PADM 401 is a graduate course, which focuses on providing a broad overview of homeland security activities as undertaken in the United States since 9/11.  The goal is to provide the student with a solid theoretical foundation of the generally accepted body of knowledge required of the homeland security professional.  The course focuses on aspects of homeland security that relate to the four central missions of a homeland security agency, such as the Department of Homeland Security: domestic security, emergency preparedness, technology policy, and timely intelligence for preemptive action and improved policymaking.  Additionally, the course identifies the key policy participants at the federal, state and local levels along with critical legal issues relevant to the implementation and execution of homeland security activities. This course includes the study of how the United States has historically dealt with internal security matters as well as contemporary approaches to terrorist threat mitigation. It applies the lessons learned to newly restructured realities that exist in today's threat environment. This course is designed to help students develop critical analysis skills in order to become better evaluators of forward-looking public policy questions. 

In addition to gaining a broad and general understanding of this wide range of subjects, you will also gain some experience in asymmetric thinking, develop an appreciation for the growing body of literature in the discipline of homeland security, and have the opportunity to examine a key issue in depth through a term research paper.  This is a very demanding course, but you will learn a lot about this critical and emerging discipline.

Students will come to understand the history of homeland security as it evolved from the fields of civil defense, emergency preparedness, and traditional intelligence studies. They will further come to appreciate the problems and prospects of establishing aggressive intelligence and counterintelligence, as well as emergency management, capabilities in a modern threat environment calling for more active defense, awareness, and alertness postures. Knowledge will be obtained about how to provide security against various hazards, natural or manmade (e.g., hurricanes, floods, bombings, chemical, biological, or cyber attacks), how to protect critical infrastructures (e.g., transportation, borders, agriculture), and how to plan for effective response and recovery efforts (e.g., first responder, law enforcement, humanitarian relief efforts). The principles and practices of emergency planning and management (e.g., risk analysis, emergency preparedness, incident command) are emphasized in this course, and the instruction also focuses upon recent and ongoing efforts at government reorganization and restructuring as well as newly emerging principles of interagency, multi-jurisdictional cooperation involving the private sector, law enforcement, academe, nonprofits, and citizens.

Additionally, students will achieve the following objectives:

1. Describe the broad range of federal policies and procedures enacted since the events of 9/11.
2. Describe the organizations involved in homeland security, how they are organized, how they interrelate, and their specific roles.  This includes federal organizations, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense, the National Guard, and those at the state and local levels.
3. Interpret, analyze, evaluate and make inferences of ill-defined homeland security issues and problems.
4. Explain your foundational knowledge of the discipline of homeland security upon which you will build and begin preparing you for future leadership positions in this field.
5. Explain your understanding of the host of threats and hazards (natural or manmade) which threaten the safety and security of our way of life.

Sample Course Schedule

Course Access

The World Campus follows the same grading system as the Penn State resident program. The grades of A, B, C, D, and F indicate the following qualities of academic performance:

A = (Excellent) Indicates exceptional achievement
B = (Good) Indicates extensive achievement
C = (Satisfactory) Indicates acceptable achievement
D = (Poor) Indicates only minimal achievement
F = (Failure) Indicates inadequate achievement necessitating a repetition of the course in order to secure credit

Grading Policies

Accommodating Disabilities