UNM’s GNSPI earns prestigious federal designation as an Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence

The University of New Mexico's Global & National Security Policy Institute (GNSPI) has been awarded a prestigious grant from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence that will designate the University of New Mexico as an Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE).

The IC CAE Program was established in 2005 to develop a cadre of qualified intelligence professionals to carry out America's long-term national security initiatives by creating a competitive, knowledgeable, and diverse workforce. The grant is targeted largely at minority-serving institutions to help prepare students interested in pursuing careers in intelligence and national security.

UNM's award totals $2.5 million over nine years and will be used to support curriculum updates and new courses in the Global & National Security concentration of the Liberal Arts and Integrative Studies major, the National Security and Strategic Analysis undergraduate certificate, and the Professional Master of Science in Global & National Security. There will also be new courses available in cybersecurity.

The grant will also support the recruitment of students from a variety of fields-including STEM, foreign languages, social sciences, and the humanities-to become IC CAE Scholars. IC CAE Scholars are eligible to take advantage of many fully funded opportunities, including study abroad, educational visits to federal agencies in Washington, D.C., and conference attendance. IC CAE Scholars can earn stipends for summer research projects in the areas of STEM, area studies, and national security.

The grant also makes it possible to bring professional development programming to UNM, including an annual Global & National Security Symposium, guest speakers, career development workshops, and a Global & National Security Career Fair for interested students.

The grant was made possible with support from co-principal Investigators from University College, UNM Political Science, the International Studies Institute, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Valencia and Los Alamos branch campuses.

More information on how to become an IC CAE Scholar is available from UNM's Global & National Security Policy Institute.