Program Overview

Homeland Security Major (B.S.)

The Homeland Security Major (B.S.) is a comprehensive program that prepares students to address the complex challenges of homeland security. The program is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the field, including the analytical, decision-making, technical, and strategic skills necessary to create and sustain more resilient organizations and communities.

What is Homeland Security?

Homeland security is a broad and dynamic field that encompasses issues such as community-level human security, data security, cybersecurity, climate change, crisis-related migration, pandemic preparedness, disaster resilience, corporate/private sector security, and national security intelligence. The program is built on the expertise and advice of subject matter experts from around the nation and provides students with a wide array of skills and best practices in leadership, decision-making, strategic planning, emergency management, cybersecurity, open-source intelligence production, and risk assessment.

Why Study Homeland Security at UNH?

The UNH Homeland Security program is fully available on both the Manchester and Durham campuses and offers a unique combination of academic study and experiential learning. Students earn a competitive advantage through their degree combination and real-world learning in both the classroom and the field through internships and capstone experiences. The program is nationally recognized and provides substantive interdisciplinary flexibility and career-specific preparation.

Potential Career Areas

Graduates of the Homeland Security program can pursue a wide range of career opportunities, including:

• Civil or foreign service (U.S. State Department)
• Corporate or sports security
• Criminology or justice studies
• Critical infrastructure protection
• Cybersecurity and information security
• Emergency management, resilience, and preparedness
• Environmental security
• Forensics (biological or digital)
• Intelligence collection/analysis and/or national security policy/analysis
• Law enforcement (Local, State or Federal)
• Law school or legal support functions
• Military service
• Risk management and asset protection

Curriculum and Requirements

The Homeland Security program requires a minimum of 128 credits, including core curriculum requirements, major requirements, and breadth requirements. Students must complete a minimum of 32 credits at UNH and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0. The program includes a range of courses, such as:

• Introduction to Homeland Security
• Fundamentals of Corporate Security
• Introduction to Cybersecurity
• Professional Skills in Homeland Security
• Political Violence and Terrorism
• Fundamentals of Emergency Management
• Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience
• Homeland Security Law and Policy
• Environmental and Human Security
• Disaster Research Methods
• Topics in National Security Intelligence
• Strategic Planning and Decision Making
• Internship in Homeland Security
• Capstone in Homeland Security

Student Learning Outcomes

The Homeland Security program is designed to provide students with a range of skills and knowledge, including:

• Conducting research and working collaboratively to deliver professional written papers, presentations, and briefs
• Demonstrating knowledge of contemporary or emergent threats, challenges, or issues
• Applying knowledge and tools gained throughout the program to complete a capstone project
• Completing an internship in Homeland Security (or a senior thesis in Homeland Security)
• Recognizing the concepts of ethics and professionalism in the homeland security enterprise

Minors

The Homeland Security program offers a range of minors, including:

• Corporate Security
• Cybersecurity Policy
• Emergency Management
• Forensic Accounting
• Global Studies
• History
• Homeland Security
• National Security Intelligence
• Terrorism Studies

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Homeland Security program can pursue a wide range of career opportunities, including:

• Aviation security
• Cybersecurity unit (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Nike, etc.)
• Diplomatic security (U.S. State Department)
• Emergency management (county and state levels)
• EMT and paramedic services
• FBI, ATF, DEA Agent (U.S. Department of Justice)
• FEMA, Secret Service, TSA, Cybersecurity, CBP (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
• Information Security Analyst
• Law enforcement and fire services (local, state, and federal)
• NSA, Defense Intelligence Agency (U.S. Department of Defense)
• Occupational Health & Safety Specialist
• Private-sector opportunities in risk management, security, cybersecurity, emergency preparedness
• Regional security (Amazon, Google, etc.)
• Security Specialist (Bechtel, Granger, etc.)

Accelerated Master's Programs

The Homeland Security program offers accelerated master's programs in:

• Cybersecurity Policy and Risk Management
• Global Conflict and Human Security
• National Security Intelligence Analysis

Departmental Honors

The Homeland Security program offers a departmental honors program, which provides high-achieving students with a credential and access to a more rigorous, applied curriculum. Students pursuing departmental honors take three HLS core courses as honors and complete a senior honors thesis.