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Introduction
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the U.S. academic
community responded with an outpouring of course offerings, concentra-
tions, certificates, and degree programs for students wishing to further
their knowledge of "homeland security." Such initiatives, both informal
and more formalized ones, incorporated inquiries into a wide range of
topics, from the root causes of the violent act, to appropriate government
policies for confronting this kind of danger, to more practical training for
professional responders. The format of the response ranged from "teach-
ins" to first responders' training to master's degree programs. The mani-
festation of interest was a "thousand flowers blooming," without appar-
ent guidance, direction, or input at the national level.
To consider what, if any, national imperatives should drive such
course offerings and programs--particularly in higher education--the
National Academies' Policy and Global Affairs Division convened a com-
mittee, with the sponsorship of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS)'s Office of University Programs. The charge given to the commit-
tee was to
· discuss whether there are core pedagogical and skill-based home-
land security program needs;
· examine current and proposed education programs focusing on
various aspects of homeland security;
· comment on the possible parallels between homeland security, area
studies, international relations, and science policy, as developed or emerg-
ing academic thrusts; and
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2 FRAMEWORKS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN HOMELAND SECURITY
· suggest potential curricula needs, particularly those that involve
interdisciplinary aspects.
In further clarification from the sponsor, the committee was asked to
focus on programs in higher education and specifically not to examine
first responder or community training activities by colleges and universi-
ties--not for lack of importance, but because these types of activities were
sufficiently prominent and pervasive that they were already under sepa-
rate examination by DHS. Also excluded from consideration were the
plethora of academic research activities and research programs related to
homeland security needs, which were the subject of a prior study.1 As a
result of these intentional omissions, the present study concentrated al-
most exclusively on coursework-related offerings, primarily at the under-
graduate and graduate levels.
The committee was aided in its deliberations by the content of a work-
shop held on April 26, 2004. The workshop included both plenary presen-
tations and breakout sessions designed to address key questions in home-
land security education (see Appendix B). In addition, the committee
generated an illustrative list of academic programs in homeland security
(as distinct from research programs), with the understanding that a more
exhaustive list of such programs was simultaneously being compiled by
the Homeland Security Institute (HSI). Because the HSI list of programs
was not publicly available as of the writing of this report, we have in-
cluded the working list used by the committee as Appendix E.
A handful of committee meetings and a single workshop by no means
exhaust the topic at hand. For this reason, the present report does not
offer a definitive set of formal findings and recommendations. Nonethe-
less, the committee is pleased to offer the following preliminary analysis
of educational issues in homeland security. This report is viewed as a
"working" analysis to be subsequently examined, supplemented, and
possibly modified through a more extensive and systematic exploration
of the current array of educational offerings in the homeland security do-
main. During review, it was specifically pointed out that an analysis of
educational programs promoted/offered by federal agencies outside DHS
could provide helpful context. The committee itself also recognizes that
the area of professional school offerings needs further development, as
this topic was on the margins of the present endeavor. We leave these
activities to future workshops and studies.
1Alan Shaw, "University Research Centers of Excellence for Homeland Security: A Sum-
mary Report of a Workshop," 2004, Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
course offerings
