United States Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence (IC CAE) in National Security Studies

Program Plan for Fiscal Years 2005-2015

The Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence (IC CAE) in National Security Studies Program is established to assist in meeting the nation’s demand for a cadre of professionals to carry out America’s national security imperatives over the long-term. Emphasis is on partnerships that build talent and feeder pools aligned with the IC human capital strategy during the 21st Century. Recognizing that accomplishing this goal requires a competitive, knowledgeable and ethnically diverse workforce, the IC CAE program aims to increase the pool of eligible applicants in core skills areas, specifically targeting women and racial/ethnic minorities with varied cultural backgrounds, regional and geographical expertise, skills, language proficiency, and related competencies.

The Intelligence Community (IC) is comprised of executive branch agencies and/or components of the federal government specifically focused on national security issues and policy including homeland security. The Intelligence Community comprises many such organizations including components in the Department of Defense.

The objectives of the IC CAE program are to:

Achieve 21st century United States Intelligence National Security Imperatives.
Diversify workforce in core business areas.
Build competitive talent and feeder pools over the long-term to counter trans-national, regional and global threats to America’s interests.
Institutionalize a systematic/integrated approach that promotes access to larger pools of eligible and diverse talent during the 21st Century.
Unify approaches to build joint-ness and reinvigorate Intelligence Community (IC)-wide corporate efforts.
Promote continuity of IC-wide human capital strategy in concert with the President’s Strategic Management of Human Capital Agenda.

Grant Program

The purpose of this grant program is to establish IC CAEs through the initiation of new programs and/or the support of existing programs at accredited institutions of higher learning across the United States. Through the grant, a partnership is forged between the Intelligence Community, colleges and universities to incorporate curriculum and related initiatives. The focus of this effort is to increase the pipeline of competitive applicants to attract, recruit and hire with an emphasis on women and racial/ethnic minorities with critical skills in core business and leadership areas (Public Law 108, 177, Section 319).

Participation in the IC CAE program is open to all accredited four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The IC CAE Program is designed to promote the acquisition of competitive talent in concert with the IC’s human capital strategy for 21st Century National Security Imperatives. The IC CAE Program initiative will focus attention on diverse institutions and populations of talent across the United States including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU), and Asian American and Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AAPI-SI), as well as majority institutions with significant populations of minorities and/or women that possess credentials and disciplines compatible with America’s National Security Agenda and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Direction Imperatives. In addition, institutions shall:

Make a commitment to the goals and objectives of the IC CAE Program -- in particular, creating a pool of competitive applicants from the targeted populations noted above;
Enroll and graduate a significant number of ethnically diverse students who are eligible and competitive for careers across IC agencies and components;
Link their CAE activities and curriculum offerings to at least one of the five CAE Areas of Focus; and
Commit resources to support the infrastructure needed for the institution’s CAE initiative.

The target student populations include high school, undergraduate and graduate students. All students participating in the IC CAE Program must be United States citizens.

The following documents have been issued by the Director of National Intelligence in April 2005 for the U. S. Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence (IC CAE) in National Security Studies:

Guidance and Procedures Handbook (PDF Document, ~7MB)