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M.S. in National Security Affairs
NSAM 5001 – Current and Historical Issues
This course is an introductory seminar dealing with current and historical issues in
American national security affairs. In the age of globalization and international terrorism
it is imperative that we understand the history, topics, and concepts of national security
affairs. The pursuit of security involves a wide range of both domestic and international
activities that fall under the umbrellas of political, economic, and military relations and
procedures. This course examines the history of American security, the workings of the
American national security institutions and organizations, cooperative security systems
like NATO and the United Nations, international institutions, political violence, terrorism,
war, and both domestic and international law on security. On all these topics, this course
will emphasize both theoretical and practical issues that will further the student’s
knowledge of American national security affairs.
NSAM 5002 – Terrorists and Terrorism
This course analyzes terrorism from a number of perspectives including law enforcement
(FBI), defense (DOD), and diplomatic (DOS) orientations in order to understand
mitigation/prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery measures with regards to
counterterrorism and antiterrorism. Individual (lone wolf) and group (Islamist) terrorist
mindsets will be examined, as well as international and domestic domains.
NSAM 5003 – National Intelligence Collection
This course examines the work of current and future managers in the federal intelligence
and homeland security arenas. Students will be introduced to the various ways in which
the social and behavioral sciences inform approaches to intelligence collection and
analysis and how these scientific approaches can facilitate the goals of countering
terrorism and hostile intelligence service actions. Specifically, the emerging field of
“Futuristics” will be explored in this context so that managers can forecast, manage and
create preferable future outcomes for their agencies and the nation.
NSAM 5004 – Border Protection and Military Issues
This course is an in-depth analysis of the importance and the difficulties in security
measures and tactics used to protect a sovereign nation’s borders. Border protection is
an essential part of National Security. The threats to domestic populations include drug-
smuggling, terrorism, human and arms trafficking, and illegal immigration. Theoretical
and applied case studies will facilitate student engagement. The course will serve as an
introduction to the theories and applied practices of successful border protection.
NSAM 5005 – Research and Evaluation in National Security Affairs
This course provides an in-depth introduction to the fundamental logic and principles of
research design, with additional focus areas in critical thinking and analysis. Students will
gain familiarity with key concepts in the philosophy of science and current debates over
appropriate methods of data collection and analysis of the social sciences. Students will
learn the differences between quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research;
from here the student will be introduced to the foundations of these approaches and
learn what strategies, methods, and techniques are in use. Students will then be
expected to formulate a research question, develop a set of hypotheses, develop a
strategy for data collection, develop a literature review, and finally to formulate ways to
operationalize their study.
