Campbell University College of Arts and Sciences will become the first college in North Carolina to offer a bachelor's degree in homeland security, beginning this fall. The university officials have introduced this program due to the growing interest in this field since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Around 50 students have already signed up for the four-year undergraduate program.
"It seems like a logical thing to do to help educate men and women to help with the global war on terrorism," said Mark Hammond, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "For us, the idea of expanding a very popular concentration in criminal justice and changing that into a full-blown homeland security (degree) became a no-brainer when we realized that very few institutions across the nation offer such academic programs."
The program will focus on areas including Intelligence and Warning; Boarder and Transportation Security; Domestic Counterterrorism; Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Areas; Defending against Catastrophic Threats and Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Upon completion of the degree, the students will have learnt about the criminal justice system, domestic and international terrorist organizations, vocabulary associated with homeland security, how to develop strategies for disaster prevention and a focus on areas of the world in which international terrorist organizations are formed.
Plus, graduates can establish successful careers in Homeland Security, National Security, and Law Enforcement, Intelligence, and Corporate Security field.
David Gray, a criminal justice professor at Campbell said that this degree will become more and more popular as time goes by and graduates can collaborate with the U.S. system in constantly detecting and deterring terrorist acts in the homeland. The recent Boston marathon bombings are another example of the need for such programs.
Other colleges and university across the country also offer homeland security-related academic programs. Among these higher education institutions - American Military University, American Public University, Canyon College, Daniel Webster College, Eastern Kentucky University are some colleges that offer the degree.
