May). Thanks.
 
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