College of Professional Studies

Homeland Security

Master's: Online
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Northeastern University’s Master of Arts in Homeland Security provides students with the skills necessary for the next generation of homeland security leaders in both the public and private sectors.

Online
Location
Full-Time
Part-Time
Commitment
12-18 months
Duration of Program
No
Meets F1 Visa Requirements
Overview

The Master in Arts in Homeland Security is designed for students who seek leadership roles in the ever-changing, challenging homeland security field. Our program helps students understand the importance of seeking solutions through a whole-of-government approach and partnerships with the private sector.  
From global pandemics, to wildfires in California, hurricanes along the East Coast, and bombings at public events, it’s clear that America faces a number of threats to our national security each and every day. These threats and others require dedicated homeland security professionals to ensure we are all safe. 

Our Master of Arts in Homeland Security focuses on providing the leadership skills, emergency planning and management tools, and verbal and written communication expertise to prepare our students to meet the challenges of an uncertain world. With critical and reflective thinking at the forefront of the curriculum, graduates are prepared to make timely, well-reasoned judgments to protect our way of life.

Whether you are considering a career in the homeland security field—or are looking to advance within your current role—a Northeastern University master’s degree in homeland security will help you to achieve your goals.

More Details

Unique Features

  • Career-advancing degree: With hands-on and career-oriented coursework, the curriculum enables students to “learn it tonight, use it tomorrow.” Coursework is specifically designed to immediately provide the skills and knowledge desired in the industry.

  • Tailor your degree to your career goals: Choose from one of four concentrations—Emergency Management; Organization and Infrastructure Continuity; Geospatial Services; or Port Security.

  • Flexible learning formats: With courses offered 100% online, on campus in Boston or Charlotte, or in a hybrid format, you can complete your degree without putting your life on hold.

  • Network and learn from expert security professionals:Our faculty are practicing, recognized experts with years of experience in national and homeland security. They provide students with valuable insights from their careers. Faculty include former FBI Supervisory Special Agents, CIA analysts, and experts who have advised presidents, Congress, and key organizations.

  • Northeastern’s commitment to advancing innovations in security: Security is one of Northeastern’s three research and programmatic focal areas. Our university-wide commitment to guide and advance innovation in security, intelligence, and resilience is bolstered by our dedicated research centers and institutes focused on security issues.

Program Objectives

  • Provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead the next generation of homeland security in both the public and private sectors
  • Provide the leadership skills, emergency planning and management tools, and verbal and written communication expertise to prepare our students to meet the challenges of an uncertain world
  • Provide a whole-of-government understanding of homeland security with an emphasis on the importance of partnering with the private sector in a global context
  • Focus on exposing students to a strategic-level understanding of the wholistic approach in the homeland security field and the private sector’s integral role

Career Outlook

  • Opportunities for employment in security positions are diverse, spanning both government and private industry. They include:
    • Emergency management (at the federal, state, and local levels)
    • Industries such as banking, energy, manufacturing, and transportation/shipping
    • Ports (maritime and aviation)
  • Past graduates of the program have gone on to work for:
    • U.S. Secret Service
    • Department of Homeland Security
    • FBI
    • The U.S. Department of State
    • Naval Criminal Investigative Services
    • Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency 
    • Raytheon

Testimonials

"My final capstone project at Northeastern was to evaluate the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 Global Pandemic on the security of the United States… This led to the launch of my own company that has now helped thousands of people return to work. None of this would have been possible without my education at Northeastern University. This started as a capstone assignment, but has turned into much, much more."

Nick Perrotta, 2020 MA HLS Graduate

"My coursework helped me develop my strategic plan in my current workplace. The deliverables you have at the end of your course are tactics you can use directly at your organization. For instance, I developed a five-year plan for the Homeland Security Institute through one of my classes."

U.S. Army Major Eric DiNoto, Program Alum

"At Northeastern, our program approaches homeland security with a holistic approach designed to develop leaders who can go anywhere there is a need for strategic expertise."

John Terpinas, former FBI agent, Professor of the Practice and lead faculty

"Homeland security has become increasingly essential to communities across the country. Whether we are reacting to natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, or wildfires or terrorist incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing, we need a wide variety of occupations to be ready to respond and to secure those in harm’s way."

Jack McDevitt, PhD, Faculty Director

"The program has been so informative and eye-opening as to how we might have, in the past, handled threats in a different manner, and how best to confront future challenges."

Christine Doucette, 2019 MA HLS Graduate

Looking for something different?

View more Political Science & Security programs
Admissions

A graduate degree or certificate from Northeastern—a top-50 university—can accelerate your career through rigorous academic coursework and hands-on professional experience in the area of your interest. Apply now—and take your career to the next level.

Program Costs

$35.3K *
Tuition
$3.6K
Avg Institutional Aid
17%
% Receiving Aid

Finance Your Education We offer a variety of resources, including scholarships and assistantships.

How to Apply Learn more about the application process and requirements.

Requirements

  • Online application
  • Statement of purpose (500–1000 words): Identify your educational goals and expectations of the program. Please be aware that Northeastern University's academic policy on plagiarism applies to your statement of purpose.
  • Professional resumé
  • Unofficial undergraduate transcripts; official transcripts required at the time of admission
  • Two letters of recommendation from individuals who have either academic or professional knowledge of your capabilities such as a faculty member, colleague, or mentor, preferably one from your current employer
  • English language proficiency proof. Students for whom English is not their primary language must submit one of the following:
    • Official associate or bachelor's degree transcript from an accredited college or university in the U.S., stating degree conferral and date
    • TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, Duolingo, or NU Global Exam scores

Are You an International Student? Find out what additional documents are required to apply.

Admissions Details Learn more about the College of Professional Studies admissions process, policies, and required materials.

Admissions Dates

Winter 2022
Spring 2022
Summer 2022
Fall 2022
Recommended Admissions Deadline
Domestic application complete (start date: January 10, 2022) December 20, 2021
Recommended Admissions Deadline
Domestic application complete (start date: April 11, 2022) March 28, 2022
Recommended Admissions Deadline
Domestic application complete (start date: July 11, 2022) June 27, 2022
Recommended Admissions Deadline
Domestic application complete (start date: September 19, 2022) September 6, 2022
Curriculum

General Requirements

Master of Arts in Homeland Security General Requirements

Required Courses 

CMN 6050 - Crisis Communication 
3.00 
HLS 6000 - Introduction to Homeland Security 
3.00 
HLS 6010 - Contemporary Threats to Homeland Security 
3.00 
HLS 6020 - Technology for Homeland Security 
3.00 
HLS 6030 - Intelligence for Homeland Security 
3.00 
HLS 6040 - Critical Infrastructure and Protection 
3.00 
HLS 6050 - Multidisciplinary Approaches to Homeland Security 
3.00 

Capstone/Thesis

Complete one of the following: 

HLS 6983 - Topics in Homeland Security 
1.00 - 4.00 
HLS 7990 - Thesis 
1.00 - 4.00 
 

Please Note: Students who are interested in taking HLS 7990 need to first take GST 6109 Basic Field Research.

Elective

Complete one of the following: 

CMN 6060 - Negotiation, Mediation, and Facilitation 
3.00 
CJS 5978 - Independent Study 
1.00 - 4.00 
CJS 6005 - Legal and Regulatory Issues for Security Management 
3.00 
CJS 6105 - Domestic and International Terrorism 
3.00 
CJS 6125 - National Security—Law and Policy 
3.00 
CJS 6430 - Risk Management 
3.00 
GST 6109 - Basic Field Research Methods 
4.00 
GST 6300 - Security and Terrorism 
4.00 
HLS 6035 - Advanced Intelligence Applications for Homeland Security 
4.00 
EDU 6184 - Interdisciplinary Foundations 
2.00 
INT 6943 - Integrative Experiential Learning 
3.00 
 

Concentrations

Choose one from the following:

Concentration in Emergency Management

HLS 6060 - Strategic Planning and Budgeting 
3.00 
HLS 6070 - Emergency Management and Geographic Information Systems 
3.00 
HLS 6080 - Continuity of Operations and Planning 
3.00 
HLS 6150 - Essentials of Emergency Management 
3.00 
HLS 6155 - Critical Infrastructure, Security, and Emergency Management 
3.00 
HLS 6160 - Advanced Emergency Management 
3.00 
 

Concentration in Geospatial Services
GIS 5103 - Foundations of Geographic Information Science 
4.00 
GIS 6394 - Crisis Mapping for Humanitarian Action 
3.00 
HLS 6060 - Strategic Planning and Budgeting 
3.00 
HLS 6070 - Emergency Management and Geographic Information Systems 
3.00 
HLS 6080 - Continuity of Operations and Planning 
3.00 
Concentration in Organization and Infrastructure Continuity
CJS 6430 - Risk Management 
3.00 
GIS 5103 - Foundations of Geographic Information Science 
4.00 
HLS 6090 - Organization and Structural Continuity Planning 
3.00 
ITC 6315 - Information Security Risk Management 
3.00 
ITC 6310 - Information Security Governance 
3.00 
Concentration in Port Security

Students selecting this concentration are only required to take 4 quarter hours of electives:

HLS 6100 - Maritime Port Security 1 
4.00 
HLS 6110 - Maritime Port Security 2 
4.00 
HLS 6120 - Aviation Security 1 
4.00 
HLS 6130 - Aviation Security 2 
4.00 
 

Note: HLS 6100 and HLS 6120 are recommended to be taken concurrently. 

Please note: This curriculum is for marketing purposes only and is subject to change. Official curriculum can be found within the course catalog.



Experiential Learning

Northeastern's signature experience-powered learning model has been at the heart of the university for more than a century. It combines world-class academics with professional practice, allowing you to acquire relevant, real-world skills you can immediately put into action in your current workplace. This makes a Northeastern education a dynamic, transformative experience, giving you countless opportunities to grow as a professional and person.

 

Faculty

Our Faculty

Our faculty represents a wide cross-section of professional practices and fields ranging from finance to education to biomedical science to management to the U.S. military. They serve as mentors and advisors and collaborate alongside students to solve the most pressing global challenges facing established and emerging markets.

William McAteer

William McAteer

Lecturer
Tiffany Danko

Tiffany Danko

Lecturer
Kenneth Sawka

Kenneth Sawka

Lecturer
John Terpinas

John Terpinas

Professor of the Practice
Jason Poitras

Jason Poitras

Lecturer
Students

By enrolling in Northeastern, you gain access to a network of more than 275,000 alumni and 3,350+ employer partners, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global nongovernmental organizations. Our current students and faculty across strategically located regional locations further foster a lifelong, global community of learning and mentoring.

Below is a look at where our Political Science and Security alumni work, the positions they hold, and the skills they bring to their organization.

 

  • Where They Work

    • Commonwealth of Massachusetts
    • Fidelity Investments
    • State Street
    • US Army
    • Liberty Mutual Insurance

  • What They Do

    • Business Development
    • Education
    • Community and Social Services
    • Legal
    • Operations

  • What They're Skilled At

    • Public Speaking
    • Research
    • Leadership
    • Microsoft Office
    • Management

 

Learn more about Northeastern Alumni on Linkedin.

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