Penn State offers new certificate study in homeland security

Penn State Harrisburg is playing a key role in the University’s homeland security education efforts throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. The campus' School of Public Affairs is now the academic home for the University’s new post-baccalaureate certificate program in homeland security and defense.

The 12-credit, four-course program will be taught by Penn State Harrisburg faculty and delivered online exclusively through Penn State’s World Campus. The Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHCS) was the catalyst to developing a national program responding to educational needs of the nation’s National Guard members. The University’s partnership with NPS has resulted in the development of the Penn State certificate program. Universities in Arizona and Missouri are currently piloting similar educational programs for their respective National Guards.

The program will be available through the World Campus beginning with the spring 2009 semester and will provide relevant information to current students, emergency management officials and first-time responders in addition to National Guard personnel.

Through the Penn State Harrisburg/World Campus certificate program, participants will learn about major legislation shaping homeland security policy, the interaction of key factors needed for successful homeland security and defense, and applications to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Public Administration course sequence in the program begins with an introduction to homeland security and will be followed by courses titled Homeland Security and Defense in Practice, Multifaceted Approaches to Homeland Security, and Strategic Planning and Organizational Imperatives in Homeland Defense and Security.

The certificate program is the latest  homeland security educational opportunity offered through Penn State’s World Campus. Also, Penn State College of Medicine is home to the master of homeland security in public health preparedness degree, designed to provide non-science postbaccalaureate students with broad training in public health preparedness as it relates to issues surrounding homeland security.

The School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg is home to undergraduate majors in political science, public policy and criminal justice, master’s study in public administration, criminal justice and health administration, and a doctorate in public administration. Its master’s program in public administration was recently ranked 51st  in the US News and World Report rating of more than 269 graduate schools of public affairs throughout the nation, placing it in the top quintile.

Enrollment will be available in the certificate program this fall through the World Campus at http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/  online. Prospective students are encouraged to check the web site for forthcoming information. At Penn State Harrisburg, the contact for information is program coordinator Jeremy Plant, (717) 948-6045 or jfp2@psu.edu by e-mail.