Doctorate in Homeland Security Degrees
Throughout the field of homeland security, there are highly-trained individuals with specialized education and experience in specific areas of national security. If you want to dedicate your criminal justice career to a particular aspect of homeland security like terrorism, border protection, national disasters, or cyber-terrorism, you may wish to earn a doctorate degree to further explore your chosen field.
A doctorate degree may be well-suited to those who already work in homeland security or who have extensive prior education, as this type of degree typically builds on training obtained at the undergraduate level. Since this degree program includes a thesis, you may spend several years earning a homeland security doctoral degree. Programs tend to last up to seven years, depending on how aggressively you work on your thesis.
Earning a doctorate degree in homeland security may help you become qualified for high-level positions in security, intelligence, and operations. If you’re interested in taking the next step in your education, learn more about doctorate degrees in homeland security.
Curriculum for Doctorate Programs in Homeland Security
Doctorate programs include many of the same courses as Master’s degree programs, as these programs tend to lead to similar outcomes. Before you enroll in a doctorate program in homeland security, you must have a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related program. Because of this requirement, plan on taking advanced courses in this field of study. Doctorate-level courses in homeland security may focus on the skills needed for a career in upper level management. Topics included in this curriculum include national security, military tactics and operations, law enforcement, and government.
As you proceed through your graduate degree program, you may take classes like National Security and Terrorism, Aviation and Ground Transportation Security, Intelligence and Law Enforcement, and Local Emergency Management. Advanced courses in this subject include Security in the Maritime Transportation System and Strategy in Homeland Security. One of the most important parts of this degree program is your thesis. Before you can graduate with a doctorate degree, you must plan and write a comprehensive thesis in your chosen area of concentration in homeland security. This may take several years, as you may need to develop research and a hypothesis that meets the requirements of your thesis board.
Career Outcomes and Salary Information with a Doctorate in Homeland Security
After you complete a doctoral degree in homeland security, you may be able to explore a variety of career options. If you already have a career in criminal justice or national security, this degree may prepare you for a high-level supervision or management career. Consider becoming a regulatory affairs manager if you are interested in the coordination of activities and helping agencies comply with security regulations. O*Net reports that regulatory affairs managers earn an average salary of $105,610 per year. Through 2026, they anticipate a 5-9% increase in job openings (O*Net, 2017).
You may be considering a degree in this field because you want to work in emergency planning and management. In that case, you may want to look into becoming an emergency management director. The average salary for an emergency management director is $72,760 per year (O*Net, 2017). Between 2016 and 2026, O*Net projects up to a 9% increase in job openings in this field.
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