Program recipients collaborate with students and faculty from a range of disciplines, including public administration, international relations, political science, communications, and history. They benefit from the expertise of faculty in military planning and operations; global counterterrorism and arms control policy; counter-proliferation policy; diplomacy and international relations; mass communication; terrorist methods; and psychology, history, and economics. 15 credits in security-related coursework give students a solid understanding of: A certificate is available to law students in good standing who have taken a concentration of courses after the first year as part of the Juris Doctor program at the College of Law. Students seeking the Program of Study must (effective class of 2014): NOTE: Final information on the nature of the writing and capstone requirements will be posted soon. Examining the legal framework for the use of force abroad; incorporated international law as national security law; intelligence collection and covert operations; citizen access to national security information; and government controls on national security information. Offered by William Banks and David Crane. This course will provide students with a thorough, broad-based understanding of the multiple challenges faced by the federal government in protecting the nation from a variety of threats, both human and natural. Upon completion of the course, students will understand the complexities of the current security environment and the most important policy and operational questions facing federal, state and local government. Class discussions, case studies and a simulation will provide an opportunity for students to become directly engaged in the implementation of various policy options. There are no prerequisites for this course. Even students who do not plan to work in a security agency would find this course invaluable as security issues pervade policy decision-making in almost every sector of the government. Offered by Keli Perrin. This course concerns US and international law responses to terrorism and include a brief overview and history of terrorism. Topics include legal definitions of terrorism, investigation and intelligence collection in the US and abroad, apprehension of terrorists across borders, immigration and border controls, prosecution of terrorists, sanctions against terrorism and its supporters (including reprisal, assassination, asset freeze and forfeiture), crisis and consequence management in the event of terrorist attacks (including martial law and detention, domestic use of the military, catastrophic emergency measures, hostage and rescue operations), and law reform issues. Offered by William Banks and William Snyder. Prof. Snyder’s course webpage. Using a series of case study modules that jump off the front page, the course examines critically the hardest U.S. national security law and policy challenges of the decades ahead. The case studies range from decisions to intervene and what laws apply if we do intervene in humanitarian crises, insurrections, or civil wars, and what laws should govern when we are involved; dealing with the Arab Spring; dealing with Iran and North Korea related to nuclear weapons; anticipating and controlling new technologies in warfare and surveillance; managing civil/military relations in protecting the homeland; countering the cyber threats to our infrastructure and cyber attacks waged by nation states, such as China and Russia; managing public health as a national security issue; resource depletion and global warming as a national security issue. Offered by Dean James Steinberg and Professor William Banks. The 2009 White House Cyberspace Policy Review states: “The United States needs to conduct a national dialogue on cybersecurity to ensure an integrated approach toward the Nation’s need for security and the national commitment to privacy rights and civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and law.” This three-credit, one-semester seminar intends to be part of that dialog. Some cyber security law already exists. Other laws of long-standing present issues of applicability or adaptability to the cyber realm. Many proposals remain in Congressional committees, such as bills that would mandate security measures for all entities receiving federal money, establish a federal certification for technicians serving computer networks of entities receiving federal money, and provide the President with authority to “pull the plug” on national Internet connectivity in times of emergency. This course is premised on the belief that much policy and law to implement it will be made in the next few years to institute a national policy to protect U.S. interests in cyberspace. If an interdisciplinary approach is not used to develop this law, then either security will not be obtained or the cost to civil rights will be very high. This course is a one-semester, three-credit seminar. Offered by William Snyder. NOTE: Elective courses change each semester.
Who Can Apply
How to Apply
General Program Requirements
Course Options
Fall 2013 Schedule of Classes
1) Required Courses—take three courses (nine credits):
2) Elective Courses—take two courses (six credits):
Elective course descriptions (Law Program of Study)
Completing the Program of Study