Program Overview
The Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence at Utah State University is the nation's first undergraduate program in Anticipatory Intelligence. This 12-credit minor is designed to be completed in the junior and/or senior year and is built to complement majors across a wide range of STEM disciplines, social sciences, humanities, arts, and more. The Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence is structured to equip undergraduates with actionable hard and soft skills that have direct application into a wide range of professional tracks and is functionally taught at the graduate level (5000-level) to prepare undergraduates to excel in graduate study and the professional workforce.
Undergraduates pursuing the Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence have the opportunity to gain a working understanding of the international, governmental, private sector, and individual security issues emerging across a wide disciplinary spectrum that are affecting and will impact their major field of study and future profession. The ability to demonstrate systems-level thinking and sophistication in interdisciplinary analysis and synthesis regarding the security and societal issues affecting their professional field delivers students graduating with the Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence a significant advantage in career opportunities and graduate study.
Students in the Anticipatory Intelligence program engage with instructors from a range of disciplinary backgrounds who bring a wealth of real-world experience in the security domain. Anticipatory Intelligence courses train students to be active participants in cross-disciplinary and cross-domain collaboration and equip them to connect their primary disciplinary expertise to real-world problem solving on emergent security issues. The Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence offers strong value-added benefit for undergraduates interested in a wide range of future professions in the private sector, public service, nonprofit work, and academia.
Program Requirements
The Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence is a competitive application-based program built on a cohort model. Students seeking to pursue the minor must apply for and be accepted into the program (see below). Once matriculated within the minor, students complete a minimum of 12 credit hours, moving through the Anticipatory Intelligence minor as a cohort: all students start by taking CAI 5000 their incoming Fall semester and take CAI 5200 the consecutive Spring semester, with CAI electives taken either concurrently or in subsequent semesters.
Required Courses:
- CAI 5000: American National Security Framework (3 credits)
And one of: - CAI 4300: Art and Science of Anticipation (3 credits)
- CAI 5010: Dynamics of Disruptive Technology (3 credits)
- CAI 5200: Threats and Resilience in the Knowledge Century (3 credits)
Elective Courses (Pick two):
- CAI 5010: Dynamics of Disruptive Technology (3 credits)
- CAI 5300: Art and Science of Anticipation (3 credits)
- CAI 5310: Strategic Culture and Analytics (3 credits)
- CAI 5400: Ethics and Emerging Technology (3 credits)
- CAI 5510: Russian Security Affairs (3 credits)
- CAI 5520: Chinese Security Affairs (3 credits)
- CAI 5530: Weapons of Mass Destruction (3 credits)
- CAI 5540: Future Space Security (3 credits)
- CAI 5600: Biosecurity I (3 credits)
- CAI 5610: Biosecurity II (3 credits)
- CAI 5620: Food Security and Solutions (3 credits)
- CAI 5630: Water Security and Solutions (3 credits)
- CAI 5880: Critical Soft Skills (1-3 credits)
- CAI 5890: Special Topics in Anticipatory Intelligence (3 credits)
- CAI 5900: Directed Readings and Research (3 credits)
- CAI 5910-5940: Internships, Labs, or Field Experience (1-6 credits)
- IS 5820: Cyber Strategy in the Modern World (3 credits)
- MAJOR 4/5XXX: CAI-relevant course within student's major (1-6 credits)
The Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence is designed with flexibility in mind to accommodate students across a wide range of majors, including those who have limited space for additional credits or limited time before graduation. To discuss possible plans of study, please contact the CAI Director or Associate Director.
What is Anticipatory Intelligence?
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Anticipatory Intelligence is a multidomain approach to anticipating threats and opportunities emerging from the world's increasingly complex security environment. The goal of anticipatory intelligence is to reduce uncertainty and design resilience across future scenarios.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: I'm a senior with two semesters left at USU. Do I still have time to apply for the Anticipatory Intelligence minor?
A: Yes. Most of our students are juniors or seniors with three or fewer semesters left at USU. You will have more to offer the program – and get more out of it – the more experience you have under your belt when you start.
Q: I'm really interested in the Anticipatory Intelligence minor, but I have no previous study in security issues. Can I still apply?
A: Absolutely. If you have the qualities of a competitive candidate (see below), it doesn't matter whether you have any prior background in security issues. Bring your intellectual curiosity and drive to the program and the curriculum will carry you from there.
Q: Which disciplines are most advantageous for getting accepted into the Anticipatory Intelligence minor?
A: No discipline is more competitive than another – it comes down to how many applicants we have from each field in a given year. If you're a strong candidate from an overrepresented field, you'll be encouraged to reapply the following year.
Q: Is Anticipatory Intelligence intended for military and government careers?
A: While some of our students are interested in security-focused careers in the public sector, the majority of our graduates go into the private sector. Anticipatory Intelligence is a critically useful domain for governments, corporations, small businesses, and NGOs alike who are all facing the challenge of navigating the threats and opportunities emerging from the world's increasingly complex security environment.
Undergraduate Minor Application
Interested students from all majors are welcome and encouraged to apply for the Minor in Anticipatory Intelligence. Please note the following points of guidance:
Because the Anticipatory Intelligence program is in high demand and space is limited, the application process is competitive. Applicants should be juniors or seniors by the start of the program (i.e. you should apply no sooner than your sophomore spring) and should have a strong academic record (GPA 3.0+). - Competitive candidates will have a strong interest and curiosity in understanding how their own field fits into the broader national and global security picture, want to significantly stretch their horizons and work with dedicated students across a wide range of STEM, social science, and other fields, and are big-picture thinkers who want to be able to identify threats to systems and help build resilient communities.
- Our ethos revolves around the concept that diversity in thinking is an unequivocal necessity in taking on complex problem sets. We aim to cultivate this essential heterogeneity by recruiting widely from across academic disciplines, ethnic and racial backgrounds, neurodiverse perspectives, professional interests and trajectories, and life experiences. We are looking for candidates who are eager to bring their own active contributions to the program.
- In order to ensure an interdisciplinary cohort, a quota system is used to distribute spaces among STEM, social science, and other disciplines. All majors and programs are eligible to apply, and we make significant efforts to take a wide representation of disciplines in each cohort.
The Anticipatory Intelligence Minor program runs on a cohort model, with new cohorts beginning in USU's Fall semesters. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2024-2025 cohort. If you are interested in applying for the 2025-2026 cohort, reach out to CAI Program Coordinator Tyler Doering. For the 2025 application cycle, priority applicants will be notified of decisions by late March 2025; rolling applicants within 3-4 weeks of application. Rolling applicants should (1) complete the application form below, including the name and contact information of an academic or professional reference (a formal letter of recommendation is not required) and (2) submit a cover letter and resume using the Box link provided. The cover letter should convey why you are interested in the field of Anticipatory Intelligence and help us get to know your academic/professional interests and goals as they relate to this program. Your resume can include a wide snapshot of your education, jobs and work experience, extracurricular activities, languages, and so forth. We welcome and encourage interested candidates to get in touch with our faculty as you prepare your application or if you have questions about the program.
Step 1: Complete Application Form
Step 2: Upload Your Resume & Cover Letter