The Graduate Program in Security Studies offers many options tailored to fit the wide range of needs and interests of students and professionals.
The Master’s degree program in Security Studies is highly interdisciplinary, integrating both the research/policymaker dimensions and the technical/practitioner dimensions of security studies. The program was designed to provide an intense and rigorous graduate educational experience that will benefit working professionals as well as recent undergraduate degree recipients from a wide array of disciplines.
Students can pursue a 30-credit Master of Arts (MA) or a Master of Science (MS) degree, with a choice of concentrations:
- Master of Arts degree concentrations include homeland defense, industrial and economic security, and international security.
- Master of Science degree concentrations include CBRNE security, critical infrastructure protection, and cybersecurity.
These degree programs can be completed on campus or through the
Division of Online and Continuing Education.
The university also offers a 12-credit
Graduate Certificate in Security Studies. Students completing the Security Studies certificate program can transfer into the Master's degree program and any courses completed with a B+ or better can be counted toward completion of the MA or MS degree.
Students can earn their Master's degree or Graduate Certificate through courses on-campus or online. The UMass Lowell Division of Online and Continuing Studies has more information about
online Master's Degree courses offered, and
online Graduate Certificate courses offered.
Finally, UMass Lowell also offers a
Graduate Certificate in Network Security, which can be complete through online courses. Student completing the Network Security program can transfer into the MS in Security Studies: Cybersecurity concentration and have those courses count toward the completion of the Master's degree.
There is no residency requirement, and qualified international students are accepted into the master's degree or graduate certificate programs.
Curriculum Overview
The curriculum of the MA and MS programs reflect the interdisciplinary nature of security studies, integrating and amplifying the expertise of faculty in many departments and colleges throughout UMass Lowell, and building upon the well-established reputation of our graduate programs in the sciences, technology, and behavioral sciences.
Of the 10 courses needed to fulfill degree requirements, 4 are core courses that cover topics such as intelligence analysis, scientific and technological dimensions of national security, research design and methods, and a survey course of contemporary security studies literature. A fifth core course requirement involves a Security Studies Capstone Paper (for the MA) or a Security Studies Capstone Project Design (MS). The remaining 5 courses are selected from a list of electives within a specific area of concentration. MA degree concentrations include homeland defense, industrial and economic security, and international security. MS degree concentrations include CBRNE security, critical infrastructure protection, and cybersecurity.
Courses can be taken on-campus or online to meet the requirements for the master's degree or the graduate certificate in Security Studies.