Global Security Studies, Master of Arts

MA in Global Security Studies

globalsecurity.jhu.edu

The curriculum of the JHU Master of Arts in Global Security Studies is designed for working adult students who are looking to develop or expand their expertise regarding the security challenges of the 21st century. Students confront the complexities of today’s security environment with the latest policy and theoretical tools for analysis and action. Particular strengths of the program are in intelligence; terrorism, insurgency, and other forms of “small wars” and armed social movements; energy and environmental security; and the emerging cyber domain and its implications for war fighting, security, privacy, and the economy.

Courses draw from the best in academia and policy making in order to offer students the cutting edge in intellectual preparedness for career advancement. Classes are designed to maximize individual attention, encourage student contribution, build analytical skills, and provide the tools for engaging in original research.

Admissions Criteria for all Advanced Academic Programs 

PROGRAM SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

A 5-page, double-spaced essay on the following question:

“America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to Freedom and independence of all.” — John Quincy Adams

This quote reflects the trends in American national security for much of the nation’s history. Are the implications that can be drawn from the statement consistent with the demands of American national security in the 21st century? Discuss this problem in reference to some recent policy issues or political events, citing at least three references.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• Four core courses
• Five elective courses
• Three research courses

Core Courses

Students must complete four core courses. With the exception of AS.470.601 Climate Change and National Security and AS.470.657 Energy, Security, and Defense all of these courses are offered every semester.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.470.603	Introduction to Global Security Studies 1	3
AS.470.605	Global Political Economy	3
AS.470.692	Military Strategy & National Policy	3
Select one of the following:		3
AS.470.773	Energy and Environmental Security
AS.470.601	Climate Change and National Security
AS.470.657	Energy, Security, and Defense
Total Credits		12

1	This class should be taken in your first semester.

Research Study Courses

This program does not require a thesis. However, it does require the completion of a rigorous research study of journal article length. The research study should make use of the qualitative and quantitative research methods that students learn in AS.470.851 Qualitative Methods in Social Science, and AS.470.854 Fundamentals of Quantitative Methods or AS.470.853 Historical Methods.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.470.851	Qualitative Methods in Social Science 1	3
Select one the following:		3
AS.470.854	Fundamentals of Quantitative Methods
AS.470.709	Quantitative Methods 2
AS.470.853	Historical Methods
AS.470.855	Research Study Seminar 3	3
Total Credits		9

1	This course will usually be taken in the second or third semester.
2	With permission from the instructor.
3	This class must be taken as the final semester of study. Prerequisite: Students must have passed all previous courses in the Research Study track.

Areas of Concentration

Students may pursue a concentration in one of the fields listed below. A complete list of concentration courses is available on our website in the multi-year schedule. A selected list of electives pursuant to the concentrations is below. Please consult with your advisor if in doubt about the applicability of a course to a particular concentration. All courses are three graduate credits unless otherwise specified. Courses are offered in a variety of formats:  on-site, online, and hybrid. Please refer to our website for format information regarding each of these courses. 

Strategic Studies Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.470.606	U.S. Security in a Disordered World	3
AS.470.611	Introduction to Terrorism Studies	3
AS.470.630	Congress and the Making of Foreign Policy	3
AS.470.632	Security Issues in South Asia	3
AS.470.633	Transnational Organized Crime: Gangsters of the Global Underworld	3
AS.470.634	Open Source Research in Conflict, Politics and Scholarship	3
AS.470.640	Challenges of Transnational Security	3
AS.470.650		3
AS.470.653	Russian National Security Policy	3
AS.470.654	Deterrence & Crisis Stability in the New Era of Geopolitical Competition	3
AS.470.657	Energy, Security, and Defense 1	3
AS.470.659	Radicalization and Deradicalization in Terror Networks	3
AS.470.665		3
AS.470.668	The Politics and Process of American Foreign Policy	3
AS.470.676	From al-Qaeda to Islamic State: Understanding the Roots of the Global Jihad Movement	3
AS.470.679	Armed Social Movements: Terrorism Insurgency and Crime	3
AS.470.685	The Challenge of Change: Innovation in Military Affairs	3
AS.470.697	Intelligence and Counterterrorism	3
AS.470.704	Strategies in Insurgent and Asymmetric Warfare	3
AS.470.706	American Military History from the World Wars to Today	3
AS.470.707	International Security and Intelligence	3
AS.470.713	Resisting Tyranny: Strategic Nonviolent Conflict	3
AS.470.725	China's Impact on Global Security	3
AS.470.740	Cyber Policy, Strategy, Conflict and Deterrence	3
AS.470.744	Trade and Security	3
AS.470.745	Terrorist Financing Analysis and Counterterrorist Finance Techniques	3
AS.470.746	Iran: Security Policy of a Revolutionary State	3
AS.470.748	The Art & Practice of Intelligence	3
AS.470.750	Modern Conflict in the Middle East	3
AS.470.751	Politics and Security in the Middle East	3
AS.470.756	Understanding Modern War	3
AS.470.760	Comparative Intelligence Systems	3
AS.470.761	Thucydides, International Politics, and War	3
AS.470.767	Defense Policy	3
AS.470.775	Warfare in Peacetime	3
AS.470.777	Technology and Terrorism	3
AS.470.778	Conflict, Security, and Development	3
AS.470.784	Technology of Weapons of Mass Destruction	3
AS.470.785	Nuclear Proliferation and Non-Proliferation	3
AS.450.781	The Global Cold War	3
AS.480.661	International Public Relations and Public Diplomacy	3

Energy and Environmental Security Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.470.601	Climate Change and National Security 1	3
AS.470.657	Energy, Security, and Defense 1	3
AS.470.773	Energy and Environmental Security 1	3
AS.470.663	Human Security	3
AS.420.604	Hydrology & Water Resources	3
AS.420.605	Maritime Law and the Environment	3
AS.420.606	Climate Justice	3
AS.420.608	Oceanic & Atmospheric Processes	3
AS.420.612	Sustainability Science: Concepts and Challenges	3
AS.420.614	Environmental Policymaking and Policy Analysis	3
AS.420.624	Ocean Stewardship and Sustainability	3
AS.420.644	Sustainable Cities	3
AS.420.650	International Environmental Policy	3
AS.420.665	Climate Change on the Front Lines: The Study of Adaptation in Developing Countries	3
AS.420.668	Sustainable Food Systems	3
AS.420.676	Global Scarcity in Freshwater Systems: Crisis and Solutions	3
AS.420.679	International Water: Issues and Policies	3
AS.425.602	Science of Climate Change and its Impact	3
AS.425.603	Climate Change Policy Analysis	3
AS.425.637	International Climate Change Policy	3
AS.425.645	Global Energy Policy	3
AS.425.647	Energy and Water Security in South Asia	3

Economic security concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.470.601	Climate Change and National Security 1	3
AS.470.633	Transnational Organized Crime: Gangsters of the Global Underworld	3
AS.470.651	Corruption and Democratic Governance	3
AS.470.657	Energy, Security, and Defense 1	3
AS.470.663	Human Security	3
AS.470.674	Advanced Data Visualization: Interactive Web Graphics	3
AS.470.724	Managing Dangerous Futures: Global Political Risk Analysis	3
AS.470.725	China's Impact on Global Security	3
AS.470.744	Trade and Security	3
AS.470.745	Terrorist Financing Analysis and Counterterrorist Finance Techniques	3
AS.470.766	Economic Growth:The Politics of Development in Asia, Africa and Beyond	3
AS.470.778	Conflict, Security, and Development	3
AS.420.605	Maritime Law and the Environment	3
AS.420.606	Climate Justice	3
AS.420.624	Ocean Stewardship and Sustainability	3

Further on Electives

This is not a comprehensive list of electives; rather, it is a sampling. 

After consultation with their advisor, students may also take up to two relevant courses offerings in the School of Public Health, the School of Advanced International Studies, and other graduate programs in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Sequence of Study

Students take AS.470.603 Introduction to Global Security Studies in their first semester. This course exposes students to the basic concepts that are important to the field of global security studies and allow them to apply these tools to selected security issues. In the other core classes, which should be taken early on, students use these intellectual tools as they explore the three pillars of the degree: strategic studies, energy and environmental security, and economic security.

In their second or third semester, students take 470.851 Introduction to Qualitative Methods, the first step in the research study process. After that, students take either AS.470.854 Fundamentals of Quantitative Methods or AS.470.853 Historical Methods. With this sound basis in methodology, students are prepared to write a journal article-length study in their final semester when they take AS.470.855 Research Study Seminar. Students must successfully defend their research study in order to graduate.

Students may pursue an area of concentration in one of the fields listed above. An area of concentration requires that at least four of the elective courses be from the list approved for that concentration. All concentration courses also count as general electives for students not pursuing an area of concentration.