A joint project by the GS and IA Programs
James Madison University participates in a Geospatial Intelligence Certificate Program, which has been accredited by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF, http://www.usgif.org). Students who aspire to a career in geospatial intelligence, especially at one of the federal intelligence agencies, such as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will find this beneficial.
The USGIF is an educational foundation bringing together industry, academia, government, and professional organizations who are dedicated to promoting geospatial intelligence tradecraft and building a community of interest among those interested in GEOINT. The US Code, Title 10, defines GEOINT as “the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT consists of imagery, imagery intelligence, and geographic information.”
Expanding on the official federal definition, USGIF further defines GEOINT as “all activities involved in the planning, collection, processing, analysis, exploitation, and dissemination of spatial information in order to gain intelligence about the national security or operational environment, visually depict this knowledge, and fuse the acquired knowledge with other information through analyses and visualization processes.”
Among many other activities, the USGIF:
- Publishes a monthly journal, Trajectory
- Awards thousands of dollars in scholarships every year
- Holds an annual GEOINT Symposium - the world’s largest public gathering of intelligence professionals.
As part of its educational mission, USGIF sponsors a Geospatial Intelligence Certificate Program (http://usgif.org/education/accreditation). Universities meeting the guidelines and standards of the program are authorized to nominate candidates for the certificate from the USGIF. Schools participating in the program include: George Mason University, Penn State, the University of South Carolina, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, among others.
Learn More:
For further information regarding the certificate, contact:
- Dr. Helmut Kraenzle, Professor of Geographic Science
- Dr. Tim Walton, Associate Professor of Intelligence Analysis
