History
IIS-MU was founded in February 2004, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). For a dozen years before the opening of the institute, Mercyhurst College offered an undergraduate degree in intelligence studies as part of its ground-breaking Research/Intelligence Analyst Program (RIAP, or R/iap). Nestled within Mercyhurst College's Department of History, RIAP was the first non-governmental initiative of its kind in the U.S. The program began in 1992 with only 14 students, but the competence of graduates eventually attracted the attention of the U.S. Intelligence Community.
The intense public debate in the U.S. following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, focused on U.S. intelligence analysts and their need for training, which directed attention to Mercyhurst's already-growing program. RIAP's success at the undergraduate level led to the offering of a graduate program by 2004. The Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted a sabbatical program in 2005, through which senior analysts began to attend IIS-MU for advanced training.
For many years, no other school in the United States offered a degree designed specifically for intelligence analysts.
Read more about this topic: Mercyhurst University Institute For Intelligence Studies
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