M.S. in Human Security and Resilience

The Masters of Science in Human Security and Resilience (MSHSR) is a 30 credit, online program tailored to working professionals and includes a capstone course following completion of the specialization courses. Capstone projects are opportunities for students to deeply explore and address challenges from their respective worksites or issues endemic to their careers in a scholarly way. The curriculum is composed of 10 three-credit courses, including a 6 credit common core, 15 credits of specialized human security and resilience courses, 3 credits of capstone courses, and 6 credits of electives.

The discipline is rooted in the concept of human security, first defined by the United Nations Development Programme in 1994.  The UNDP definition established that human security includes protection from “chronic threats as hunger, disease, and repression, and protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily lives, whether in homes, jobs or communities.”  According to the United Nations concept, human security is multi-dimensional and includes economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, energy security, societal security, military security, and political security.

Students learn and apply concepts of resilience to communities facing human security threats, such as organized crime and political violence (terrorism), resource competition resulting from environmental change, and post-conflict or post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The Stockholm Resilience Center defines resilience as “The capacity of a system – be it a landscape, a coastal area or a city – to deal with change and continue to develop. This means the capacity to withstand shocks and disturbances such as a financial crisis or use such an event to catalyze renewal and innovation.”  Courses in resilience equip students with a deep understanding of milestone legislation and international agreements that nations, states, and communities use to address stressors. Students learn and apply resilience-building toolkits to cities facing regular stressors and disturbances, such as routine flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, drought, and urban heat.

It should be noted that there is no single definition of human security or resilience or an agreement on how to achieve either. These are some of the essential questions the security and policy community is wrestling with – and wonderful areas for continued scholarship and graduate capstone project development. For example, the capstone and research projects in the Master of Science in Human Security and Resilience program will contribute to the critical debates in this field. Graduates from this program will make a significant contribution to the development and practice of this field.  Human security and resilience touch every level of government:  neighborhood, state, national and international.  This degree program will find interest among human security and resilience practitioners from the municipal emergency management official to the national level strategic planner; from the public health advisor to an international humanitarian aid worker.

Estimated Cost of Attendance

Students will:

• Evaluate the concept of human security and how it contrasts with state-centered security models.
• Analyze the role of Internet-based communications in key security events, including government attempts to control the use of Internet-based technologies.
• Analyze organized communal conflict causes and mitigating mechanisms.
• Identify how global trends contribute to political and economic destabilization and security concerns worldwide and in the United States.
• Evaluate sources of resilience in countries with varying levels of development and its importance to the U.S. national security.
• Analyze case studies on resilience in different countries.
• Analyze the US national, human, and cyber security policy objectives with respect to national and international law.
• Independently conduct innovative research in human security and resilience.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Core/Major

Electives