College of Information and Cyberspace


The National Defense University College of Information and Cyberspace is a U.S. Department of Defense graduate school that provides information and cyberspace focused education for national security leaders of the United States and beyond. A unit of the National Defense University, it is located at Fort McNair, Washington, DC. As a trusted voice in the information resource management community, NDU CIC is recognized for its excellent graduate-level programs, faculty, and services that provide a strategic advantage for today’s military and civilian leaders in the United States Department of Defense and across government. The Chancellor of the NDU CIC provides strategic direction and vision for all faculty, staff, and students.

History

In 1976, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the National War College were brought into one joint educational institution when the National Defense University became a historic pooling of the defense community's intellectual resources. They were joined in 1981 by the Joint Forces Staff College and in 1982 by the Department of Defense Computer Institute. In 1988, DODCI was re-established and changed to the Information Resources Management College and then was rebranded as the iCollege in 2008. Over the last 25+ years, the NDU CIC has expanded its programs and offerings for all of government and has developed robust online and in-person academic programs. The 2017 renaming to the current College of Information and Cyberspace reflects the evolving understanding and employment of information as a Joint warfighting function and cyberspace as its own warfighting domain.

College structure

The CIC is made up of two schools

School of Joint Information Strategy and Policy (SJISP)

SJISP conducts Joint Professional Education centered on information strategy and information policy. Information strategy and policy are underpinned by effective deployment, employment, and secure operation of information technology – they are essential parts of what this school addresses.
SJSS is focused exclusively on the Joint Professional Military Education, Phase II educational mission. Since the fall of 2015, select military students have had the option to earn JPME credit through a residence academic program at the CIC.
Approximately 70% of NDU CIC students are DoD personnel, and the remaining are from U.S. federal government agencies, international governments, and the U.S. private sector. The college promotes cross-cultural understanding by ensuring each classroom is filled with a combination of government, private-sector, and international leaders. Currently, the college offers approximately 40 graduate courses, multiple times per year. There are over 16,000 alumni of the NDU CIC.

Courses and graduate programs

Courses at the College of Information and Cyberspace are free for DOD military and civilians. Courses are also open to federal agency students, U.S. private sector students, and international students, although non-DOD students must pay tuition. Courses are offered in residence at the National Defense University campus on Fort Lesley J. McNair and online through the college's Distributed Learning program. Students must be at or above a GS-13 or officer level O-4 to apply for courses and must already possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited university. International students must work through their embassy and also pass an English language proficiency exam.
The NDU CIC offers several different graduate certificate programs and a Master of Science Degree.
They are:

- Government Information Leader Master of Science Degree

- Joint Professional Military Education, Phase II

- CIO Leadership Development Program, formerly the AMP

- Chief Information Officer Certificate

- Chief Financial Officer Leadership Certificate

- Enterprise Architecture Certificates

- Cyber Security Certificates

- Cyber Leadership Certificate

- Information Technology Program Management Certificate

- Professional Development, Part Time, Online programs



In addition to facilitating learning through courses and programs, the NDU CIC responds to workforce learning needs of government organizations in areas corresponding with faculty competence. If agencies and other government organizations request tailored workshops, expert perspectives, and practical advice that aligns with the core competencies of the College and the courses offered, faculty may be deployed to work with agencies on a case-by-case basis.

NDU CIC faculty members have backgrounds in the private sector, civilian government and
defense, and academe, contributing a rich combination of experience and theory that enhances
our learning environment. Although by mission the College is primarily a teaching college,
faculty are active in many intellectual communities because scholarship is concomitant to good
teaching.

Information and cyber labs

The NDU CIC laboratories provided adaptable and customizable immersive learning environments designed to enhance learning outcomes, reproduce real-world scenarios, and provide a venue for innovative uses of emerging technologies to educate military and civilian senior leaders. The iLabs provided experiential, adult learning through flexible and mobile courses and workshops across the globe. The labs are not currently open but are planned to reopen with updated hardware and software.
;Cyber-Security and SCADA/Infrastructure Protection Labs
As a NSA-designated Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance/Cyber Education, the iCollege operated two cyber security labs addressing threats to information systems. The Cyber Attack/Defend Lab provided an environment to examine computer and network defense through exercises in intrusion techniques, mitigation, and forensics. The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Lab simulated realistic exploits and protections of various industrial control systems, such as electrical, oil, gas, water, and transportation grids.
;Ci Center, or Center for Innovation
The newest iCollege lab was an “instructional ecosystem” that uses cutting-edge technologies, flexibly integrates the latest physical and technical elements, and enabled access to multiple learning environments. It facilitated instructional methodologies and strategies that took advantage of “anywhere-anytime” capabilities. This was a unique and highly customizable instructional space that offered a complete range of physical and virtual interactions designed to facilitate learning across various realities.

Academic partners

The NDU CIC has more than 30 current NDU CIC academic partners and continues to form academic partnerships with regionally accredited universities across the United States, signing Memoranda of Understanding with schools that are Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance/Cyber Education and with universities whose programs align well with the CIC's certificates. Graduates from the college’s many certificate programs can apply to a number of partner institutions for completion of a Master’s or Doctoral/PhD Degree. There are a multitude of degree choices for NDU CIC graduates at the partner institutions.
Academic partners accept 9, 12, or 15 graduate semester credits depending on which certificate program and how many courses were completed at the NDU CIC. After the CIC reduced certificate requirements on July 1, 2014, students completing fewer courses under the new model typically receive a maximum of 12 transfer credits. Students still on the legacy program still receive the higher amount of credits. For example, students completing the CIO Certificate with 8 courses will receive 15 transfer credits, while students in the new CIO Certificate program who complete the now-required 6 courses receive 12 transfer credits.

Awards