The Master of Science in management's specialization in homeland security management prepares you for professional positions concerned with protecting the country against natural and human-made domestic and international threats such as terrorism, transnational crime, and cybercrime. In this program, you will also learn about maintaining cybersecurity, transportation security, intelligence, civil liberties, emerging technology integration, international engagement, and private-sector partnerships and collaboration. You'll attain the requisite knowledge and skills necessary for professional homeland security positions involving cybersecurity; risk and threat assessments; the design and management of operational disaster relief recovery; and the development of strategies essential to the protection of individuals, facilities, and critical infrastructure.

These requirements are for students who enroll in the 2021–2022 academic year. For prior year academic requirements, visit our catalog archive.

About the Management Master's Degree with Homeland Security Management Specialization

What You'll Learn

Through your coursework, you will learn how to

  • Apply strategies and tactics for managing crisis communications, including the use of current technologies, through a strategic approach to develop community-specific public responses to homeland and national security crisis situations
  • Construct strategies for leading, managing, organizing, and coordinating homeland security operations in concert with federal, state, local, and international governments as well as the private sector
  • Determine potential solutions for homeland security issues by evaluating the laws, authorities, regulations, policies, and ethical considerations as well as emerging political, legal, and policy issues
  • Assess cybersecurity strategies, policies, initiatives, and regulatory compliance, as well as the role of the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CSIA) to defend against cyber attacks and support essential preparedness and disaster support operations
  • Determine specific applications of advanced information and technology systems for protection, response, recovery, and resilience in support of homeland and national security priorities
  • Apply risk methodologies and assessments, resilience planning, organizational theory, and disaster response and recovery principles to manage new and emerging threats against the United States by utilizing critical-thinking and decision-making skills

Coursework Examples

In past projects, students have had the opportunity to

  • Use one of the Department of Homeland Security's daily summaries of current critical infrastructure issues to write hypothetical article
  • Write a job description for a chief risk officer, including the resilience, response, and recovery skills required for the job
  • Analyze one of the critical infrastructures designated by DHS and make recommendations on ways to protect and assure continued availability of services from this infrastructure, providing your judgments together with experts' opinions

Management Master's Degree with Homeland Security Management Specialization Requirements

Our curriculum is designed with input from employers, industry experts, and scholars. You'll learn theories combined with real-world applications and practical skills you can apply on the job right away.

Master's - specialization Courses

Initial Requirement

  • UCSP 615
    (to be taken within the first 6 credits of study)

Core Courses

  • MGMT 630
  • MGMT 640
  • MGMT 650

Specialization Courses

  • HSMN 610
  • HSMN 625
  • HSMN 630
  • INFA 660
  • BSBD 641
  • EMAN 620
  • HSMN 670

Capstone Course

  • MGMT 670

Course Rules and Program Progression

  • MGMT 630 (or MGMT 610) must be taken within the first 6 credits.
    • MGMT 610 and MGMT 615 may be taken instead of MGMT 630.
  • MGMT 640 should not be attempted simultaneously with MGMT 650.
  • HSMN 610 must be taken as one of the first two specialization courses.
  • HSMN 670 must be taken in your last semester.
  • You must complete 24 credits of program coursework, including all core courses, before enrolling in MGMT 670.

Vertical Pathway

If you completed your undergraduate degree at UMGC with coursework in homeland security, a vertical pathway between UMGC's graduate and undergraduate degree programs in that field allows you to reduce your total coursework for this program by up to 6 credits.

Other Requirements

  • You must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher at all times.
  • All degree requirements must be fulfilled within five consecutive years.
  • Any transfer credits must have been earned within the five-year time frame to be applied toward a graduate degree.

Please review our overview of overall master's degree requirements for additional considerations.

Career Preparation

This program is designed to help prepare you to take a leadership role in protecting against natural and human-induced threats to homeland security.

Experience Recommended for Success in the Program

If you lack a recent background in finance or accounting, you should take UCSP 620 before MGMT 640. If you lack a recent background in statistics, you should take UCSP 630 before MGMT 650. Taking UCSP 605 is recommended to improve writing skills.

Student Clubs and Organizations

  • Public Safety Student Association

    • Type: Student organization
    Available To: Undergraduate and Graduate

    The Public Safety Student Association encourages discussions on careers, current events, and topics within the public safety field. Previous activities have included webinars on related topics and careers.



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