Graduate Course Descriptions

Core Courses

• SECS 6000 – Security Studies Foundations
  Theoretical foundations of domestic and international security.
• SECS 6155 – Changing Nature of National Security
  Overview of process, forces, and influences involved in determining contemporary national security policy in the United States. Explores historical and constitutional basis of common defense, evaluates national security policy making process, and explores forces and issues that define our national security infrastructure.
• SECS 6260 – Intelligence and National Security
  Theory, practice and history of intelligence in the US, British, and Soviet/Russian intelligence services.
• SECS 6300 – Research Methods for Security Studies
  Quantitative methods for security studies.
• SECS 6350 – Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
  Characteristics of WMD and challenges posed domestically and internationally from an emergency response perspective.
• SECS 6450 – Internship
  May be repeated with change of topic for a maximum of 6 s.h. P: Consent of instructor. Experiential learning in a setting relevant to security studies under academic supervision for a minimum of 150 hours per semester.
• SECS 7000 – Thesis or Non-Thesis Option
  May be repeated. May count maximum of 6 s.h. P: Consent of instructor.

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Elective Courses

• BIOL 6110 – Bioterrorism and Biosecurity*
  Detection and identification of and defense against biological warfare agents, including international and domestic security programs.
• CSCI 5800 – Artificial Intelligence
  P: CSCI 2540 or CSCI 3200 or consent of instructor. Fundamental problems and techniques of artificial intelligence. Heuristic search. Concepts of expert systems.
• CSCI 6100 – Cryptography and Information Security
  P: Consent of instructor. Cryptographic techniques to provide secrecy and authenticity of information communicated over an insecure channel; private-key cryptography, public-key cryptography and deployed cryptography.
• CSCI 6130 – Networking and Telecommunication*
  P: CSCI 6120 or consent of instructor. Theory and case studies of modern networking protocols and telecommunication methods. Local area and long-haul networks.
• CSCI 6300 – Cryptographic Protocols*
  P: CSCI 6100 or consent of instructor. Design and analysis of cryptographic protocols for various tasks; emphasis on applications beyond providing secrecy and authenticity of messages.
• CSCI 7000 – Thesis
  May be repeated. May count maximum of 3 s.h.
• EHST 6010 – Fundamentals of Environmental Health
  Effects of environment on human health. Focuses on rural environment. Considers water supply and wastewater disposal, water quality, solid and hazardous wastes, air quality, occupational health and safety, food protection, and vector control.
• HIST 6210 – War and Society
  Interrelationship between society and warfare from the dawn of civilization to the present.
• HIST 6260 – The United States and the Middle East, 1783 to the Present
  History of American interests and involvement in the Middle East since 1783.
• ICTN 6823 – Information Security Management
  P/C: ITEC 6060. Survey of information security terms, concepts, principles, and applications in data networking environment.
• ICTN 6865 – Fundamentals of Network Security
  P: ITEC 6060, ITEC 6200. Current technologies to address enterprise-wide data communication network management. Topics include planning and deploying hardware and software solution for enterprise network management.
• ICTN 6878 – Legal and Ethical Issues in Information Technology
  Surveys legal environment of information technology and issues relating to privacy, policy, and unauthorized computer and network intrusion, as covered by federal, state, and local regulations.
• IDIS 6515 – Logistical Security and Safety Management
  P/C: ITEC 6060 or consent of instructor. Covers logistical issues involved with laws and regulations internationally and in US. Includes safety issues involved in logistics such as container security as well as new laws that have affected logistics since inception of Homeland Security.
• INTL 6005 – Communication Across Cultures
  P: Consent of instructor. Different modes of human communication as related to varying cultural contexts.
• INTL 6105 – Global Issues
  P: Consent of instructor. History and contemporary dynamics of globalization, including economic integration and restructuring, political relations among state and non-state actors, and social and cultural change.
• INTL 6500 – International Problem Solving and Decision Making
  P: Consent of instructor. Focus on understanding and application of process at organizational level. Analytical models appropriate to public and private sectors may include project management, cost/benefit analysis, mathematical programming, and simulation in international settings.
• INTL 6510 – Global and Multicultural Discourse
  P: Consent of instructor. Analysis of international and intercultural discourse with a view toward the enhancement of global and multicultural understanding.
• ITEC 6011 – Technological Ethics, Diversity, and Leadership
  Key Exploring leadership, teamwork, professional, ethical, global, diversity, and social dimensions in organizations to apply and manage technology for effective operational performance.
• ITEC 6050 – Technology Management Strategy
  Collaborative learning methods that emphasize problem-based learning, heuristics devices, and critical thinking to solve engineering and engineering-related problems.
• ITEC 6060 – Research Methods in Technology
  Study of academic research addressing the stages of scientific projects from the development of research proposals to publication of the findings.
• JUST 5000 – Comparative Criminal Justice
  P: Graduate standing in JUST or consent of program coordinator. Multinational and comparative study of crime and criminal justice.
• JUST 6502 – Criminal Justice and Terrorism
  Issues of (who) the types of individuals and organizations involved in terrorism; (what) the types of activities conducted; (when) examinations of historical, socio political, and economic forces that facilitate terrorism; (where) temporal and geographic aspects of terrorism; (how) structural, administrative and organizational issues related to terrorism, and official (governmental, law enforcement) responses to terrorism.
• JUST 6620 – Transnational Crime
  P: Graduate standing in JUST or consent of program coordinator. Study of transnational and global crime. 
• PADM 6163 – Environmental Policy Analysis*
  P: Consent of instructor. Political, economic, and regulatory issues associated with protection and enhancement of quality of physical environment. Formation, implementation, and evaluation of environmental and natural resource policies. Emphasis on development of research skills to facilitate reasonable knowledgeable about formulation and termination of environmental policies.
• PADM 6170 – Intergovernmental/ Interagency Relations
  Patterns of relations between officials of various US governmental units and agencies.
• PADM 6220 – Leadership and Ethics in the Public Sector
  Study of leadership and ethical issues facing policy makers and public administrators, including leadership and management skills, ethical dilemmas and challenges, conflicts of interest and values, and professionalism.
• PLAN 6015 – Hazards and Emergency/ Disaster Planning
  Integrate techniques of emergency management planning for technological and natural disasters. Special emphasis on vulnerability assessment and risk management for terrorism and other disaster threats.
• POLS 6080 – American Foreign Relations
  Most important events and characteristics of American foreign policy since World War II.
• POLS 6330 – Political Modernization and the Non-Western World*
  Theoretical analysis of developmental processes in politics of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
• POLS 6345 – Comparative Public Policy*
  Cross-national study of selected major policy issues, their development and implementation through analysis of policy substance, and its linkage to policy process.
• POLS 6360 – Causes of International War
  Aspects of international war, primarily between nation-states.
• POLS 6382 – Global Terrorism
  Introduces issues defining and characterizing terrorism. Primary emphasis given to issues in countering terrorism such as intelligence, international treaty issues, and use of military and criminal justice tools to respond to terrorism.
• POLS 6425 – War, Peace and Security in the Middle East
  Integrated study of international politics and security studies with a special focus on issues directly related to peace and security in the Middle East.
• POLS 6430 – Seminar in International Politics*
  P: Consent of instructor. Concentrated study of major theories of international politics and/or selected case studies.
• POLS 6440 – Seminar in International Organization*
  P: Consent of instructor. Advanced study of selected aspects.
• SAFT 6290 – Fire Protection, Prevention and Emergency Management
  Prevention and control of fires through building construction, life safety code compliance, detection and alarm, extinguishing methods, and evacuation and emergency management. Examines occupancy types and fuels.
• SAFT 6402 – Applied Safety Management
  P/C: SAFT 6001 or consent of program coordinator. Practical application of principles of supervisory safety management as related to supervision at various levels in line organization of manufacturing, construction, and service industries.
• SAFT 6410 – Systems Safety and Risk Analysis
  P/C: SAFT 6001 or consent of program coordinator. Applications-oriented study of recognition, assessment, and evaluation of risks in occupational environment. Formulation of control systems for alleviation of accidents and injuries.
• SECS 6250 – Policy and Practice of Security
  Theories and practices of domestic and international security since World War II.
• SECS 6270 – Intelligence Analysis
  Assessment of the intelligence gathering and reporting process, with attention to relevant analytical techniques and their cognitive limitations.
• SECS 6320 – Cyber Warfare and Security
  Fundamental principles of cyber warfare as they relate to military strategy, operations, and capabilities within the context of legal and ethical boundaries.
• SECS 6330 – Covert Action and Hybrid Warfare
  Covert action has been an aspect of American statecraft since the War of Independence and it continues to be an important foreign policy tool used by many governments. This course explores the uses and limitations of covert action in a theoretical and historical context. Includes an overview of both Western and Soviet/ Russian approaches to covert action and of notable covert operations. It also explores the contemporary relevance of covert action in terms of counterterrorism, cyber warfare, and what has been termed ‘hybrid warfare’ or the use of non-military means for destabilizing other governments.
• SECS 6380 – The Art of Statecraft and International Security
  Examination and application of violent and non-violent foreign policy tools in achieving global peace and security.
• SECS 6390 – Human Security*
  Intensive study of human security issues such as economic development, gender inequality, human rights, and public health.
• SECS 6400 – The Foundation of Homeland Security and Defense
  Overview of essential ideas contributing to the concept of homeland security. Emphasis on improving student thinking, analytical skills and communications relevant to homeland security policy and practice.
• SECS 6420 – Globalization and Security*
  Impact of globalization on domestic and international security.
• SECS 6430 – Special Topics Seminar
  May be repeated with change of topic for a maximum of 6 s.h. Selected topics and issues in contemporary security studies.
• SOCI 5500 – Seminar in Population
  Intensive study of substantive theory, methods of population analysis, and select problems of population dynamics, communities, and regions.

Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are less frequently offered or are not currently offered.