Certificate of Graduate Study
The certificate program is designed for students who wish to pursue graduate studies but do not need a degree, and those students who already have an advanced degree yet need additional graduate credentials. It is intended to encourage students’ continued professional growth, and to serve as a valuable indicator of achievement and knowledge for current and prospective employers and professional colleagues.
The Institute awards students a Certificate of Graduate Study upon successful completion of 20 credit hours (five courses) in one of the following eight areas of specialization: American Foreign Policy, Comparative Political Culture, Counterintelligence, Democracy Building, Intelligence, International Politics, National Security Affairs, and Public Diplomacy and Political Warfare.
For each certificate there are at least two required courses, and these should be completed prior to the electives whenever possible. Students may choose the other courses needed to complete the certificate in any sequence unless otherwise noted and as long as they comply with any prerequisites. Students must take all courses for credit (not as an auditor), and must attain a B+ average for the five courses in order to receive a certificate. Although there is some overlap between the certificates, completed courses apply toward one certificate only. Students may earn more than one certificate if they so desire. The Institute does not accept credit transfer for its certificate program.
Acceptance into a certificate program does not guarantee acceptance into the Master's degree program. Students who are interested in the degree program should refer to "Changing to Degree Status" under Admissions Requirements.
Areas of Specialization
Certificate in American Foreign Policy
This certificate is designed to provide an understanding both of the moral and philosophical principles underlying U.S. foreign policy as well as the history of its conduct since America became a world power. The program also covers selected policy issues.
Certificate in Comparative Political Culture
This certificate is designed for students seeking an understanding of many of the political, ideological, religious, legal, institutional, and larger cultural influences on the behavior of various states and non-state actors in the world.
Certificate in Counterintelligence
This certificate is designed to better prepare domestic security officers to confront the vast array of threats, challenges, and problems facing the public at all levels in the post-911 world. Students must choose at least three electives for this certificate.
Certificate in Democracy Building
This certificate is designed to provide an understanding of the principles required for establishing successful democracies, how these have been promoted worldwide, and the policy issues associated with America’s role in the process of building democracy.
Certificate in Intelligence
This certificate is designed to provide a comprehensive study of the various issues of intelligence policy, process, epistemology, analysis, and history that are rarely studied systematically in preparation for professional work in intelligence, counterintelligence, and security. Elements of this program also address the problem of understanding foreign cultures and the practices of foreign powers.
Certificate in International Politics
This certificate is designed to provide an understanding of the history of international relations, the current world order, its dominant trends, and its likely evolution. It also addresses selected international policy issues that may be studied according to a student’s interests or professional requirements.
Certificate in National Security Affairs
This certificate is designed to provide an understanding of the elements of the theory and practice of national security policy, process, and implementation both at the level of grand strategy as well as on the tactical level. Significant parts of this certificate program address a number of vital current policy issues. Only one area course may be taken with this specialization.
Certificate in Public Diplomacy and Political Warfare
The purpose of this certificate is to provide specialized study of two unconventional and often misunderstood tools of statecraft – public diplomacy and political warfare – and to provide a starting point for the practitioner to integrate them with each other and with other instruments of policy. This program is the only one of its kind in the United States.
Norman A. Bailey