Gwybodaeth am Fodiwlau
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Seminar Presentation about the historical background to the case study that will be discussed. 10 Minutes | 10% |
| Semester Assessment | CIA report analysis Assessing an analytical product of the CIA 1500 Words | 40% |
| Semester Assessment | Intelligence analysis report writing an analysis piece about a current event based on open sources 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Intelligence analysis report writing an analysis piece about a current event based on open sources 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Alternative assessment Summary of a seminar text 500 Words | 10% |
| Supplementary Assessment | CIA report analysis Assessing an analytical product of the CIA 1500 Words | 40% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Familiarity with key concepts of intelligence analysis and the capacity to apply these concepts to different case studies
Understanding of the variety of factors affecting intelligence assessments, including ideological, political, psychological, and cultural biases inherent in intelligence analysis
Understanding of intelligence analysis as a tool of governments, political commentators, investigative journalists, and risk consultants, and the role of new trends like AI in this process
Command of literature on different approaches to intelligence analysis, which includes theoretical discussions as well as historical applications
Understanding of problems and possible practical solutions to interpreting intelligence, war and security
Through group presentations, enhancing communication skills and teamwork
Through the writing of an intelligence analysis report, students enhance their critical thinking and acquire the necessary skillsets to work in geopolitical risk consultancy, think tanks, or indeed intelligence analysis more broadly
Through the careful analysis of CIA assessments, students reflect about intelligence officers’ but also their own analytical biases. This fosters an enhanced self-awareness of the students’ own capacities and sharpens their analytical skills
Brief description
This module is about the process of intelligence analysis, as it is commonly done by the work of government intelligence agencies, risk consultancies, investigative open-source intelligence platforms, or private intelligence firms. The module introduces students to core concepts in intelligence and security studies. It blends theory with practical examples of how the CIA analysed key geopolitical events and global developments in the 20th century. The module includes hands-on professional skills-development components: it develops students’ skills in open-source intelligence collection, data interpretation, problem-solving, and report production for national security, law enforcement, or business intelligence. The module also discusses the benefits, risks, new opportunities, and limitations of AI in intelligence analysis.
Content
This module is about the process of intelligence analysis, as it is commonly done by the work of government intelligence agencies, risk consultancies, investigative open-source intelligence platforms, or private intelligence firms. The module introduces students to core concepts in intelligence and security studies. It blends theory with practical examples of how the CIA analysed key geopolitical events and global developments in the 20th century. The module includes hands-on professional skills-development components: it develops students’ skills in open-source intelligence collection, data interpretation, problem-solving, and report production for national security, law enforcement, or business intelligence. The module also discusses the benefits, risks, new opportunities, and limitations of AI in intelligence analysis.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Co-ordinating with others | The seminars will provide the students with an opportunity to dialogue and to learn how to express their thoughts in a group setting |
| Critical and analytical thinking | For the intelligence report, students will have to select a relevant news topic, find the appropriate primary and secondary sources, critically analyse them, and draft a logical, coherent, and convincing discussion about it. |
| Professional communication | Student presentations will enhance their communication skills |
| Real world sense | Students acquire the necessary skillsets to work in intelligence analysis, which includes geopolitical risk consultancy, think tanks, or government |
| Reflection | One assignment requires the students to reflect about their own analytical biases and this sharpens their analytical skills |
| Subject Specific Skills | The students will delve into the world of intelligence professionals as they interpret international events and forecast ongoing trends. In doing so, students will be introduced to the field of intelligence studies, a pluridisciplinary field that opens up further avenues and linkages to security studies, international history, and strategic studies. The module thus offers specialised subject learning, all the while allowing them to make connections between their primary subject area and cognat |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5