Program Overview

Introduction to the Master of Arts in Global Security Studies

The Master of Arts in Global Security Studies program is designed for students who are looking to develop or expand their expertise regarding the security challenges of the twenty-first century. Students confront the complexities of todays security environment with the latest policy and theoretical tools for analysis and action. Particular strengths of the program are strategic studies, energy and environmental security, special operations and irregular warfare, and the economic aspects of conflict and competition.

Program Overview

Courses draw from the best in academia and the private and public sectors to offer students the cutting edge in intellectual preparedness for career advancement. Classes are designed to maximize individual attention, encourage student interaction, build analytical skills, and provide the tools for engaging in original research. This is a 12-course program, with classes offered at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. and online. The degree can be pursued on a part-time or full-time basis, and classes can be taken onsite, online, or through a mix of both modalities. All undergraduate majors are welcome.

Admissions Criteria

In addition to the materials and credentials required for all programs, the MA in Global Security Studies program also requires:

• Two Letters of Recommendation
• Statement of Purpose: Please provide a statement, up to one page in length, describing your personal background and/or a part of your life experience that has shaped you or your goals. Feel free to elaborate on personal challenges and opportunities that have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree at Johns Hopkins.
• Applicants should submit a five-page, double-spaced essay on the following topic:
  • America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to freedom and independence of all. John Quincy Adams
  • This quote reflects the trends in American national security for much of the nations history. Are the implications that can be drawn from the statement consistent with the demands of American national security in the 21st century? Discuss this problem with regard to a recent policy issue or political event, citing at least three references.

Program Requirements

Students in the MA in Global Security Studies program must complete:

• Four required core courses
• Four customizable core courses
• Four elective courses A single course cannot satisfy a core and concentration requirement.

Core Courses - Required

Select all of the following:

• AS.470.603: Introduction to Global Security Studies, Foundations of Global Security
• AS.470.605: Global Political Economy
• AS.470.692: Military Strategy & National Policy
• AS.470.851: Qualitative Methodologies in Social Science

Core Courses - Customizable (Energy)

Select one of the following:

• AS.470.601: Climate Change and National Security
• AS.470.657: Energy, Security, and Defense
• AS.470.773: Energy and Environmental Security

Core Courses - Customizable (Research)

Select one of the following:

• AS.470.853: Historical Methods
• AS.470.854: Fundamentals of Quantitative Methods

Core Courses - Customizable (Writing)

Select two of the following:

• AS.470.606: U.S. Security in a Disordered World
• AS.470.607: Technology in War
• AS.470.632: Security Issues in South Asia
• AS.470.633: Transnational Organized Crime: Gangsters of the Global Underworld
• AS.470.634: Propaganda, Disinformation, and War
• AS.470.640: Challenges of Transnational Security
• AS.470.663: Human Security
• AS.470.696: Fundamentals of Wargaming Analysis
• AS.470.700: Special Operations and Strategy
• AS.470.704: Strategies in Insurgent and Asymmetric Warfare
• AS.470.756: Understanding Modern War
• AS.470.810: Complex Security Studies Analysis

Elective Courses

Students pursuing a concentration must select four courses from the concentration list. Students not pursuing a concentration can select any four GSS electives listed.

Concentrations

The program offers several concentrations, including:

• Strategic Studies Concentration
• Energy & Environmental Security Concentration
• Economic Security Concentration

Strategic Studies Concentration

Course List:

• AS.470.606: U.S. Security in a Disordered World
• AS.470.607: Technology in War
• AS.470.611: Global Terrorist Organizations
• AS.470.630: Congress and the Making of Foreign Policy
• AS.470.632: Security Issues in South Asia
• AS.470.633: Transnational Organized Crime: Gangsters of the Global Underworld
• AS.470.634: Propaganda, Disinformation, and War
• AS.470.640: Challenges of Transnational Security
• AS.470.651: Corruption and Democratic Governance
• AS.470.653: Russian National Security Policy
• AS.470.657: Energy, Security, and Defense
• AS.470.659: Radicalization and Deradicalization in Terror Networks
• AS.470.663: Human Security
• AS.470.664: Fundamentals and Applications in Cybersecurity
• AS.470.665: Thucydides, International Politics, and War
• AS.470.668: The Politics and Process of American Foreign Policy
• AS.470.685: The Challenge of Change: Innovation in Military Affairs
• AS.470.693: Comparative Democracies
• AS.470.696: Fundamentals of Wargaming Analysis
• AS.470.700: Special Operations and Strategy
• AS.470.704: Strategies in Insurgent and Asymmetric Warfare
• AS.470.713: Resisting Tyranny: Strategic Nonviolent Conflict
• AS.470.719: Hate Groups and Domestic Terrorism
• AS.470.725: China's Impact on Global Security
• AS.470.740: Cyber Strategy and Threat Analysis
• AS.470.744: Trade and Security
• AS.470.745: Terrorist Financing Analysis and Counterterrorist Finance Techniques
• AS.470.746: Iran: Security Policy of a Revolutionary State
• AS.470.751: Politics and Security in the Middle East
• AS.470.756: Understanding Modern War
• AS.470.767: Defense Policy
• AS.470.775: Great Power Competition
• AS.470.777: Technology and Terrorism
• AS.470.784: Technology of Weapons of Mass Destruction
• AS.470.785: Nuclear Proliferation and Non-Proliferation
• AS.470.789: International NGOs in Civil Society & Development
• AS.470.795: The Constitution and National Security
• AS.470.806: Economics of National Defense
• AS.470.810: Complex Security Studies Analysis
• AS.470.835: DC Lab: Politics, Policy, and Analytics
• AS.472.600: Introduction to Geospatial Intelligence
• AS.473.600: The Art & Practice of Intelligence
• AS.473.602: Intelligence Analysis
• AS.473.605: Strategic Culture Analysis
• AS.473.609: Introduction to Intelligence in the Five Eyes Community
• AS.473.610: Analysis of Military Capabilities
• AS.473.665: Human Intelligence Operations

Energy & Environmental Security Concentration

Course List:

• AS.470.601: Climate Change and National Security
• AS.470.633: Transnational Organized Crime: Gangsters of the Global Underworld
• AS.470.640: Challenges of Transnational Security
• AS.470.653: Russian National Security Policy
• AS.470.657: Energy, Security, and Defense
• AS.470.663: Human Security
• AS.470.665: Thucydides, International Politics, and War
• AS.470.696: Fundamentals of Wargaming Analysis
• AS.470.704: Strategies in Insurgent and Asymmetric Warfare
• AS.470.725: China's Impact on Global Security
• AS.470.756: Understanding Modern War
• AS.470.773: Energy and Environmental Security
• AS.470.775: Great Power Competition
• AS.470.785: Nuclear Proliferation and Non-Proliferation
• AS.470.789: International NGOs in Civil Society & Development
• AS.470.795: The Constitution and National Security
• AS.470.810: Complex Security Studies Analysis
• AS.470.835: DC Lab: Politics, Policy, and Analytics
• AS.420.604: Hydrology & Water Resources
• AS.420.605: Maritime Law and the Environment
• AS.420.606: Climate Justice
• AS.420.608: Oceanic & Atmospheric Processes
• AS.420.612: Sustainability Science: Concepts and Challenges
• AS.420.614: Environmental Policymaking and Policy Analysis
• AS.420.624: Ocean Stewardship and Sustainability
• AS.420.644: Sustainable Cities
• AS.420.645: Environmental and Natural Resource Security
• AS.420.650: International Environmental Policy
• AS.420.665: Climate Change on the Front Lines: The Study of Adaptation in Developing Countries
• AS.420.668: Sustainable Food Systems
• AS.420.676: Global Scarcity in Freshwater Systems: Crisis and Solutions
• AS.420.679: International Water: Issues and Policies
• AS.425.601: Principles and Applications of Energy Technology
• AS.425.602: Science of Climate Change and its Impact
• AS.425.603: Climate Change Policy Analysis
• AS.425.604: Energy & Climate Finance
• AS.425.620: Climate Risk: Society and The Economy
• AS.425.637: International Climate Change Policy
• AS.425.638: Adaptation to Climate Change
• AS.425.639: Energy Markets and Strategy from Europe to Asia
• AS.425.645: Global Energy Policy
• AS.425.647: Energy and Water Security in South Asia
• AS.425.651: The Electric Grid: Technology and Policy
• AS.425.652: Nuclear Energy: Technology, Policy, and Regulations

Economic Security Concentration

Course List:

• AS.470.601: Climate Change and National Security
• AS.470.607: Technology in War
• AS.470.631: Economics for Public Decision-Making
• AS.470.633: Transnational Organized Crime: Gangsters of the Global Underworld
• AS.470.640: Challenges of Transnational Security
• AS.470.651: Corruption and Democratic Governance
• AS.470.653: Russian National Security Policy
• AS.470.657: Energy, Security, and Defense
• AS.470.663: Human Security
• AS.470.664: Fundamentals and Applications in Cybersecurity
• AS.470.665: Thucydides, International Politics, and War
• AS.470.689: NGOs in Development and Global Policy-Making
• AS.470.696: Fundamentals of Wargaming Analysis
• AS.470.704: Strategies in Insurgent and Asymmetric Warfare
• AS.470.725: China's Impact on Global Security
• AS.470.740: Cyber Strategy and Threat Analysis
• AS.470.744: Trade and Security
• AS.470.745: Terrorist Financing Analysis and Counterterrorist Finance Techniques
• AS.470.756: Understanding Modern War
• AS.470.766: Economic Growth: The Politics of Development in Asia, Africa and Beyond
• AS.470.773: Energy and Environmental Security
• AS.470.775: Great Power Competition
• AS.470.789: International NGOs in Civil Society & Development
• AS.470.795: The Constitution and National Security
• AS.470.806: Economics of National Defense
• AS.470.810: Complex Security Studies Analysis
• AS.470.835: DC Lab: Politics, Policy, and Analytics
• AS.420.605: Maritime Law and the Environment
• AS.420.606: Climate Justice
• AS.420.624: Ocean Stewardship and Sustainability
• AS.425.604: Energy & Climate Finance
• AS.425.620: Climate Risk: Society and The Economy
• AS.425.639: Energy Markets and Strategy from Europe to Asia

General Electives

• AS.470.602: Government & Politics
• AS.470.643: Text as Data
• AS.470.644: Democracy and Its Modern Critics
• AS.470.714: Contemporary Politics of Latin America
• AS.470.721: Comparative Federalism: The United States and the European Union
• AS.470.723: Western Political and Constitutional Thought
• AS.470.776: Nationalism in the Democratic Age
• AS.472.611: Analyzing Social Media and Geospatial Information
• AS.473.604: Applied Critical Thinking and Analysis
• AS.473.606: Legal Issues in Intelligence
• AS.473.607: Intelligence Ethics
• AS.473.611: Private Sector Intelligence
• AS.473.644: Technical Collection of Intelligence
• AS.473.663: The Intelligence-Policy Nexus
• AS.473.668: Intelligence to Secure the Homeland and Hometown