| Homeland Security is a relatively new concept, but a field of study that has grown rapidly in recent years. Currently, there are no published accreditation standards that can be used as a framework for creating a Master of Science Homeland Security Degree Program in higher education; therefore, the primary purpose of the study was to develop recommendations for creating core courses, as well as determine teacher qualifications and professional development standards. The research utilized a qualitative research design employing an online focus group methodology to gather and describe the views and opinions of national subject matter experts in the field of homeland security and higher education. The participants possess a wide range of professional and education credentials across topic areas including emergency management, homeland security, law and policy, terrorism studies, critical infrastructure and risk analysis, state and federal law enforcement, strategic planning and military planning and operations. The research findings were used to develop recommendations for implementing and evaluating a Master of Science Homeland Security Degree Program. |
