Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Spying 101: US Wants Colleges to Train 007s

Spying 101 plan aims to mold future intelligence officers

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 20, 2009 9:28 AM CDT

(Newser) – It's like a cloak-and-dagger version of ROTC. The government wants universities to help train the next generation of spies, the Washington Post reports. The proposed program would recruit first- and second-generation students from diverse ethnic backgrounds, the Mideast and Asia in particular, and run them through a specialized set of courses to prepare them for their covert careers.

Under the plan, potential intelligence officers would be recruited from juniors and sophomores and required to pass a background check. Colleges would get grants to boost foreign language and analytic courses useful to spies-in-training, and the recruits would get financial aid in return for a commitment to serve a set period of time. The names of students taking part in the program would, of course, be kept top secret.

The government plans to offer grants to universities offering language, scientific, and technical courses key to its spy training program. (Flickr)

Unlike the military's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, intelligence agencies plan to recruit sophomores and juniors instead of freshmen. (Shutter Stock)

Spying 101, coming to a campus near you. (Shutter Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

Another Sign Rihanna and Chris Brown Might Get Back Together? (Celebuzz)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 11 comments

riffran

Jun 21, 2009 2:33 AM CDT

can we get the super Batman decoder rings?????? PLEASEEEEEE PLEASEEEEEE!...... :)

brawne

Jun 20, 2009 7:35 AM CDT

Hey it worked for the FBI in the 60's. Well, except when they couldn't convict the unrepentant terrorist.

brawne

Jun 20, 2009 7:26 AM CDT

You sound mature enough to me. Besides, how mature do you have to be to ignore the cell phone calls to Osama's wives ordering them home on 9/8/01? I think that the CIA is realizing that you can teach an American Farsi, but he or she still sticks out like a sore thumb. It's like the Mossad, which trains the greatest agents, but has the toughest accountants. Their agents complain that they're always spotted because they're the only ones requesting a receipt for a cup of coffee.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Washington Post (Source Grid »)

CIA seeks to hire laid-off bankers
Reuters

US • Politics

espionage • higher education • colleges and universities • spies • intelligence agencies

More Newser Stories

Prof Ends Snack Demand After 39 Years

Requirement was team-building exercise, he says

(NEWSER) - For the first time in 39 years, Psychology 101 students at Sacramento State may find themselves being taught by a hungry Parrott. For decades, professor George Parrott has told students that if they fail to bring homemade snacks for the class to share, there will be no class. The university told him to end the requirement after he walked out of a snackless class two weeks ago and students complained, the Sacramento Bee reports. More»

Harvard Loses Top Spot in College Rankings

But US schools clean up

(NEWSER) - Hang your head in shame, Crimson alums: After eight years on top, Harvard sank to a lowly second on the Times Higher Education ’s list of the world’s top 400 universities. Harvard was displaced by the California Institute of Technology (aka Caltech), thanks to its “consistent results across the indicators and a steep rise in research funding,” the Times wrote. More»

German Spy Agency Loses Blueprints for HQ

Masterplan for $2B building missing

(NEWSER) - Embarrassed chiefs at Germany's spy agency have admitted that blueprints for the agency's new $2 billion headquarters are missing and might be in the hands of other spies. The plans include details of highly sensitive areas, including the building's logistical nerve center and anti-terror installations, the Guardian reports. The core of the Berlin building, which is nearing completion after several years of construction, may now have to be rebuilt. More»

Black Spies Helped Union Cause in Civil War

Historians say they deserve greater recognition

(NEWSER) - With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War upon us, experts on African-American history are hoping that a group of under-appreciated spies will finally get proper recognition for years of dangerous service, reports the AP . Some of the most useful intelligence-gatherers during the Civil War were black men and women posing as slaves. Because Confederates believed them to be illiterate, ignorant, and inferior, black men and women were able to live and work among high-ranking officers and even in Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s own home. More»

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

(NEWSER) - If you’re determined to get a great job, you might want to quit your course of study at Cornell or Dartmouth and transfer to one of the "top 5" schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Wharton. A new study shows that recruiters for the best law firms, investment banks, and consultancy firms are only looking at graduates of those schools, Business Insider reports. And even if you’re one of those elite grads, recruiters want to make sure you’re not—in their words—"boring," a "tool," or a "bookworm." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Spying 101: US Wants Colleges to Train 007s

Spying 101 plan aims to mold future intelligence officers

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

espionage • higher education • colleges and universities • spies • intelligence agencies

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Prof Ends Snack Demand After 39 Years

Requirement was team-building exercise, he says

Harvard Loses Top Spot in College Rankings

But US schools clean up

German Spy Agency Loses Blueprints for HQ

Masterplan for $2B building missing

Black Spies Helped Union Cause in Civil War

Historians say they deserve greater recognition

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Spying 101: US Wants Colleges to Train 007s

Spying 101 plan aims to mold future intelligence officers

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

espionage • higher education • colleges and universities • spies • intelligence agencies

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Prof Ends Snack Demand After 39 Years

Requirement was team-building exercise, he says

Harvard Loses Top Spot in College Rankings

But US schools clean up

German Spy Agency Loses Blueprints for HQ

Masterplan for $2B building missing

Black Spies Helped Union Cause in Civil War

Historians say they deserve greater recognition

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?