Academics
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Programs
DMGS’s degree programs serve to credential those who are seeking highly specialized development for careers in the national security community. Students will be able, in consultation with their faculty advisor, to structure degree programs that will fully address their professional career needs.
DMGS’ primary goals for the students:
- Further the career aspirations of currently employed students
- Prepare students who wish to enter into the public or private sector
- Credential working professionals
There are master’s programs in National Security, Intelligence, and Managing Disruption and Violence (MDV) as well as a concentration program in Regional Studies. DMGS also offers three certificate programs.
Intelligence
This program focuses on the cutting edge missions, methods, and organizational arrangements of intelligence in general, and U.S. intelligence in particular. It focuses on the four major elements of intelligence – collection, analysis, counterintelligence, and covert action – and their application abroad. Similarities and differences between types of intelligence inside the U.S. will also be a subject of study in this program.
Managing Disruption and Violence (MDV)
The Managing Disruption and Violence (MDV) M.A. Program is a specialized approach applicable to National Security Communications. The focus of this program is on the communications aspects of managing the potential or existing disruptive and violent consequences of external group behavior
National Security
The focus of this program is to enhance students’ historical, conceptual, and theoretical knowledge of skills necessary to develop strategy and policy; to develop the skills to diagnose contemporary and over-the-horizon threats and opportunities; and based on this diagnosis, to consider policy options and the integration of alternative capabilities which could be applied to ongoing security challenges and conflict melioration and resolution.
Curriculum and Degree Requirements
Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security (DMGS) students will be able, in consultation with their faculty advisor, to structure degree programs that will fully address their professional career needs. Because of its size, DMGS is perfectly structured to have the instructor-to-student ratio that will most effectively support learning the complex topics of strategy, intelligence, and national security.
1
A curriculum of 30 credit hours. Twenty-seven will be earned by taking nine regular courses, four of which must be from the student’s declared program pillar.
2
A publishable thesis worth 3 credit hours counted toward the 30 credit hour requirement. The thesis must push the boundaries of the field and affect an important aspect of national security. The thesis is to be written under the supervision of a faculty member who is the official thesis advisor. Each thesis candidate will then be assigned two additional professors who will also be available to mentor the student. Together they constitute the student’s thesis committee. Each professor will represent one of the three elements.
3
A final comprehensive two-hour oral examination based on student’s completed master’s thesis, which will be conducted by the student’s three mentors. This involves answering questions about the thesis topic that are posed by each of the committee members, as well as questions related but not limited strictly to that topic. Accordingly, this examination doubles as a final comprehensive examination that tests the student’s overall understanding of national security topics.
1
NSC 601: Introduction to National Security
2
NSC/INT/IOP 630: Research Methods & Critical Thinking
3
INT 610: Fundamentals of Intelligence
