The Master of Arts in Cyber Statecraft prepares students to understand, navigate, and respond to the growing importance of the cyber domain in national security and international affairs. Rather than treating cybersecurity primarily as a technical discipline or discrete area of public policy, the program approaches cyberspace through the lens of integrated statecraft and strategic competition, examining how governments, intelligence services, militaries, private-sector actors, and non-state organizations use cyber capabilities to pursue political and strategic objectives. Students develop the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to understand the evolving cyber environment, assess threats and opportunities, and formulate strategies that integrate cyber capabilities with the other instruments of national power.
The program examines the history, policies, laws, technologies, and institutions that shape the cyber domain, while giving particular attention to cyber threat intelligence and the activities of foreign powers. Students study the strategies, doctrines, organizations, capabilities, and operations of major state and non-state actors, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, allied nations, terrorist organizations, and transnational criminal groups. Through case studies, students explore how cyber operations support intelligence collection, military operations, economic competition, influence, coercion, and other forms of statecraft, while also considering questions of cyber defense, resilience, command and control, and cooperation with allies and the private sector.
The curriculum also prepares students for the next generation of strategic competition by examining artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies and their implications for U.S. national security. Students consider how these technologies are transforming military, intelligence, diplomatic, and economic competition; how adversaries and allies are adopting them; and how the United States can exploit their advantages while managing their risks responsibly.
Through seminars, demonstrations, case studies, research, and practical exercises, students learn to translate theory into practice and to confront the rapidly evolving challenges of twenty-first-century strategic competition. Graduates will be prepared to serve as informed analysts, policymakers, intelligence professionals, and strategists capable of helping the United States understand, compete, and exercise statecraft effectively in the cyber domain.
This new degree program will be open for enrollment beginning in Fall 2026.
“My time at IWP has helped me to keep in mind the broader strategic implications of my work and where it fits into the wider national security ecosystem – even when I am working on a project that is very specific to my area of specialty.”
—Dr. Jonathan Hall (’23), Cyber intelligence practitioner at Recorded Future
Program Requirements (52 Credits)
All courses are four credits unless noted otherwise.
Cyber Statecraft Requirements (16 Credits)
- IWP 663 Cyber Statecraft
- IWPO 727 Cyber Threat Intelligence
- IWP 736 Cyber Operations of Foreign Powers
- IWP 737 AI, Emerging Technologies, and National Security
Cyber Statecraft Electives (16 Credits)
Students may apply any IWP courses toward their elective requirements, selecting those that best align with their professional goals. However, IWP faculty recommend the courses listed above to best complete the student’s studies in Cyber Statecraft.
- IWP 601 National Security Policy Process
- IWP 605 Intelligence and Policy
- IWP 616 U.S. National Security Strategy and Emerging Threats
- IWP 628 Military Strategy: Theory and Practice
- IWPO 699 Cyber Intelligence Overview
- IWPO 729 Geopolitics and Strategy of Cyberspace
Core Requirements (20 Credits)
- IWP 606 Ideas and Values in International Politics (2 credits)
- IWP 608 Sources of American Political Thought (2 credits)
- IWP 615 Western Moral and Political Thought (2 credits)
- IWP 620 Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy
- IWP 627 International Relations, Statecraft and Integrated Strategy
- IWP 634 Geography and Strategy (2 credits)
- IWP 642 Economics for Foreign Policy Makers (2 credits)
- IWP 799 Capstone Course (2 credits)
Additional Requirements
Candidates for this graduate degree are not required to pass a language proficiency examination but may elect to do so in order to add an important skill to their academic credentials and marketability. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the same language training opportunities made available to candidates in the Statecraft and International Affairs degree program.
Students in this program may be enrolled full-time (9 or more credit hours per semester) or part-time (less than 9 credit hours per semester) but must complete the degree in five calendar years or less. After successful completion of all coursework, each student will be required to pass a one-hour oral examination and a three-hour written comprehensive examination.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of key terms, concepts, history, and theories related to international affairs, national security, and cyber statecraft.
- Integrate the various instruments of statecraft, with special consideration of geopolitical and economic factors, as they apply to U.S. national strategy.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the increasing importance of the cyber domain to U.S. national security strategy and an appreciation for the challenges of bringing cyber operation theories into practice.
- Appreciate the principles of the American founding and the Western moral tradition as they apply to Cyber Statecraft, especially in relation to national security policy.