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

The accelerated B.A. and M.P.A. program allows qualified students to earn both the B.A. in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Master of Public Administration in a minimum of five years by completing approved graduate courses during the senior year of their undergraduate program. Students in the program may count up to 12 hours of graduate courses toward both the B.A. and M.P.A. degrees. Thus, the two degrees may be earned with a minimum of 144 or 147 credits rather than the 156 or 159 credits 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. The program gives students both theoretical and practical knowledge in homeland security and emergency preparedness as well as the skills necessary to become professional public managers, public officials and citizens who are able to meet the challenges of public service in both government and nonprofit sectors and serve the profession and local, state, federal and international communities in this expanding field.

Admission to a VCU undergraduate degree program requires graduation from a secondary school or the equivalent (lyceum, senior middle school, university preparatory school, completion of GCSE exams, Standard 12 graduation, etc.), which typically consists of at least 12 years beyond kindergarten.Your secondary education should be the type that would prepare you for entrance to a recognized university in your home country.VCU also requires you to have completed the following academic units by the final year of your high school curriculum:MathematicsNatural scienceHistory or social scienceEnglish or foreign languageYou must complete any special departmental requirements in advance, including standardized tests, and the appropriate testing agency must send your official test results to international admissions.