VCU Receives State Approval to Offer Master’s Degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University has received state approval to offer a master's degree in homeland security and emergency preparedness beginning in the fall 2007 semester.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, SCHEV, approved the graduate degree program at its January meeting. The degree was developed by faculty in VCU's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs with assistance from several federal, state and local government agencies.

"This is going to be an extremely popular program because it meets a major societal need in an area with growing student interest," said Robert D. Holsworth, Ph.D., dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences. "We are just one of a handful of institutions of higher education to now offer a master's degree in homeland security and emergency preparedness which will complement the undergraduate program we started in the fall of 2005."

The program will serve students hoping to launch a career in homeland security and emergency preparedness as well as professionals already working in the field.  

"There is a need at the graduate level to serve people who are already out there doing the work in homeland security and emergency preparedness," said Gregory L. Shaw, assistant professor and coordinator of the graduate education program in homeland security and emergency preparedness.

"There is a strong online component to our master's degree, which should appeal to working professionals because it allows them to pursue an education as they move forward with their careers," added Holsworth.

VCU was the first major research institution in the nation to establish a degree program in homeland security and emergency preparedness. There are currently 121 undergraduate majors in the program.