This article is sponsored by Penn State World Campus.
You spent your whole military career trying to make sure the terrorists didn’t win and our common values were safeguarded. Now, you can continue that passion and utilize your experience by pursuing a career in Homeland Security. With a flexible online master’s degree from Penn State World Campus in Homeland Security, you can leverage the skills you’ve already learned with insight from research and technical skills that can help you land a job with intelligence analysis, information security, infrastructure protection, public safety, emergency management and much more.
Homeland Security at a glance
Created due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a core founding mission: to protect American citizens from terrorism at home and abroad. Other missions have grown to be included, such as cybersecurity, emergency management or disaster resilience. When you pursue a career in homeland security, you might find yourself working within DHS’s many components, like customs and border protection, to transportation security, cybersecurity or immigration. In addition, the many other public and private sector partners in the homeland security enterprise beyond the federal department of DHS offer a plethora of career opportunities for those who served America’s security in prior military careers.
By enrolling in the Homeland Security master’s degree program, you’re not only going to receive the top-rated education Penn State is known for, you’re also demonstrating to future employers that you’re determined about your professional goals. You’ll gain an understanding of the origin and organization of the homeland security enterprise in the U.S., its public and private sector partners, and learn about relevant legislation, policies, strategies, plans and frameworks, as well as applied methods of analysis in a variety of threat domains.
Many of the competencies you need to be successful in a homeland security career field closely relate to skills you’ve acquired during your military service career. No matter your role there, you most likely have some experience gathering and interpreting intelligence to assess threats, develop responses and inform organizational policy. These are the three critical skills that successful graduates of homeland security programs build on. As you move forward with your degree program, you’ll also learn how to promote community relations and develop cultural awareness by facilitating partnerships at the community level.
Possible Careers
Penn State’s Homeland Security master’s degree program includes seven specializations and nine graduate certificates, so you’re able to specifically tailor your academic outcomes to your future professional goals. The rigorous curriculum helps leaders to advance still further. A partnership of nine Penn State colleges, the Penn State Homeland Security portfolio is one of the country’s most respected and comprehensive programs in the field.
Uniquely positioned, Penn State’s Homeland Security master’s degree allows you to tailor your education to match your current and future career goals in serving America’s safety and security. Within this unified degree program, you can pursue an education in the base program that provides deep expert knowledge and skills for the homeland security enterprise, including emergency management and public safety. Alternatively, work on a domain specialization such as agricultural biosecurity, counterterrorism, cyber threat analytics, geospatial intelligence, information security or public health preparedness.
Each of these avenues will help you prepare for careers in a wide array of professional fields. Some exemplary career opportunities for our program’s graduates include upper-level positions in various government agencies, in emergency and crisis management, business continuity, infrastructure protection, intelligence analysis, law enforcement or physical security.
Why choose Penn State
Penn State World Campus provides military members, veterans and military families with the flexibility of a 100% asynchronous online program and the prestige of an established university. The World Campus recognizes the unique and specific needs of our military students. You can expect a high-quality program taught by world-class Penn State faculty in a collaborative learning environment. They offer a military-focused staff to support your needs and have the experience and training to help advise you on every step of your educational journey, from understanding GI Bill benefits to helping you find grants and scholarships.
When you become a student at Penn State World Campus, you join a community of more than 3,000 military and veteran students. When you’re ready to find out more, click here.