This fall the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies is launching a new program, “Emerging Voices in National Security and Intelligence,” led by Director Yarhi-Milo and Senior Research Scholar Peter Clement.

Intelligence is central to the making and study of national security policy, as underscored by the role of intelligence in major recent events the terrorist attacks of September 11, the US invasion of Iraq, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. These events highlight the critical need for a deep and sophisticated understanding of the intelligence business and its role in contemporary issues of national security. The Saltzman Institute’s New Voices in National Security and Intelligence Studies seeks to more fully integrate key aspects of intelligence—its history, current-day mission, capabilities, and workforce culture–into the SIPA/Columbia international relations and national security curriculum. A key element of the program is to encourage students at both the undergraduate and graduate level to learn about and consider opportunities in the national security arena, including women, BIPOC, and first-generation students.

Components of the program include: four new courses on intelligence and national security; an annual conference; a senior speakers series; class guest speakers; career-focused activities to include panels of young professionals working on national security issues, and “career boot camps; ” support for a post-doctoral research scholar; and financial support for promising undergraduate students.