Special Opportunities

Practical Applications and Real World Experience

The Homeland Security program strongly believes in the value practical application and real-world experiences provide to students. Such experiences derive from internships and research projects. As such, all HS majors must complete both an internship and a senior advanced project.

Internships

The internship must be at least 200 hours, or be taken for two or more credit hours. To date, the HS program has cultivated unique internships in many top agencies and organizations including the FBI, Secret Service, DHS and the TSA, the GAO, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, many emergency operations centers, sheriff offices, police departments and more. Each HS student is mentored and equipped to find an internship specifically suited to their unique needs, desires and aspirations. Internships are typically taken between either the sophomore or junior years, or between the junior and senior years.

Senior Projects

The senior advanced project (HS 490) will require all HS majors to design and evaluate a solution to a real-world homeland security or emergency management challenge for a real client. Students will work in groups to identify root causes and cost-effective solutions, resulting in a professional document and a public presentation. 

Example project topics include:

• Development of Emergency Management Plans, Exercises or After-Action Plans for a variety of organizations
• Security or Emergency Planning Operations in ports, seaways and harbors
• Threat and Vulnerability Assessments
• Risk Analysis of Critical Infrastructure
• Surveillance and Industrial Security Techniques
• Inter-Agency and Inter-Jurisdictional Operations
• Command and Control Techniques
• Airspace Management and Security
• Simulation Applications

For more information, visit Homeland Security degree requirements.