Homeland Security, B.S.

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To earn your Bachelor of Science degree, you’ll complete 128 credits between courses for the University Discovery Program and your major. Here are the courses that will make up your Homeland Security degree:

• HLS 455 – Foundations of Information Security
  HLS 455 provides a survey of the field of cyber\information security. The course describes information security and the role it plays in homeland security including ethical and legal issues, risk management and planning, and information security technology. The role of the Department of Homeland Security has in securing cyberspace and the nation's information-related infrastructures is also explored.

• HLS 480 – Professional Skills in Homeland Security
  HLS 480 prepares students to effectively enter the workforce via an internship or co-op experience. Students learn to prepare a resume and cover letter, practice interviewing, learn about how their personality matches job descriptions, search for internships, and develop an e-Portfolio that describes themselves, their professional aspirations, skills, etc. Professional ethics, decision making, organizational power, basic leadership and management principles and professionalism are discussed and illustrated.

• PS 505 – Political Violence & Terrorism
  This course provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of political violence and terrorism. It covers the pyschological and sociological roots of terrorism, the organizational patterns of cells, groups and networks, and the role of ideology and identity in shaping goals, targets, and tatics. 

• HLS 510 – Fundamentals of Emergency Management
  This course includes thorough coverage of the historical background of emergency management (EM) in the United States as well as many of the most significant laws and policies that have defined and shaped the field, including HLSPD 5, HLSPD 8, the National Flood Insurance Act, and the Stafford Act. Topics include detailed coverage of FEMA's all hazards approach, all phases of the EM cycle, including mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery; integrated emergency management systems, the incident command system, the National Incident Management System, emergency support functions, and risk communications. The course culimnates with each student writing and formally presenting an integrated emergency management plan.

• HLS 520 – Homeland Security Law and Policy
  This course is an overview of key legal, policy, and ethical issues in the context of Homeland Security policy and practice. Students examine legal concepts regarding constitutional rights of individuals, legal process, access to courts, the law of war, and national security principles as they relate to homeland security legislation and policy initiatives. Legal principles of due process, habeas corpus, search and seizure. compulsory process, and international agreements are explored in greater depth. The law of war will be examined in the context of preemptive war and the current National Security Strategy, the status of combatants and detention, Elements of national security law, intelligence collection and sharing, the Patriot Act, and military-civilian relations, etc. 

• HLS 580 – Environmental and Human Security
  Students will learn how environmental issues may give rise to socio-political instability around the world which can become threats to US national/homeland security. This course will explore how U.S. domestic and foreign policy, and ultimately, U.S. national security, can be impacted by emergent threats to nations from environmental health issues, climate change, deforestation, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and natural resource shortages caused by rapid industrialization, population growth, and urbanization in less developed countries. In a seminar format, students and faculty will cover a variety of readings and discuss their conclusions and students will have the opportunity to lead class discussions on assigned readings.

• HLS 610 – Exercise Design and Evaluation
  HLS 610 studies the role and structure of exercise design as it is applied in homeland security and emergency management. Students are introduced to the nature and characteristics of discussion and operations-based exercises and the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program. The legislative and policy background of national preparedness is presented. Students complete a project and presentation that demonstrates how exercises are designed, scripted, implemented (sonducted) and evaluated.

• HLS 650 – Intelligence Systems and Structures
  Intelligence is a systematic process of collection, analysis, and dissemination of information in support of national, state, and/or local policy or strategy. HLS 650 will explore the varied expressions of the intelligence community as it exists in the US. In addition, students will explore the history and development of the IC in the US, major legislative acts that led to the development of intelligence as a major function of US national security strategies.

• HLS 760 – Strategic Planning and Decision Making
  HLS 760 investigates the nature of strategic planning as it relates to homeland security and national security in the U.S. Students explore how strategic planning relates to decision making in more stable as well as uncertain environments. Relevant legislation and past decisions (such as the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missle Crisis) are explored including concepts and techniques fro making high quality decisions. Strategic communication principles and techniques are presented. 

• HLS 790 – Senior Capstone
  HLS 790 allows students to work collaboratively with an organization to identify and solve a homeland security ot emergency management challenge. Each group researches the origins of their client's challenge and identifies applies best practices as countermeasures. Students culminate their projects with presentations to their classmates and to their clients. The expectation of this class is to develop a professional example of the student's thinking and writing to solve real security problems. 

• HLS 770 – Internship or HLS 795 Thesis in Homeland Security
  HLS 770 represents the professional work experience required in the homeland security major. Students work in a professional setting for a minimum of 300 hours under the supervision of a site supervisor. All internships require students to identify and complete work on a specific project (s) approved by the HLS coordinator.

Breadth gets you hired: Second major or two minors.

Why settle for one?  Within the 128 credits needed to graduate, all students are required to take 40 credits of breadth outside the Homeland Security program. This means, in addition to your B.S. in Homeland Security, you will graduate with an additional major or two minors. Transferring from another college? You can roll in credits you've earned from coursework in other majors, or an entire associate degree.