Prime Highlights:

• Sciences Po Saint-Germain offers a one-of-a-kind diploma where regular students learn alongside professional intelligence agents.
• The program trains students in global threats, cybersecurity, and risk analysis, preparing them for careers in both intelligence and major companies like Orange, Thales, and LVMH.

Key Facts:

• The Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats is a four-month, 120-hour course developed with France’s Académie du Renseignement.
• Most graduates move into desk-based roles in intelligence or the private sector, focusing on strategy, analysis, and security rather than field operations.

Background:

On the outskirts of Paris, Sciences Po Saint-Germain offers a unique program that brings together regular students and professional intelligence agents to learn about global threats.

The course, Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats, was created in partnership with the Académie du Renseignement, the training branch of France’s intelligence services. It was developed after the 2015 Paris attacks to train new recruits and provide ongoing education for current intelligence officers.

Professor Xavier Crettiez, who teaches political radicalization, admits he rarely knows the real identities of the agents in his course. “I doubt the names I’m given are genuine anyway,” he says, highlighting the program’s unique integration of professional operatives and students in their early twenties.

The four-month, 120-hour program covers topics ranging from organized crime and Islamic jihadism to business intelligence and political violence. Students include a mix of younger university learners and active members of French intelligence, with many later moving into high-level private sector roles in defense, aerospace, and luxury industries.

One of the program’s students, Roger, an investment banker in his 40s, explains: “I joined the course to provide risk assessments for my clients in West Africa.” Meanwhile, younger students like Alexandre Hubert, 21, are drawn by the chance to understand international economic conflicts and intelligence strategies, seeing the course as a bridge between theory and real-world application.

Graduates of the program have found jobs with companies like Orange, Thales, and LVMH, where their training in cybersecurity, risk analysis, and intelligence is highly valued.

Professor Xavier Crettiez points out that most intelligence work is not like in the movies. “Few recruits work in the field. Most roles are desk-based, focusing on analysis and strategy,” he says, showing the practical skills the course provides.

With its unique lessons and strong industry connections, the Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats combines academic learning with real-world experience, giving students insight into one of the most secretive and challenging professions.

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