The Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies (MCIIS) graduate level counterintelligence certificate, which is part of the larger Applied Intelligence Certificate offered at Mercyhurst since 2004, will now be accessible to all qualified individuals in the Washington D.C. area.

The certificate will no longer be restricted to employees of corporate partners as it was in the past.
The course description for the graduate certificate in counterintelligence says that the certificate “is designed to prepare students to identify and evaluate foreign security intelligence threats and espionage organizations—their objectives, their structure and their techniques for collection and analysis.”

Linda Bremmer, the coordinator for all students and faculty participating in the graduate certificate programs at MCIIS, said that the program “was initially requested by, designed for, and offered solely to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. employees in 2004.

“However, the program was so popular that it was soon requested by other companies, which resulted in expansion of the program to Systems Research and Applications Corporation (SRA) and Northrop Grumman.”

Bremmer explained that the program will serve many more working professionals due to its expansion outside the college itself.

She pointed out that these counterintelligence classes will be a blended offering, with some of the courses offered online. Bremmer added that the online component allows students to have instructors from all over the world.
“Many people take these classes just because of the instructors. They are very well known and widely respected professionals, and what we teach is something that can be transferred to many different and diverse fields and applications, not just national security,” Bremmer said.

A certificate in counterintelligence is awarded upon the successful completion of three courses: The Evolution of Counterintelligence, Counterintelligence Events and Concepts, and Counterespionage and Policy Making. Each course costs $1,926, which is similar to what a graduate would pay for a course at Mercyhurst.

Bremmer said that “to date, we have had 420 students graduate from the intel certificate program since 2004.”