In recent years, there has been a push to increase the diversity of the federal government’s Intelligence Community (IC). The IC is the 18 organizations of the federal government that protect national security through the conducting of intelligence operations (ODNI 1). They hire individuals to collect or analyze intelligence, but they also have a need for individuals from a wide variety of occupations such as doctors and engineers (CIA). To develop these professionals, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) manages a nationwide program called the Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) (ODNI 2). This program provides grants to select colleges and universities to develop intelligence-based curriculums that train students for these careers (ODNI 2). The program notes that it is “especially interested in institutions with diverse populations of talent and in geographically diverse (rural) populations” (ODNI 2).
The IC CAE program also provides extracurricular opportunities to help stand out on job applications. Achieving set milestones (as defined by each IC CAE school) can earn students the IC CAE scholar status, a certification of one’s commitment to a career in intelligence (ODNI 2). Additionally, ODNI hosts the annual National Security Analysis and Intelligence Summer Seminar, which brings 150 students from IC CAE schools across the country for one week to visit intelligence agencies and participate in an unclassified analytic simulation (ODNI 3). On August 30, ODNI published a news article giving details on the 2024 Summer Seminar (ODNI 3). This event included visits to the headquarters locations of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (ODNI 3). Each visit had presentations from experts and the opportunity to speak with senior leaders of these agencies such as CIA Deputy Director David Cohen and Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Dr. Stacey Dixon (ODNI 3). This year’s simulation included a mock National Security Council (NSC) that worked through the issue of “whether the President should travel to a conflict zone amid rising national security concerns” (ODNI 3). The group ultimately decided that the President could make the trip without issue (ODNI 3).
Students can also apply to internship programs with each agency to gain experience while still in school. Most of these internships are paid, and some provide benefits such as tuition assistance. Students are encouraged to look for these internships early, as any position will require a Top Secret security clearance. A security clearance is a very extensive background check that goes into many aspects of one’s life history to determine whether someone can be trusted to hold sensitive national security information (USAJOBS). The IC notes on the USAJOBS website that “The entire process, on average, takes 9-12 months” (USAJOBS). For those that can receive a clearance, an internship in the IC can give students real-world experience in the mission-critical occupations of these agencies before graduating.
Students can also gain valuable experience studying abroad to develop proficiency in languages that are considered critical to United States (U.S.) national security priorities such as Arabic or Mandarin Chinese (U.S. Department of State). The Boren Awards, an initiative by the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO), provides scholarships and fellowships of up to $25,000 for students to study abroad (DLNSEO). For up to a year, students immerse themselves into the language and culture of the country they applied to travel to (DLNSEO). After returning to the U.S., students are given “exclusive opportunities and preferential consideration for federal government jobs,” according to the program (DLNSEO).
References
ODNI 1: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/what-we-do/members-of-the-ic
CIA: https://www.cia.gov/careers/jobs?careerOpp=Enterprise%20and%20Support&page=7
ODNI 2: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/iccae
USAJOBS: https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/security-clearance-process
U.S. Department of State: https://exchanges.state.gov/cls