Degree Requirements and Curriculum

The Master of Arts in Strategy, Cybersecurity, and Intelligence (MASCI) is a one-year degree that will prepare future leaders and operators for sound decision-making at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, by enabling them to task, parse, and prepare a wide range of data and raw intelligence.

Become an Expert

Gain expertise in major strategy and intelligence topics such as terrorism, extremism, cybersecurity, disinformation, political warfare, covert operations, sanctions, special operations, and economic espionage. Build the skills to work effectively in careers in the US Department of Defense, US Intelligence Community, and the related private and nonprofit sectors.

Sample Course Schedule

Pre-Term Boot Camp

The Pre-Term Boot Camp is designed to be an identity-forming group experience for the cohort to take place in and around Washington in late August. The boot camp will include an introduction to the program and topics in intelligence, cybersecurity, strategy, covert action, military basics, open-source intelligence and policy making, exercises and simulations, an intelligence walk around Washington DC, and a Staff Ride to Antietam National Battlefield.

Cohort Core Courses

Strategy I: POLICY, STRATEGY AND WAR

This course is an introduction to strategic studies, which deals with the preparation and use of military power to serve the ends of politics. Although the treatment is topical, two themes run throughout: (1) the nature of war based largely, but not exclusively, on Carl von Clausewitz's On War and (2) the evolution of warfare from the late nineteenth century to the present. There are no prerequisites for this course; nevertheless, students will require a basic grasp of 20th and 21st century history. The course is divided into three main parts: an introductory discussion of strategic theory focused on Clausewitz and alternatives to his theory of war; an examination of the paradigmatic form of mass warfare that emerged in the nineteenth through the mid- twentieth century; and, an examination of challenges that have emerged to that paradigm since World War II. The course is taught through a combination of lecture and discussion. By the course’s conclusion, students will have a fulsome understanding of the theory and history of strategic studies, and will be equipped to apply that knowledge to the major dilemmas animating international security affairs today.

Strategy II: US NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY AND THE FUTURE OF CONFLICT

Strategy II examines the current and future use of force to achieve national objectives, with particular emphasis on emerging domains of 21st century warfare. This course builds upon the courses "Strategy I" and "Strategy and Policy" that provide an introduction to strategic studies, which deals with the preparation and use of military power to serve the ends of politics. The course is structured to cover three broad areas: 1) US Strategy in a Changing World, 2) The Changing Character of War, and 3) Strategic Decision-Making.  Lessons will include but are not limited to: Strategic Forecasting, Resource Tradeoffs, Surprise and Adaptability, Civil-Military Relations, Space and Space Warfare, Cyber and Information Warfare, Technology and Future Conflicts, and Asymmetric Vulnerabilities. At the end of the course, students will have a better grasp of the diverse and competing issues that confront today's strategists and policy-makers, with a particular focus on the security challenges facing the United States in the 21st century.

Intelligence I: ROLE, PRACTICE AND IMPACT OF AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE

This course is an introduction and overview of the discipline of intelligence. It is divided thematically into three parts: the context in which modern American intelligence services perform their missions, the actual practice of intelligence collection and analysis, and the enduring issues that have characterized the field for centuries.  There are no prerequisites for the course other than a general understanding of international relations and politics.

Intelligence II: SIGNALS AND CYBER

This course follows from Intelligence I. Intelligence II offers students an introduction into the changing face of intelligence in the digital age—goals, methods, and actors. From open-source intelligence to cyber operations, we will explore the historical evolution of the ‘who, how, and why’ of intelligence over the course of the semester. The class has a focus on technical intelligence and cybersecurity, and provides a solid grounding in the cybersecurity basics for those students who do not select any further cybersecurity-focused electives in their MASCI experience.

Sample Electives*

• Air Power and Strategy
• American Defense Policy
• Behavioral Sociology of Conflict
• Defense Analysis
• Digital Forensics and Incident Reporting (DFIR)
• Diplomatic Disasters
• Disinformation
• Economic Sanctions and Statecraft
• Genocide and Mass Violence
• Illicit Finance
• Insurgency and Irregular Warfare
• International Bargaining and Negotiation
• Military Adaptation under Fire
• Operations Analysis
• Psychology and Decision-making in Foreign Policy
• Technology and War
• The Nature and Character of Cyber Conflict

*subject to change

Capstone

Students will select one of two capstone options, either a thesis or a brief focused on a topic related to any of the degree subject areas of strategy, cybersecurity, and intelligence. Each student will be assigned an advisor early in the spring semester. The advisor will provide or facilitate supervision of the work leading toward the capstone requirement. The thesis is a thoroughly researched and well-sourced paper, at least 6,000 words long. The presentation is a thoroughly researched presentation, using any presentation software, presented in a 15-minute briefing, followed by a 30-minute Q&A session with at least two faculty members to probe the briefing’s depth and quality. It must be accompanied by an executive summary with a maximum length of 1,000 words. The summary should include a list of references to the best available sources. The January Intersession Capstone Research Seminar will prepare students for both the capstone thesis and brief.