The National Intelligence University (NIU) is a

federally chartered A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issued corporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified in Title 36 of the ...

research university in Bethesda,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

operated by and for the

United States Intelligence Community The United States Intelligence Community (IC) is a group of separate US federal government, U.S. federal government intelligence agencies and subordinate organizations that work to conduct Intelligence assessment, intelligence activities which ...

(IC) as its staff college of higher learning in fields of study central to the profession of intelligence and national security. A small, highly selective non-residential university, NIU awards undergraduate and graduate degrees, a graduate certificate, and prestigious research fellowships to prepare personnel for critical positions in the IC and the broader national security enterprise. Since 1963, more than 80,000 military and civilian students have attended the university. Originally located at

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

headquarters at

Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling (JBAB) is a 905-acre (366 ha) military installation, located in Southwest (Washington, D.C.), Southwest Washington, D.C., established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementin ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, NIU's primary campus is now located just up the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

at Intelligence Community Campus-Bethesda (ICC-B) with four additional locations around the world. National Intelligence University's

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

programs emphasize education through scholarly and applied research designed to help U.S. intelligence officers better understand the diverse range of geopolitical, strategic, and technological threats and opportunities affecting intelligence and national security. The university is organized into two separate academic units: th
College of Strategic Intelligence
and th
Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science and Technology Intelligence
Combined, the college and school cover a diverse and evolving range of international affairs issues and adversarial threats and capabilities, from cultural and religious conflicts to WMD proliferation, cybersecurity threats, terrorism, transnational crime, and more. Previously known as the Defense Intelligence School, the Defense Intelligence College, the Joint Military Intelligence College, and the National Defense Intelligence College, admissions are restricted solely to U.S. citizens who hold

Top Secret Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...

Sensitive Compartmented Information Sensitive compartmented information (SCI) is a type of United States classified information concerning or derived from sensitive intelligence sources, methods, or analytical processes. All SCI must be handled within formal access control systems ...

(TS-SCI) security clearances and are employed by the government in relevant national security positions. Applicants must be nominated by their agency or unit. Tuition is paid by the government.

History

The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

established the Defense Intelligence School within the

in 1962 to consolidate existing

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

academic programs in strategic intelligence. In 1980, the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

authorized the school to award the Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degree. In 1981, the

Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeast ...

accredited the School. That same year, DoD rechartered the institution as the Defense Intelligence College, placing additional emphasis on its research mission. Since then, the university has added several off-campus programs at the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

and several regional centers and has encouraged an increase in enrollment from civilian agencies. On campus, it has also added two part-time graduate programs. Students from throughout the Intelligence Community attend the university, and they include active duty and reserve military personnel from each of the services (including the Coast Guard), DoD, and other federal civilian employees. In 1993, the College was renamed the Joint Military Intelligence College. The College embarked on a new era in which its mission was more sharply defined. In 1997, Congress authorized the College to award a Bachelor of Science in Intelligence (BSI) degree. The BSI Program is a fourth year degree completion program. It affords those students who have accumulated three years of undergraduate credits a means to complete their degree requirements and to obtain a degree directly related to the field of intelligence. The Program enables BSI graduates to advance their careers within the National Intelligence Community. In December 2006, DoD Instruction 3305.1 changed the name to the National Defense Intelligence College. The DoD Instruction was revised again in February 2011 to reflect the current designation — National Intelligence University — and the Director of National Intelligence formally and publicly announced that change as well as the expanded mission and vision of the NIU during the August 2011 convocation of the class of 2012. In June 2021, the University officially transferred from the Defense intelligence Agency to the

Office of the Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a cabinet-level United States government intelligence and security official. The position is required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head o ...

to better serve the diverse and varied needs of its students and the United States intelligence enterprise. “We are honored to officially welcome the National Intelligence University into the ranks of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,” said Director of National Intelligence

Avril Haines Avril Danica Haines (born August 27, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as the seventh Director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence in the Presidency of Joe Biden, Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve ...

and NIU President Dr. J. Scott Cameron in a joint statement. “At no point has it been more important to sharpen our intelligence tradecraft with emerging expertise, strengthen our intelligence partnerships, and preempt long-term strategic threats with intellectual creativity. NIU’s academic leadership, combined with ODNI’s integrating role, stands to better serve the IC, federal government, and United States for years to come.”

Vision and mission

The Center of Academic Life for the Intelligence Community – preparing today’s Intelligence Community leaders for tomorrow’s challenges. The National Intelligence University advances the intelligence profession through a holistic, integrative, contextual approach to education that promotes dynamic teaching, engaged learning, original research, academic outreach, analytical problem solving, rigorous research methods, collaborative processes, and lifelong learning.

Educational accreditation

The university is authorized by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

to award the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Intelligence, Master of Science and Technology Intelligence, and Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence. The university is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Facilities and resources

The NIU Library houses 2.5 million items, including books, unclassified intelligence documents, reference materials, periodicals, microfilms, video and cartographic items. The library subscribes to 2,000 international periodicals, newspapers, annuals, serials, and statistical reports. It is particularly strong in Russian periodicals. The library has archival microfiche and microfilm collections of general and scholarly periodicals,

Foreign Broadcast Information Service The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) was an open source intelligence component of the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science and Technology. It monitored, translated, and disseminated within the U.S. government openl ...

reports, and declassified documents. The NIU Library is located at the Intelligence Community Campus – Bethesda (ICC-B). The Office of Research within the university enables students to pursue projects that require research outside the Washington, DC, area, including overseas. The university encourages faculty research on intelligence issues and supports intelligence-related research by faculty from other DoD Schools. Faculty and student research is published in academic journals and in book-length special studies. Research results and thesis abstracts are also made available to the Intelligence Community.

Academic programs

Bachelor of Science in Intelligence (BSI)

Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence (MSSI)

Master of Science and Technology Intelligence (MSTI)

Certificate of Intelligence Studies (CIS)

Admissions

All prospective NIU students must meet the following requirements: * Be

United States citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

who are members of the

U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

or are federal government employees * Be nominated by their affiliated organization (full-time students only), and * Possess a TS/ SCI

security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

prior to enrollment

Notable graduates and faculty

* Todd C. Chapman * Mike Gallagher * John R. Allen * Paul M. Nakasone * Robert B. Murrett *

Ronald D. Johnson Ronald Douglas Johnson is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States Ambassador to Mexico, United States ambassador to Mexico. Johnson served as the United States Ambassador to El Salvador, United States ambassador to El Salvador f ...

* Michael H. Decker * William C. Smith Jr. * David A. Reid * Jeffrey A. Kruse * Leah G. Lauderback * Earl G. Matthews * William J. Walker *

Robert P. Ashley Jr. Robert Paul Ashley Jr. is a retired Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general in the United States Army who served as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff o ...

Research and publications

As the dedicated research unit of NIU, the Ann Caracristi Institute for Intelligence Research (CIIR) represents the IC’s premier resource for academic intelligence research. CIIR serves to support, advance, and promote NIU’s academically rigorous research on topics critical to U.S. intelligence and national security.
NI Press Publications

Caracristi Monographs

References

External links

* {{authority control Defense Intelligence Agency Universities and colleges established in 1962 Intelligence analysis Military academies of the United States Staff colleges Universities and colleges in Maryland Intelligence education