SLU's Intelligence Community Scholars Program Now Accepting Applications
The Intelligence Community Scholars Program is an academic recognition program for students wanting to pursue a career in the Intelligence Community. IC CAE Scholars are students with demonstrated academic, professional, and/or research skills who are interested in pursuing a career in the Intelligence Community.
IC Scholars have opportunities to apply for designated scholarships, internships, and career trips to Washington D.C. and other areas. The program is limited to 30 new scholars this year, and students from across the university are eligible.
The IC Scholars program was created as part of a $2.5 million grant from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The funding created the Midwest-Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (MW-IC CAE) at SLU, which is dedicated to preparing students for professional positions in the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.
All IC Scholars will be nominated for scholarships and receive priority review and consideration for a variety of programs through the MW-IC CAE at SLU, including study abroad, career fairs and mentoring. They will be eligible for federal internships specifically designed for IC CAE program participants around the county.
The IC CAE program was established in 2005 and is a highly competitive program designed to meet the demand for a diverse cadre of professionals to carry out national security priorities and obligations.
Scholars will also have opportunities to participate in free intelligence career training in Washington D.C. Four students from the IC Scholar program at SLU were selected to participate in the 2024 Intelligence Community Summer Seminar in Washington, DC. SLU students joined other IC Scholars from across the country to participate in a week-long intensive immersion program hosted and paid for by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
SLU’s IC Scholars had the opportunity to meet with legislators, IC professionals, and experience site visits to the headquarters of various intelligence agencies such as the CIA, NGA, and FBI. In addition to site visits, lectures, and briefings, they participated in a week-long simulation of a national security threat, where small groups of students were trained to take raw intelligence and develop it into an intelligence briefing for officials at the highest levels.
The Intelligence Community includes:
- Branches of the U.S. Military
- Central Intelligence Agency
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Department of Energy
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of State
- Department of the Treasury
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- National Reconnaissance Office
- National Security Agency
Program Eligibility
This program is funded through the ODNI. All IC CAE Scholars must be U.S. citizens who are current SLU undergrads or graduate students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above. They should have a declared major or minor/certificate in strategic intelligence, STEM or language studies or have completed at least six credits of academic course in one or more of these subject areas: intelligence, languages, leadership, emergency management, analytics, geospatial sciences, cybersecurity or any STEM area.
Selected scholars must participate in at least two MW-IC CAE-related University sponsored events on campus or virtually each year on topics related to the intelligence community, national security or more general subjects such as diversity and inclusion, leadership, and ethics.
The application deadline is November 1, 2024.