— Volume VI No. 2: May 2010 —

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Partnership in Progress: A Model for Development of a Homeland Security Graduate Degree Program

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AUTHOR:
Cheryl Polson
Cheryl J. Polson is an associate dean of the Graduate School at Kansas State University and the director of K-State at Fort Leavenworth. She oversees all university graduate degree programs offered at Fort Leavenworth and is responsible for new degree program initiatives at this off-campus site. Dr. Polson is leading K-State’s homeland security curriculum development efforts and is currently a member of the Homeland Security Defense and Education Consortium Association’s accreditation committee. She earned her doctorate at Kansas State University in higher education administration and completed post doctoral coursework in adult education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Polson can be contacted at cpolson@ksu.edu.

AUTHOR:
John Persyn
John M. Persyn is an assistant professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He currently teaches faculty development and curriculum development courses for the Faculty and Staff Development Division. He has previously taught national strategy, joint operations, and homeland security courses in the college’s Directorate of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations. He earned a master’s and a doctorate in adult education from Kansas State University and a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. Dr. Persyn may be contacted at john.persyn@us.army.mil.

AUTHOR:
O. Shawn Cupp
O. Shawn Cupp is an associate professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He currently teaches homeland security and logistics courses for the Directorate of Logistics and Resource Operations. Dr. Cupp has researched, published and taught subjects in homeland security threats including domestic threat groups and agroterrorism. He earned a doctorate in adult education from Kansas State University and master’s degrees in vocational education from Virginia Tech, and operational research from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Dr. Cupp may be contacted at orville.cupp@us.army.mil.

ABSTRACT:
This article provides institutions interested in building a homeland security degree program a method by which to assess educational needs of homeland security professionals to help guide curriculum development. It describes a collaborative endeavor by two complementary graduate education providers to build an interdisciplinary graduate degree program that helps meet this growing demand for quality homeland security educational programs. First, the historical context is provided by briefly tracing the evolution of homeland security graduate education since 2001. Next, a review of the literature identifies the fundamental elements that experts and scholars have suggested should constitute a graduate homeland security curriculum. Finally, the process used to develop the Kansas State University and U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Homeland Security Graduate Degree Program is outlined. This approach is intended to serve as a useful model to ensure that new homeland security graduate degree programs fulfill the expectations of value and applicability for homeland security agencies and other stakeholders.

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SUGGESTED CITATION:
Polson, Cheryl, John Persyn, and O. Shawn Cupp. “Partnership in Progress: A Model for Development of a Homeland Security Graduate Degree Program.” Homeland Security Affairs 6, issue 2 (May 2010)
http://www.hsaj.org/?article=6.2.3
http://www.hsaj.org/