female next to police car

Homeland Security, Certificate

The Homeland Security certificate is designed to enhance understanding of modern threats and associated security concepts for personnel working in areas of public administration, public safety, law enforcement, government, and private sector security management. Students will be able to focus their studies on one or more homeland security emphases including counterterrorism, intelligence, emergency management, critical infrastructure protection, and private security. This certificate requires 12 credits from core courses and 6 additional credits from courses in each emphasis.

For more information about Justice Studies, please visit the program page.

Certificate Requirements

Field of Study Code: CRIMJ.CER.HOME

Program Requirements
CRIMJ 1100Introduction to Criminal Justice3
CRIMJ 1145Introduction to Homeland Security3
CRIMJ 1151Constitutional Law3
CRIMJ 2150Multiculturalism and Diversity3
Emphasis Courses
Select one of the following emphases:6
counterterrorism/
intelligence/
critical infrastructure protection/
emergency management/
private security/
Total Credits18

Emphases

Counterterrorism Emphasis

The emphasis in counterterrorism will focus primarily on analyzing threats emanating from domestic, international, and transnational terrorist groups along with strategies designed to mitigate them. Special attention will be paid to ideological motivations of various groups, target selection, and asymmetrical tactics, including weapons of mass destruction. Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive devices, their precursors, delivery systems, identifying markers, and proliferation trends will be examined.

CRIMJ 1147Introduction to Domestic, International, and Transnational Terrorism3
CRIMJ 2160Weapons of Mass Destruction3
Total Credits6

Intelligence Emphasis

The emphasis in intelligence will examine the history and functions of U.S. government intelligence agencies and engage students in the cycle of information collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination. Within the context of real-world geopolitical issues students will utilize industry tradecraft to develop an intelligence product that addresses both descriptive and predictive factors. Ethical considerations and the role of bias in the intelligence process will also be addressed.

CRIMJ 2140Introduction to Intelligence3
CRIMJ 2141Intelligence Analysis3
Total Credits6

Critical Infrastructure Protection Emphasis

The emphasis in critical infrastructure protection examines threats to various public and private sectors including cybertechnology, transportation, finance, government, agriculture, and national borders. Both man-made and natural hazards will be explored along with policies and strategies designed to mitigate them.

CRIMJ 1146Critical Infrastructure: Vulnerabilities Solutions3
EARTH 1119Weather Impacts and Preparedness3
Total Credits6

Emergency Management Emphasis

The emphasis in emergency management provides an in-depth examination of each stage of managing crises including risk assessment, mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. Students will develop exercises designed to test institutional capabilities, identify systemic vulnerabilities, and make recommendations for improved emergency planning. Case studies of historic disaster events will provide a basis for analyzing best and worst practices in modern emergency management theory.

CRIMJ 1148Emergency Management I3
CRIMJ 2130Emergency Management II3
Total Credits6

Private Security Emphasis

The emphasis in private security explores criminal, legal, and procedural challenges in retail, industrial, commercial, and governmental security. Prevention, detection, and response to these challenges is addressed as well as initiatives for interagency cooperation. Collaboration between law enforcement and private sector security entities as it pertains to criminal investigation and enhanced security at the community level will be examined.

CRIMJ 11403
CRIMJ 1142Private Security and Law Enforcement3
Total Credits6