VCU’s homeland security major is so popular that the school has proposed a master’s degree

by Garry Kranz
for Virginia Business
September 2006

Amanda Turner already has the skullduggery to be an intelligence agent. Other than revealing that she was raised in a military family in Gloucester, she divulges few other personal details — not even her age.

Although she isn’t job hunting yet, such reticence may serve Turner well when she hits the labor market. This spring, Turner and three other Virginia Commonwealth University graduates made history by becoming the first students in the nation to earn bachelor’s degrees in homeland security and emergency preparedness. In 2005, VCU became the first major research university in the country to develop an undergraduate degree in homeland security through its L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

Turner is holding off on job offers now to pursue a master’s degree in homeland security. VCU hopes to offer the degree as an online course as early as spring 2007, pending state approval. Adding homeland security to her undergraduate degree, says Turner, complemented her existing major in forensic biology, with an interest in microbial forensics. The dual major prepares her for jobs analyzing poisonous substances used as chemical or biological weapons, or working in the emergency services field.

VCU’s program was created in response to the government’s stepped-up demand for better intelligence and information-sharing tools after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, the Virginia Department of Economic Development says the state’s growing homeland security industry has produced about 50,000 information technology jobs.

Shortly before 9/11, Turner considered, and then decided against, joining the Virginia Air National Guard. However, the events of that day, coupled with her family’s long history of military service, persuaded her to pursue the second major in homeland security once it was offered last year. “My mom was a Vietnam vet, and I grew up with lots of patriotism in my family,” says Turner. “You grow up thinking that service to your country is a birthright.”

Turner typifies students who pursue the homeland security major. The undergraduate program has generated interest among students studying premed, criminal justice, law and political science. About 285 students completed Homeland Security 101, an elective offered by VCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, during the program’s inaugural semester last fall.
Consisting of 36 credit hours, the course work for the homeland security major is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills to prepare for natural disasters, terror attacks and other threats. They should find a market for their skills as defense contractors struggle to find enough workers to keep pace with the government’s demand for services and technologies.

Young people have a keen interest in homeland security, says Col. William H. Parrish, head of VCU’s program and a former senior official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Sept. 11 was an event of their time. They all clearly witnessed what happened. What this program has done is open their eyes to job opportunities [in homeland security] that they never even thought of before,” says Parrish, who left DHS to head VCU’s program. Parrish expects more than 100 declared majors this fall.

Meanwhile, Tidewater Community College becomes the first school in the country to offer a two-year associate’s degree in homeland security, starting this fall. Targeted for active duty Navy personnel, the applied science degree will offer tracks in homeland security or homeland security/emergency management. Longwood University in Farmville will offer a minor in homeland security during the fall semester, with students able to pair the 18-credit study program with any academic major.