Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) 1 HOMELAND SECURITY & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (HSEM) HSEM 501 CRITICAL ISSUES IN This course reintroduces the homeland security professional to the wicked problems and salient issues unique to the homeland security enterprise. Candidates will explore a number of contemporary issues and their near-term and long-term impacts on homeland security policies and practices. Among the issues examined will be collaboration among disciplines and non-traditional organizations, social issues impacting homeland security, disruptive technologies, civil rights and privacy and building trust and influence with decisionmakers. This course serves as an introduction to the graduate level study of homeland security via this program. HSEM 502 EMERGENCY AND DISASTER This course explores the evolving threats and drivers propelling the need to continually expand and improve our response capabilities. This course examines the effectiveness of disaster response and the efficacy of how emergencies are managed through an examination of case studies and the application of social science research. This course examines the rising costs of managing disasters, and strategies to improve surge capacity and sustainability in a challenging budget environment. Rather than an introduction to emergency management tools and techniques, a major focus of this course is leveraging innovation and futuristic thinking to employ alternate, communityfocused strategies to build resiliency. HSEM 503 RISK ANALYSIS AND VULNERABILITY MITIGATION Credits: 3 Protecting our nation s critical systems and essential functions requires a multilayered security and emergency management approach to protect and enhance our infrastructure systems. This course will explore threats to infrastructure ranging from deferred maintenance of aging assets and the stresses of natural disasters, to acts of sabotage, denial of service, and terrorism. This course focuses on the factors considered in the calculation of threat and vulnerability to evaluated potential consequences of failure. Students will gain tools with which they can make assessments, and craft strategies to lessen the impact of attacks, and reduce consequences of attacks. HSEM 504 HOMELAND SECURITY LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES Credits: 3 This course focuses on the challenges facing homeland security leaders in our increasingly complex society. Candidates will engage in a robust analysis of the problems that arise when protecting and securing a free society. This course examines policies and doctrine that formulate the foundation of current homeland security practices. Candidates will study design thinking practices applied towards issue definition and problem solving and taking responsibility to lead and shape future strategies through the development of policies, governance structures and organizational vision. HSEM 505 STRATEGIC THINKING FOR HOMELAND The discipline of homeland security presents leaders with a number of unique problems that must be addressed in order to effectively protect the homeland. Consequently, leaders must be able to articulate a cleat strategy to address these issues in order to be effective at responding to scrutiny by media and the public. Candidates in this course will study the current and past strategies used to secure local communities and the nation and explore the future social, economic, and legal challenges to national and global security. As a key assignment, candidates will be required to conduct research that investigates past and current security strategies and ultimately develop a paper that incorporates their original ideas for a successful 21st century security strategy. HSEM 506 HOMELAND SECURITY RESEARCH METHODS Credits: 3 This course is designed to aid candidates in conducting their thesis research. Candidates will be introduced to the general concepts needed to understand research in the social sciences. They will be introduced to several research methods that may be employed in the development of their thesis, and the ethical issues and processes associated with conducting research involving human subjects. Candidates will conduct a literature review. develop their problem statements and select their research methodology. Candidates will develop and submit their thesis proposal to Concordia s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and prepare proceed with the proposed project for their thesis course. HSEM 610 CYBER THREATS AND Homeland security leaders must be equipped with a basic knowledge of security essentials and system designs necessary for the effective protection of networked critical infrastructure. Criminals, saboteurs and terrorists use the internet to exploit businesses and government and use cyberattacks to defraud the public and fund terrorist activities. This course will explore cyber threats and the tools and techniques used to defend networks and systems against attacks. This course prepares candidates to coordinate the application and improvement of cyber security hardware and network security components for the defense of critical infrastructure from advanced persistent threats. HSEM 630 TERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE Credits: 3 This course examines emerging terrorist threats to the U.S. and strategies to disrupt terrorist plots. Candidates will explore the life cycle of terrorist organizations and the role of counterintelligence. They will become aware of the collection, analysis and evaluation of intelligence, the management of the intelligence function, as well as the influence of intelligence in shaping operational security decisions. Candidates in this course will develop an understanding of intelligence tradecraft and the analytic and research skills used in intelligence work. Finally, candidates will review a case study of how a terrorist organization has ended, and the issues that impacted its demise to better understand how to counter current and future threats to homeland security.
2 Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) HSEM 699 HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT THESIS Credits: 6 This course is the capstone of the entire HSEM program. Candidates will collaborate with their advisor to identify a research question that will add value to both the University s body of work on the topic and to the homeland security enterprise. Candidates will conduct a literature review, gather and analyze data, conduct and interpret their research, and summarize their findings. Thesis students are guided through the components of the thesis with their advisor. The course culminates with a defense of the thesis in an open forum. HSEM 301 INTRODUCTION TO HOMELAND This course provides an initial exposure to national security studies and is designed to provide a basic understanding of this topic to those pursuing a major as well as those with an interest in this field of study. Students will explore the definition of homeland security, identify the stakeholders and current issues, explore its relevance in today s society, and explore what may be emerging under the national security umbrella. Homeland Security has become part of the American lexicon, and students in this class will give the discipline an academic scrutiny. HSEM 310 INTEREST INTEGRATION Credits: 3 One of the most important skills for the future emergency preparedness or national security practitioner is the ability to facilitate the successful integration of stakeholders from disparate groups. As with any complex issue, emergency management and homeland security have a wide variety of interested parties, and their respective agendas may be at odds. This course will explore various interest groups and their agendas, and provide the student with practical methods to coalesce these groups for the benefit of local, regional and national security. HSEM 315 RISK ASSESSMENT, ANALYSIS, AND IMPACT Credits: 3 This course gives the student an opportunity to study how risk is determined, and what value this information has for the homeland security practitioner. Students will explore how assessments are conducted, and how data is processed into a picture useful to the preparation, prevention and response to a disaster. Once a risk picture exists, security leaders can decide what to protect, and the impact of the loss of a particular asset. This process is a key element of Critical Infrastructure Protection. Prerequisites: HSEM 301 with a HSEM 330 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TERRORISM Credits: 3 This course emphasizes the study of the psychology of terrorism, and reviews those conditions that foster terrorism and suicide bombers as well as the psychological impact of terrorism on our local, national, and international communities. Candidates will study the social aspects of terrorism, and how its use fits into the political spectrum of existing and emerging countries. Radical terrorist groups will be investigated from a cultural, religious and philosophical perspective. HSEM 332 SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ROOTS OF TERRORISM Credits: 3 This course includes the study of terrorism as the impetus for the development of Homeland Security as a discipline and industry. It will define and address those conditions that foster domestic terrorism, as well as study the psychological impact of terrorism on our nation s communities. Further, it will address the social aspects of terrorism, and how terrorism works into the political spectrum and can thus impact domestic policy. A number of domestic terrorist groups will be investigated including left wing and right wing groups, as well as single purpose entities such as environmental or radical antiabortion groups. Students will consider counter-radicalization, the media campaign, counter-terrorism, and the exploration of the human terrain initiative. Prerequisites: HSEM 301 with a HSEM 335 CYBER This course will study security in the virtual world. Course work will study the threat, as well as policy issues that thrust cyber activity into the criminal realm, or the realm of international conflict and the rules of war. Threat analysis will include some types of threat, theft of intellectual property, and infrastructure disruption. HSEM 360 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND This course explores the roles, duties and responsibilities of Emergency Management (EM) on the local, state, federal and private levels as well as the duties and responsibilities of each. The course will also explore how EM differs from other security functions through its involvement with crisis management: decisions made with limited data, new or non-customary relationships, changing scale of responsibilities, and an evolving role of private industry and citizens. Students will also gain an exposure to the Incident Command System. HSEM 365 VOLUNTEERS, DONATIONS AND HUMANITARIAN AID Credits: 3 This course explores the complexities of coordinating the unmet needs and immense anxiety of disaster survivors, with the structure and rigor of government public safety agencies and the capabilities of both organized and unaffiliated volunteers. Students will study the structure and goals of Volunteer Organizations Active during Disasters (VOADs) and spontaneous digital technology communities, active across the world. This course also examines the interface between international humanitarian aid efforts and federal coordinating agencies. HSEM 390 TECHNOLOGY FOR Government agencies in today s fast-paced Information Age are more dependent than ever on technology to ensure a common operating picture and effective information sharing among partners. This course provides students a broad overview of homeland security technologies, information systems, surveillance technology, communications systems, and emerging and disruptive technologies. Students will examine the maturity of technologies along the adoption spectrum and develop and apply requirements for influencing future capabilities. This course focuses on technology as a tool to support homeland security and emergency management personnel regardless of functional specialty. HSEM 395 SPECIAL TOPICS IN Topics will be announced by program director. Prerequisites: HSEM 301 with a
Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) 3 HSEM 401 MORAL DECISION MAKING, POLICIES, AND CIVIL RIGHTS Credits: 3 This course examines the cross-sections of ideologies that influence morals, government roles and policies to keep order, and the civil rights of Americans. The American population fosters an array of opinions and attitudes about homeland security, government laws designed to protect lives, the policies and statutes of government agencies, and the conflicts that can arise impacting civil rights and liberties. Students in this course will analyze and engage in discourse to explore and gain an understanding of the overlap and dichotomies between the policy decisions of government officials and civilian values and morals. HSEM 406 CHARACTER AND THE ETHICS OF LEADERSHIP Credits: 3 Candidates will explore contemporary models of security leadership, synthesize a personal statement of vocation informed by their leadership values and assumptions, and test their synthesis against a variety of assignments and practical experiences. The course also provides a forum where candidates enjoy the opportunity to identify and consider their own character, personal values, and workplace ethics. Each will develop an understanding of the importance of ethical leadership in one s professional, personal and family life, and will appreciate the personal fulfillment that flows from living and modeling such values and, perhaps most importantly, of serving others. HSEM 415 STRATEGIC PLANNING AND BUDGETING Credits: 3 All national security efforts should flow from the National Strategy for Homeland Security since it is this document which drives all subsequent levels to include state, local and business strategies for local and national security. This course explores national strategy development, the existing strategies for homeland security, and provides students with a detailed overview of how these strategies flow into resourcing and budgeting. HSEM 440 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION Credits: 3 Protecting our nation s critical infrastructure requires a multilayered security and emergency management approach. Students in this course will explore security threats to infrastructure ranging from low-level offenses such as vandalism and theft, to acts of sabotage, denial of service, and terrorism. Critical infrastructure systems are also vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters. As a result, the ability to respond and quickly restore interruptions in service is constantly tested through emergencies and natural disasters such as flooding, wind and ice storms, earthquakes and hurricanes. This course examines the need to manage aging infrastructure, strengthen resiliency, and protect against intentional attacks. Prerequisites: HSEM 315 with a HSEM 450 RELIGION IN THE MODERN WORLD Credits: 3 The course will orient students to the pervasive nature of religion in all aspects of the modern world with special attention to how social interaction with religious people occurs in contemporary society and influences politics and conflict. Prerequisites: HSEM 332 with a HSEM 454 THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY Credits: 3 Quality Intelligence provides the homeland security leader on any level with timely analysis of relevant information. The challenge with this intelligence is to guarantee it is collected and utilized within legal guidelines and still provide appropriate assistance from the best sources possible. This course introduces the student to the intelligence community, the intelligence process, the legal and ethical conduct expected and required in gathering intelligence, and intelligence analysis. Students will better understand integration of sources, and how intelligence can be used to optimize the homeland security effort. Prerequisites: HSEM 332 with a HSEM 464 BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES Credits: 3 Resilient communities are those that have taken appropriate actions to minimize the impact of a catastrophic occurrence. Historical examples show that life is never the same after a disaster, but communities that survive and thrive are those that have resiliency. This course will step students through the emergency management planning cycle (prevent, prepare, respond, recover) to illustrate how to foster community resiliency. HSEM 470 MANAGING DISASTERS Credits: 3 This course examines the complex and fastmoving environment surrounding disaster management. While emergency preparedness, resilience, and mitigation efforts can lessen the impacts of disasters, we cannot eliminate all threats. This course examines the competing priorities, the structures required by the federal government, and the roles and responsibilities of the many different players with a role during the response phase. Students will explore different scale disasters through exercises that will test and overwhelm local and regional capabilities. Local students will use Concordia s Homeland Security Simulation Lab to engage with peers and learn how disasters escalate with cascading consequences. Students will gain knowledge about federal disaster declarations and systems used to coordinate logistics and support of out-of-area resources. HSEM 494 PRACTICUM Credits: 6 The practicum is the culmination of the learning process where theory is put into practice. For the security studies major, there are two options for this final effort. First, students can elect to research a specific element of foreign or domestic terrorism. This would require an in depth study of a particular group, with a final product of a mitigation or co-opting strategy. The alternative is an emergency management project that would include the creation of a detailed emergency preparation or response action plan. The plan would be based on a risk analysis that includes critical infrastructure protection, threat prioritization, and intelligence analysis. HSEM 498 HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP I Credits: 1-6 This course enables Homeland Security and Emergency Management students to explore different career paths while they are engaged in this field of study. Students who locate an organization offering an internship related to homeland security and emergency management, will apply their acquired knowledge to real world organizations goals, objectives and missions. Students will refine their skillsets and build their portfolios with examples of their work, helping to prepare them during future job search activities. C or higher; Program Director approval.
4 Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) HSEM 499 HSEM INTERNSHIP II Credits: 1-6 This course enables Homeland Security and Emergency Management students to explore different career paths while they are engaged in this field of study. Students who locate an organization offering an internship related to homeland security and emergency management, will apply their acquired knowledge to real world organizations goals, objectives and missions. Students will refine their skillsets and build their portfolios with examples of their work, helping to prepare them during future job search activities. C or higher; Program Director approval. HSEM 501 CRITICAL ISSUES IN This course reintroduces the homeland security professional to the wicked problems and salient issues unique to the homeland security enterprise. Candidates will explore a number of contemporary issues and their near-term and long-term impacts on homeland security policies and practices. Among the issues examined will be collaboration among disciplines and non-traditional organizations, social issues impacting homeland security, disruptive technologies, civil rights and privacy and building trust and influence with decisionmakers. This course serves as an introduction to the graduate level study of homeland security via this program. HSEM 502 EMERGENCY AND DISASTER This course explores the evolving threats and drivers propelling the need to continually expand and improve our response capabilities. This course examines the effectiveness of disaster response and the efficacy of how emergencies are managed through an examination of case studies and the application of social science research. This course examines the rising costs of managing disasters, and strategies to improve surge capacity and sustainability in a challenging budget environment. Rather than an introduction to emergency management tools and techniques, a major focus of this course is leveraging innovation and futuristic thinking to employ alternate, communityfocused strategies to build resiliency. HSEM 503 RISK ANALYSIS AND VULNERABILITY MITIGATION Credits: 3 Protecting our nation s critical systems and essential functions requires a multilayered security and emergency management approach to protect and enhance our infrastructure systems. This course will explore threats to infrastructure ranging from deferred maintenance of aging assets and the stresses of natural disasters, to acts of sabotage, denial of service, and terrorism. This course focuses on the factors considered in the calculation of threat and vulnerability to evaluated potential consequences of failure. Students will gain tools with which they can make assessments, and craft strategies to lessen the impact of attacks, and reduce consequences of attacks. HSEM 504 HOMELAND SECURITY LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES Credits: 3 This course focuses on the challenges facing homeland security leaders in our increasingly complex society. Candidates will engage in a robust analysis of the problems that arise when protecting and securing a free society. This course examines policies and doctrine that formulate the foundation of current homeland security practices. Candidates will study design thinking practices applied towards issue definition and problem solving and taking responsibility to lead and shape future strategies through the development of policies, governance structures and organizational vision. HSEM 505 STRATEGIC THINKING FOR HOMELAND The discipline of homeland security presents leaders with a number of unique problems that must be addressed in order to effectively protect the homeland. Consequently, leaders must be able to articulate a cleat strategy to address these issues in order to be effective at responding to scrutiny by media and the public. Candidates in this course will study the current and past strategies used to secure local communities and the nation and explore the future social, economic, and legal challenges to national and global security. As a key assignment, candidates will be required to conduct research that investigates past and current security strategies and ultimately develop a paper that incorporates their original ideas for a successful 21st century security strategy. HSEM 506 HOMELAND SECURITY RESEARCH METHODS Credits: 3 This course is designed to aid candidates in conducting their thesis research. Candidates will be introduced to the general concepts needed to understand research in the social sciences. They will be introduced to several research methods that may be employed in the development of their thesis, and the ethical issues and processes associated with conducting research involving human subjects. Candidates will conduct a literature review. develop their problem statements and select their research methodology. Candidates will develop and submit their thesis proposal to Concordia s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and prepare proceed with the proposed project for their thesis course. HSEM 610 CYBER THREATS AND Homeland security leaders must be equipped with a basic knowledge of security essentials and system designs necessary for the effective protection of networked critical infrastructure. Criminals, saboteurs and terrorists use the internet to exploit businesses and government and use cyberattacks to defraud the public and fund terrorist activities. This course will explore cyber threats and the tools and techniques used to defend networks and systems against attacks. This course prepares candidates to coordinate the application and improvement of cyber security hardware and network security components for the defense of critical infrastructure from advanced persistent threats. HSEM 630 TERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE Credits: 3 This course examines emerging terrorist threats to the U.S. and strategies to disrupt terrorist plots. Candidates will explore the life cycle of terrorist organizations and the role of counterintelligence. They will become aware of the collection, analysis and evaluation of intelligence, the management of the intelligence function, as well as the influence of intelligence in shaping operational security decisions. Candidates in this course will develop an understanding of intelligence tradecraft and the analytic and research skills used in intelligence work. Finally, candidates will review a case study of how a terrorist organization has ended, and the issues that impacted its demise to better understand how to counter current and future threats to homeland security.
Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) 5 HSEM 699 HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT THESIS Credits: 6 This course is the capstone of the entire HSEM program. Candidates will collaborate with their advisor to identify a research question that will add value to both the University s body of work on the topic and to the homeland security enterprise. Candidates will conduct a literature review, gather and analyze data, conduct and interpret their research, and summarize their findings. Thesis students are guided through the components of the thesis with their advisor. The course culminates with a defense of the thesis in an open forum.