OXFORD, Miss. – Intelligence as it relates to national security is the focus of new research collaboration between the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies at the University of Mississippi and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“We believe that we have a number of research interests in common, particularly in the study of the social psychology of terrorist recruitment,” said Rom Harre, director of the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science at the London School in a letter to the CISS about becoming an associate research institution.
“We hope that we can exchange research projects and results with benefit to us both,” he added.
Partnerships such as the one with the London School of Economics put the center on the cutting edge of research for the intelligence community, said Carl Jensen, CISS director.
“This will pay immediate benefits: Our students will learn the latest and most effective analytical methods; the university will be acknowledged as a center for excellence in intelligence community research; and the country will gain an added measure of security by having more reliable methods for analysis and forecasting,” Jensen said.
The partnership was due in large part to Assistant Dean Marie Barnard’s previous interdisciplinary collaborative work, said Linda Chitwood, dean of the School of Applied Sciences.
“The partnership between the CISS and an elite institution such as the London School of Economics demonstrates how important the center’s research and training is not only nationally but also internationally,” she said. “It is an exciting step for the center and for the School of Applied Sciences as a whole, and we are grateful to Assistant Dean Barnard and the center staff for their work on building this new partnership.”
The Center for Intelligence and Security Studies was created in fall 2008. This past spring, the center held a ribbon cutting for a new facility. Led by Carl Jensen, assistant professor of legal studies and former special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the center offers a minor in intelligence and security studies, and it triggered an intensive Arabic language program in the Department of Modern Languages, the only such program in the state.
Selection for the minor is competitive among interested students based on applications submitted typically in their sophomore year, Jensen said. All applicants who wish to pursue an internship or employment in an intelligence community agency must first pass a background check.
Already, more than 100 students have participated in the program by taking an introductory intelligence course, said Melissa Graves, project coordinator for the center.
In March, the center selected its first cohort of 17 students to complete the minor. The cohort members have an average GPA of 3.69, a number comparable to the average GPA for entrance to the UM School of Medicine. The students come from all areas of the university, including the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Croft Institute for International Studies.
For more information on the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/ciss/ .