Security Studies - Certificate

The Certificate in Security Studies is a baccalaureate certificate program housed within the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and is multi-disciplinary in incorporating four departments: Political Science; Language and Literature (Romance Languages); Criminal Justice (Institute for Homeland Security and Workforce Development); and Environmental, Earth, and Geospatial Sciences (Geographic Information Systems).

Our mission is to provide students with a strong foundation for the evolving Twenty-First Century globalized job market. The goal is to prepare students for a career in the security area in taking a cultural approach. Security Studies has distinct regional foci and will concentrate on the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, but is open to specialization in other regions of the world. With historical and transnational insights grounded in analytical and linguistic skills, students will have the opportunity to augment quantitative skills.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission will complete and submit an application to Undergraduate Admissions. Applications are welcome from any student who falls in one of the following three categories:
1. Completed the requirements for a first undergraduate degree from any accredited US institution of higher education or an associate degree from a US community college with an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher.
2. Is in or about to begin his or her senior year of coursework for a degree meeting requirements in any US institution of higher education or an associate degree from a US community college with an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher.
3. Is an international transfer student who, after a degree/credentials audit to be conducted by the Security Studies program, is found to have appropriate equivalent credentials as noted in (1) or (2) above.

Curriculum Requirements

1. 24 Semester Hours

2. Required Courses:

Core Courses - 9 Credit Hours
POLS 3730 - Global Security (3)
POLS 3740 - Transnational Human Security (3)
POLS 4520 - Middle Eastern Politics (3) or POLS 4510 Sub-Suharan African Politics or an equivalent area studies course in another region of the world
Analytical Skills - 3 Credit Hours
PHIL 2300 - Logic (3)
Language Skills - 6 Credit Hours
Two sequential foreign language courses

3. Elective Courses

Designated Electives (6)
Additional sequential foreign language course (3)
Additional related course that builds upon existing area studies knowledge (3)
PHIL 2000 - Critical Thinking (3)
GEOG 2020 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (3)
POLS 3990 - Behavioral Research Methods in Political Science (3) or an equivalent statistics based course
POLS 4100 - Internship in Political Science (3-12)
POLS 4880 - Special Topics in Political Science (3)