With new intelligence emerging to increase terror threat levels, the buzz over homeland security gets louder in the U.S. every day.  In response, professionals working in a wide range of fields - from the criminal justice arena to the financial world - are looking for information to help them stay current with the latest homeland security efforts.  In the fall, a new online program at Michigan State University will begin to serve this purpose and offer professionals and students alike an opportunity to earn a certificate in homeland security studies.

"At Michigan State and a number of other universities, we had been involved in a whole line of research and educational activities prior to September 11, 2001 related to what's now called homeland security," said Ed McGarrell, Director of the School of Criminal Justice.  "Certainly we reinvigorated those efforts after we saw what a national priority homeland security was becoming."

With the focus in the U.S. zooming in on homeland security, MSU developed a three-course online program designed to provide both working professionals and traditional students with a background in emergency management and cutting edge information about homeland security efforts. 

"Some of the feedback we were getting from the professional community was [that there was a] need for up-to-date, current information relating to this area of homeland security," McGarrell said.  "[So, we] developed courses for working professionals who are facing these mandates of increased security and being part of the nation's response [to terrorism]."

The program's first class, Foundations in Homeland Security, starts in late August.  It ties together homeland security, emergency management and civil defense and discusses issues like the Patriot Act and infrastructure challenges.

"It's an overview addressing the contemporary issues that fall under the rubric of homeland security," McGarrell said.  "It will put homeland security in this historical context so people can learn the lessons of the past and see how that can help inform discussions of homeland security."

The next course in the certificate program explores both domestic and international terrorism, with a particular focus on the origins, causes and motivations of various terrorist organizations.

Finally, students will take a class dealing with the relationship between the public and private sectors and the importance of uniting these two entities to enhance homeland security.  According to McGarrell, this course is a unique feature of the program.

"There's been an increasing recognition that if we're going to truly build safe and secure communities then we need to think about how you bring the private and public sectors together," McGarrell said. 

After taking the three core courses and receiving a certificate in homeland security studies, MSU students will also have an opportunity to specialize in certain areas, like food and information security, McGarrell said.  These additional courses are currently in development, he added.

"People could get the basic certificate and then depending on their own professional responsibilities and interests, we will have these additional certificates available," McGarrell said.

According to McGarrell, the online format of the class enables professionals and students from all over the country to take the courses and earn the certificate.  MSU has even had some interest from people internationally, he said.

Moreover, the course is valuable for people working in a wide range of fields, from corrections officers to stock traders.

"I think it will be very useful in terms of having a broader picture on both the threat we face as a nation and understanding this whole new environment of homeland security that evolves nearly daily," McGarrell said.  "In many ways it will be kind of a problem-solving experience in which people who find themselves with these new responsibilities will have tools and resources to move forward."

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To learn more about MSU's homeland security program, contact Gisgie Davila Gendreau, University Relations at (517) 432-0924 or gendrea3@msu.edu