Apply to Bachelor of Science Intelligence (BSI)
Apply to the BSI
The Bachelor of Science in Intelligence (BSI) degree focuses on core intelligence concepts, issues, and methods. It is a one-year completion program for students who have completed three years or equivalent credits (80 semester hours minimum) of study to earn their undergraduate degree in intelligence.
The BSI curriculum consists of eleven core courses and six electives, including the capstone project, for a total of 57 quarter credit hours. The core curriculum provides an overview of globalization and the intelligence landscape. Such understanding is essential for a program founded on the premise that world events can only be understood by employing a variety of disciplinary perspectives, and that they must be understood in a global and geostrategic context. BSI students must write and present their ideas effectively; learn independently; use technological tools; retrieve and evaluate sources; develop critical, independent, and creative thinking; and tolerate complexity and ambiguity. Students will develop a respect for self and others in collaborative work.
Throughout the BSI program, student outcomes are assessed by examinations, case studies, written projects, and oral presentations. The capstone project serves as a summative evaluation of student learning and cultivates alliances and cooperation among faculty and students. To ensure that students are prepared, as a group, to collaborate on the capstone project, some elective courses will be required to prepare for the project.
At the conclusion of the program, the capstone project allows each student to demonstrate critical thinking and innovative analytical problem-solving in a collaborative environment. The project is an opportunity for students to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes established for the BSI program. The nine-credit experience integrates learning from the core and elective courses, and requires the application of that learning to a significant intelligence problem.
BSI Application Form for Academic Year 2024-2025:
BSI Program Format:
Provide the following materials by the posted deadline. Please ensure your name appears on each page of your submission.
1. Provide a completed degree seeking Application.
Nomination from your agency training office or branch of service detailer/branch manager/function manager.
- Statement of Purpose
(500-word unclassified essay, typed and double-spaced) explaining: your motivation for pursuing undergraduate study in intelligence; your professional goals and objectives, and career or educational achievements that will help you successfully complete a BSI degree. - Transcripts:
All universities and colleges where you received credit. Service transcripts, if applicable (Air Force (CCAF); Joint Services transcript (Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines); DoD school transcripts, Defense Language Institute, National Cryptologic School, etc..
* Transcripts may be emailed to NIU_Admissions@odni.gov or mailed to the Office of Admissions. Mail may take six weeks to arrive. Please consider this when applying. Examination/Test Scores, such as:
– CLEP exams (NIU Code 7542)
– DSST exams (NIU Code 9442)
– Excelsior College exams
-Defense Language Proficiency Tests (DLPT)
* Test scores need to be sent directly to the NIU Admissions Office from the testing institution.
- Statement of Purpose
Please check the NIU catalog for the latest requirements.
- Completed applications should be submitted electronically to NIU_Admissions@odni.gov.
- To protect PII, please send applications from a .gov or .mil account.
- If electronic submission is not possible, applicants can submit their documents by mail. Please note that mail can take several weeks to arrive, so please plan accordingly.
- NIU Admissions can accept hand-delivered document. Please contact NIU_Admissions@odni.gov to arrange this.
- For mail sent through the United States Postal Service, the following address must be used:
- National Intelligence University
Office of Admissions
Roberdeau Hall
Washington, DC 20511 - For mail sent by FedEx or UPS, the following address must be used but note that weekend deliveries are not accepted:
- National Intelligence University
Office of Admissions
Roberdeau Hall, ICC-B Gate 5
1000 Colonial Farm Road
McLean, VA 22101
Office of Admissions
Phone 301-243-2094
Fax 301-227-7067
Email: NIU_Admissions@odni.gov
The Privacy Act of Public Law 93-579 requires Federal Agencies which collect personal information from individuals to inform each individual of the following:
- Authority: 44USC3101 and 3102 Establishment of Program Management.
- Principal Purpose: To record information solicited from and furnished by individuals nominated to attend courses of instruction of the NIU.
- Routine Use: Used in preparation of tentative and final class rosters for official University use, biographic data on students, statistical studies, attendance verification, historical records, alumni surveys, academic/fitness reports, and other official correspondence.
- Disclosure and Effects: Disclosure of information by the applicant is voluntary. However, non-disclosure may result in errors in reporting course completion, incomplete statistical comparisons, non-receipt of security clearance, errors in historical files, incomplete student academic/fitness reports, and non-receipt of official correspondence.