Accelerated Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)/Master of Arts (M.A.) in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

The accelerated B.A. and M.A. program allows qualified students to earn both the B.A. and M.A. in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in a minimum of five by completing approved graduate courses during the senior of their undergraduate program. Students in the program may count up to 12 hours of graduate courses toward both the B.A. and M.A. degrees. Thus, the two degrees may be earned with a minimum of 144 rather than the 156 necessary if the two degrees are pursued separately. Students holding these degrees will learn about the dual nature of homeland security and emergency preparedness as an adaptation of traditional policy responses to natural disasters to include those types of disasters caused by domestic or international terrorism. Students will acquire theoretical and practical knowledge that will prepare them for private or public sector employment in the expanding area of homeland security and emergency preparedness andor further study in numerous areas of public policy. This graduate degree takes a broad interdisciplinary approach to preparedness that gives students the ability to see the larger organizational, social, political, ethical and economic aspects of disaster studies, in addition to the policy-making and implementation aspects. The scholarly study of homeland security and emergency preparedness rests at the intersection of national defense, emergency management, law enforcement and policy management.

Interested undergraduate students should consult with their adviser as early as possible to receive specific information about the accelerated program, determine academic eligibility and submit (no later than two semesters prior to graduating with a baccalaureate degree, that is, before the end of the spring semester of their junior year) an Accelerated Program Declaration Form to be approved by the graduate program director. Limited spaces may be available in the accelerated program. Academically qualified students may not receive approval if capacity has been reached.

Minimum qualifications for entrance to the accelerated program include completion of 90 undergraduate credit hours including five of the six required 300-level HSEP courses; an overall GPA of 3.5 and a GPA of 3.5 in homeland security and emergency preparedness course work. Successful applicants would enter the program in the semester following the completion of their 90th credit hour. Candidates should submit applications for admission during the semester they would be completing their 90th credit, but no later than July 25 of that year. One of the required reference letters must be from a homeland security and emergency preparedness faculty member. Students who are interested in the accelerated program should consult with the Wilder School Graduate Student Services and Advising Office.