Build a serious cyber intelligence program — and a research engine to feed it.
Treadstone 71's Academic Integration Service partners with faculty, deans, provosts, and research directors to design, deploy, and refresh Strategic, Operational, Tactical, and Cyber Intelligence curricula that produce graduates ready for real intelligence work — not generic cybersecurity coursework with an "intel" label. Tiered engagement scales from a single guest lecture to multi-year doctoral research partnerships and full degree-program design. NSA/CAE-aligned. IAFIE-aligned. NICCS-listed faculty.
Most "intelligence studies" programs graduate students who have never produced intelligence.
They have read about it. They have written essays about it. They may even have run a tabletop or two. But they have never elicited a Priority Intelligence Requirement from a real sponsor, decomposed it into a sourced collection plan, run a multi-hypothesis ACH against a contested question, scored their output against ICD 203 estimative-language standards, and closed the loop with a refreshed PIR on cadence. They have not built a cyber persona that survives a Hofstede-consistent legend audit. They have not written a BLUF report that a board would actually act on. They have not been forced to defend their analytic line against a Devil's Advocate agent that disagrees with everything they say.
Tradecraft is a discipline. It is not a vibe. It is not a vocabulary. It cannot be inferred from a textbook. It has to be taught by people who do it for a living, and it has to be practiced under conditions that resemble the work.
Treadstone 71 has been teaching that discipline since 2002 — to government services, defense primes, and Fortune-class intelligence functions worldwide. The Academic Integration Service brings the same methodology, the same case-study library, and the same standards into your classroom, your lab, and your degree program. We do not replace your faculty. We equip them. We do not water down for the classroom. We adapt without compromise.
Four ways to start. One ladder to a full program.
Pick the tier that matches your current capacity, urgency, and budget. Most institutions begin at Tier 1 or Tier 2 and scale upward over 18–36 months. Each tier produces deliverables you can show a department chair, a curriculum committee, an accreditation reviewer, or a board.
Single lectures, faculty workshops, short consulting engagements, and teaching kits. Ideal entry point. Lets your faculty audition the methodology before committing to curricular change.
- Guest lecture (1–3 sessions, in-person or remote)
- Faculty methodology workshop (half-day or full-day)
- Teaching kit: slides, case studies, grading rubrics
- Short-form advisory on existing syllabi
Ready-to-deploy course modules co-developed with sponsoring faculty. Each module is a complete syllabus, lecture set, lab sequence, case studies, grading rubric, and reading list. Designed to slot into an existing program at the appropriate level.
- Full syllabus + 14-week or compressed format
- Lecture decks + facilitator notes
- Case-study library (real engagement vignettes, redacted)
- Practical lab sequence with grading rubric
- Faculty co-teach option for first delivery
Complete multi-course sequence design. 4–7 courses across the four intelligence layers, capstone scenarios, accreditation mapping (NSA/CAE, ABET, IAFIE), faculty preparation, and a 12-month refresh subscription. Produces a transcript-credential pathway for your students.
- 4–7 course curriculum architecture
- Capstone scenario library (MERIDIAN, NORTHWIND, custom)
- NSA/CAE-CO & CAE-CD Knowledge Unit mapping
- Faculty train-the-trainer (cohort of 3–5)
- Articulation to Treadstone 71 Practitioner Certificate
- 12-month curriculum refresh subscription included
Master's track design, doctoral research sponsorship, joint research lab, multi-year strategic partnership. For institutions making intelligence studies a flagship capability with sustained research output.
- Master's track architecture (10–14 courses + thesis)
- Doctoral research sponsorship and advisory committees
- Joint research lab with shared publication track
- Annual co-hosted intelligence symposium
- Treadstone 71 Visiting Scholar appointments
- Multi-year MOU with refresh and expansion clauses
Strategic, Operational, Tactical, Cyber — taught as discrete modules and integrated as one production cycle.
A serious intelligence program teaches all four layers and shows students how they interact. Each layer is its own module, sized appropriately for its audience (Strategic typically at graduate or senior undergraduate level; Tactical at sophomore or junior level). The Adaptive Cyber Intelligence Lifecycle then integrates them into a single production cycle students experience through capstone work.
Strategic Intelligence
Long-range, multi-year intelligence assessment for principals — heads of state, ministers, C-suites, boards. Not "what is happening this week" but "what is the adversary capability curve over the next 36 months and what should we be deciding now."
- STEMPLES Plus environmental analysis (11 dimensions)
- Hofstede cultural dimension overlays
- Geopolitical assessment & foresight
- Strategic scenario planning & alternatives
- National-level adversary capability projection
- Indicators of Change quarterly cadence
Operational Intelligence
Sustained intelligence on threat-actor campaigns. The work that lives in months and quarters, tracks specific actor groups, and feeds command-level decisions about allocation, partnership, and resource commitment.
- Intelligence Preparation of the Cyber Battlefield
- Threat actor campaign analysis
- Targeted Cyber HUMINT analysis
- Influence operations exposure
- Counterintelligence operations
- Adversary OPTEMPO & sustainability modeling
Tactical Intelligence
Immediate, technical intelligence delivered in hours and days. The layer where SOC, IR, threat hunting, and OSINT collection actually live. Most "cyber threat intel" courses on the market stop here. This is where ours begin.
- Threat hunting tradecraft
- IOC enrichment, pivoting, and STIX 2.1 production
- Recursive Malicious Code Attribution (RMCA)
- OSINT collection with Cultural Nexus framework
- Cyber persona doctrine & passive-collection OPSEC
- Admiralty scoring & source confidence
Cyber Intelligence Foundations
All-source intelligence applied to the cyber domain. The integrating layer that ties Strategic, Operational, and Tactical together through doctrine, lifecycle, and rigor — and produces ICD-203-compliant, decision-tied outputs at every level.
- Adaptive Cyber Intelligence Lifecycle (6 phases)
- 30-technique Advanced Analytic Dominance arsenal
- Cyber Intelligence CMM (5 maturity dimensions)
- Insider Threat CMM
- ICD 203 estimative language
- BLUF / AIMS analytic writing standards
Six core modules, plus electives. Mix to fit your program.
Each module is a complete, deployable course. Sized for a 14-week semester or compressible into a 5–7 day intensive. Co-deliverable with your faculty. Students who complete the module sequence articulate to a Treadstone 71 Practitioner Certificate at no additional fee.
Decision-tied scenarios. Sponsor-judged. ICD-203-compliant deliverables.
Scenarios are the heart of the program. Each is built to force students to produce intelligence under realistic constraints — sponsor pressure, evidence ambiguity, time limits, and a Devil's Advocate that disagrees. All scenarios are co-licensed for institutional use with Treadstone 71 program adoption.
Charter a Cyber Intelligence Cell from Zero
Students assume founding-analyst roles inside MERIDIAN, a fictional fintech with regulatory exposure and no existing intelligence function. They must elicit PIRs from a named executive sponsor (played by faculty), build a collection plan, charter the cell, and present a 90-day Cyber Intelligence CMM roadmap.
Modernize a Mature Program with Tradecraft Drift
Students walk into NORTHWIND, a simulated Fortune 500 industrial program with deliberately introduced drift symptoms — PIR backlog, unsigned collection plans, single-model ACH, AAR loop broken. They diagnose, refactor, and defend an ROI dashboard to a board panel.
Full-Spectrum SAT Synthesis
Senior-capstone integration scenario. Students apply the full 30-technique Advanced Analytic Dominance arsenal against a multi-domain crisis (cyber + cognitive + economic) and produce a Strategic Intelligence Estimate delivered in BLUF — bottom line in the first 50 words.
Iranian Hybrid Operations Analysis
Open-source intelligence exercise. Students work the Iranian cyber-cognitive ecosystem — IRGC, MOIS, Basij Cyber Battalions — using the OSINT Cultural Nexus framework, persona OPSEC doctrine, and STEMPLES Plus quarterly rhythm.
Russian Reflexive Control & Active Measures
Cognitive warfare exercise. Students dissect a Russian active-measures campaign using the Detect-Analyze-Expose-Counter-Contain framework, produce a Cognitive Warfare Countermeasures (CWC) brief, and run a CWIA impact assessment.
Institution-Specific Co-Designed Scenario
For Tier 3 and Tier 4 partners, Treadstone 71 co-designs scenarios with sponsoring faculty tailored to the institution's regional focus, sector partnerships, or funded research lines. Past customs include service-academy command-decision sims and ICS / OT industrial scenarios.
Mapped against the standards that matter for accreditation review.
Curriculum modules and program designs are mapped against major US and international accreditation and workforce frameworks. Mapping documentation is provided for accreditation submissions and re-accreditation cycles.
| Framework / Standard | Issuing Body | Treadstone 71 Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| NSA / CAE in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) Knowledge Units |
NSA · DHS | Direct mapping for adversarial techniques, intelligence analysis, and applied cyber operations Knowledge Units. Strongest fit for Tier 3 and Tier 4. |
| NSA / CAE in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) CAE2Y · CAE-CD |
NSA · DHS | Mapping for foundational, intermediate, and optional Knowledge Units relevant to threat intelligence, vulnerability analysis, and policy. |
| NSA / CAE-R Research Designation | NSA · DHS | Tier 4 partnership produces co-authored research output and PhD-level project pipelines that contribute to CAE-R portfolio evidence. |
| ABET Cybersecurity Program Criteria | ABET | Module sequences mapped to ABET Cybersecurity criteria for student outcomes 1–7. Capstones provide the design experience required by Criterion 5. |
| IAFIE Academic Standards | International Association for Intelligence Education | Curriculum aligns with IAFIE Standards for Intelligence Studies Programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. Treadstone 71 holds long-standing IAFIE membership. |
| NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework NIST SP 800-181 |
NIST | Modules mapped to NICE Work Roles AN-ASA-001 (All-Source Analyst), AN-TWA-001 (Threat / Warning Analyst), CO-OPL-001 (Cyber Ops Planner), and adjacent roles. |
| ICD 203 Analytic Standards | Office of the Director of National Intelligence | All written deliverables across all modules graded against ICD 203 estimative-language requirements and source-citation standards. |
| DoD Manual 8140 / 8570 Workforce | US Department of Defense | Modules support DoD workforce qualification pathways for Cyber Workforce Framework intelligence specialty areas. |
| NICCS Training Catalog Listing | CISA · National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies | Treadstone 71 instructor of record holds active NICCS-listed credentials. Institutional course listings can be sponsored under existing T71 NICCS catalog presence. |
Six steps. Predictable timeline. No surprises.
Most Tier 1 and Tier 2 engagements complete in 60–90 days. Tier 3 builds run 6–12 months end to end. Tier 4 partnerships are multi-year with annual refresh checkpoints.
Discovery Call
A 45-minute scoping conversation with your dean, department chair, or program lead. We listen for current state, accreditation cycle, faculty bandwidth, and outcome ambition.
Academic Maturity Assessment
Your existing intelligence program (if any) is scored against the Cyber Intelligence Academic Maturity Model — five dimensions, written report. Free for institutions exploring partnership.
Tier & Scope Selection
Joint decision on which tier matches current capacity and ambition. Scope memo defines courses, modules, faculty roles, capstones, and deliverables.
SOW & MOU Execution
Statement of Work for the engagement. Memorandum of Understanding for Tier 3+ research and IP terms. US Federal: GSA / Sole-Source vehicles available on request.
Co-Design or Deploy
Curriculum is co-designed with sponsoring faculty (Tier 2+) or deployed as guest engagement (Tier 1). Faculty train-the-trainer cohort runs in parallel for Tier 3+.
Continuous Refresh
Annual refresh subscription updates case studies, scenarios, threat actor briefings, and AI tradecraft as the field moves. Optional faculty office hours with Treadstone 71 senior staff.
Direct answers for deans, chairs, and program leads.
Bring serious intelligence tradecraft into your classroom.
Schedule a 45-minute discovery call with the Treadstone 71 academic team. We will listen, scope, and propose the lowest tier that meets your current goals. No obligation, no boilerplate proposal — just a clear path forward you can take to a department chair or dean.
Treadstone 71 · Half Moon Bay, CA · United States ·
