UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State undergraduate students who want to expand their career opportunities now have a new online option. The homeland security minor is Penn State's first online minor. It will enable students to acquire specialized knowledge and skills for jobs in the homeland security field, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects will grow by as much as 20 percent in the coming decade for occupations in emergency management, first response, law enforcement, and state, local and federal government.
"Students in political science, criminal justice, law and society, and organizational leadership, in particular, will benefit from the minor in homeland security, which will prepare them for entry-level positions in homeland security fields," said Steven Peterson, professor of politics and public affairs at Penn State Harrisburg and lead faculty member for the minor. "The minor will also facilitate their entrance into Penn State's online master's degree in homeland security."
Penn State Harrisburg's School of Public Affairs offers the 18-credit minor, which is delivered online by Penn State's World Campus. The minor covers topics on homeland security and defense, terrorism, national security policy, security administration, border security, emergency management and critical infrastructure. "It is a logical evolutionary step for Penn State's online educational portfolio," Peterson said.
"Occupations in homeland security are broadly distributed throughout the country, which makes online program delivery a good option for first responders and others working in this field," said Jeremy Plant, professor of public policy and base program coordinator for the online master's degree in homeland security. "For Penn State graduates of the minor, enrolling in the master's degree will be seamless."
More information about the online homeland security minor is available at http://goo.gl/ESyg2 online.
Penn State World Campus specializes in adult online education, delivering more than 70 of Penn State's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and professional education programs through convenient online formats. Founded in 1998, Penn State World Campus is the University's 25th campus serving more than 8,500 students in all 50 states and around the world. World Campus is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 114 countries worldwide.