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Master of Science in Security Studies: Critical Infrastructure Protection Concentration

Build the capabilities you need to analyze and address infrastructure threats and incidents with UMass Lowell's online Master's in Security Studies, Critical Infrastructure Protection concentration.

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Online Master's in Security Studies, Critical Infrastructure Protection Concentration

Become a successful leader in preparedness, response, and recovery efforts related to natural disasters, terrorist activities and cyber threats across numerous sectors with UMass Lowell's online Master's in Security Studies: Critical Infrastructure Protection concentration.

This 10-course program is designed for engineers who need to manage increasingly complex regional and national security challenges related to vital operational systems. The curriculum emphasizes integrating a big-picture policy perspective with knowledge of related areas, including sensor technologies, transportation security, systems engineering, human behavior and intelligence analysis.

under 20k

Earn a Top-Ranked Master's for Under $20k

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No GRE Required

Complete in as little as 18 months

Complete in as little as 18 months

Career Outlook

957,156
Jobs (2020)
+9.2%
% Change (2020-2021)
$104.2K/yr
Median Earnings
119,153
Annual Openings
Source: Lightcast, 2022

Many private-sector jobs are available for Critical Infrastructure Protection graduates, including:

  • City planners
  • City engineers
  • Energy security specialists
  • Nuclear engineers
  • IED program analysts
  • Chemical security inspectors
  • Chemical engineers
  • Facility operations specialists
  • Critical manufacturing program analysts
  • Critical infrastructure specialists
"Employment of emergency management directors is projected to grow 5 percent from 2018 to 2028. The importance of preparing for and minimizing the risks from emergencies will help sustain demand and employment for these workers."
— U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2019

Key Takeaways

Deepen your knowledge of a diverse range of topics, including:

  • Safety, security and emergency management
  • Threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and tactics to confront them
  • Risk management and the impact of terrorism
  • The role of science and technology in homeland and national security
  • Intelligence collection and analysis
  • The evolving nature of the relationship between technology, crime and security
  • Best practices for designing and building a cyber security program

Our faculty is comprised of top academics in the area of security studies, as well as industry experts who hold security clearances with the U.S. military and have worked in law enforcement or for intelligence and justice agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and the Department of Defense.

Our courses and programs of study enroll students from very diverse educational and professional backgrounds, and our alumni are employed in a wide variety of positions.
Explore the difference between the Security Studies Masters Degrees at UMass Lowell.

Learn from a Leader in Terrorism and Security Studies Research

The Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS) was established in 2013 to bring together faculty from several colleges at UMass Lowell and other institutions and organizations in the Commonwealth. The CTSS collaborates on research projects addressing the evolution, convergence and complexity of domestic and foreign security challenges such as terrorism, cyber security, transnational crime and weapons of mass destruction.
Best Online Master's in Criminal Justice Program in the Nation by U.S. News & World Report
Ranked #3 Best Online Master's in Criminal Justice Programs in the Nation by U.S. News & World Report
National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security Badges
UMass Lowell has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research by the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security

One Success Leads to Another

Apply credits from lower credentials to higher ones. Our programs are designed to build upon themselves:

Curriculum Outline

- Total Number of Courses: 10 (30 Credits)

Course Descriptions

CIVE.5110 Inspection and Monitoring of Civil Infrastructure (3cr)

In this course, principles and applications of inspection and monitoring techniques for the condition assessment of aged/damaged/deteriorated civil infrastructure systems such as buildings, bridges, and pipelines, are introduced. Current nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/E) methods including optical, acoustic/ultrasonic, thermal, magnetic/electrical, radiographic, microwave/radar techniques are addressed with a consideration of their theoretical background. Wired and wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for civil infrastructure are also covered. Applications using inspection and monitoring techniques are discussed with practical issues in each application.

CIVE.5415 Hazardous Materials Transportation (3cr)

Hazmat transportation, safety and security are a convergence of operations, policies and regulation, and planning and design. This course will address the multimodal operations, vessels, technologies, packaging and placarding involved in the safe and secure transportation of hazmat. Safety and security rules, regulations, emergency preparedness and response, industry initiatives and programs, and U.S. government agencies governing hazmat transportation will be included, as well as international impacts on hazmat transportation safety and security.

CRIM.5660 Transportation Systems Safety and Security (3cr)

This course will look at safety, security and emergency management with regard to transportation operations; multi-modal transportation security threats, vulnerabilities, risk and strategies to mitigate and incident; and the security of supply chains and critical infrastructure. The course will use case studies to provide the student with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to effectively safeguard the movement of assets within interconnected transportation networks.

Requirements:

CRIM.5740

CRIM.5700 Crisis and Emergency Management (3cr)

This course will provide a broad introduction to the critical challenges of disaster management. The course will address past and present strategies for reducing and responding to hazards posed by both manmade and natural disasters. Emphasis will be placed on what we can learn from the history of disasters, and on how we can apply those lessons to the management of future events.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.5730 Threat Assessment and Risk Management (3cr)

The goal of this course is to enhance understanding and increase expertise regarding risk management and the impact of terrorism on economic and other critical infrastructures in the United States. The course will provide the tools (operational and statistical) and technology required to mitigate these risks. A second purpose of the course is to examine and critically discuss current and future methods to create best practices in security management.

CRIM.5740 Overview of Homeland Security (3cr)

The U.S. has embraced the homeland security monolith without a full understanding of what it encompasses. This course provides a comprehensive overview of homeland security and defense as undertaken in the United States since 9/11. The course critically examines the current body of knowledge with a specific focus on understanding security threats, sources, and reasons for these threats. The roles of the key players at the federal, state and local levels, the policies and procedures enacted since 9/11, and the homeland security system in practice are also examined.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.5750 Contemporary Security Studies (3cr)

This course examines the complex nature of key domestic and international security threats and responses. Topics include terrorism and insurgency, transnational organized crime, WMD proliferation, cyber-security, intelligence, national and homeland security strategies, critical infrastructure protection, and theories of international security.

CRIM.5780 Intelligence Analysis Policy and Practice (3cr)

Students will examine the tradecraft of intelligence collection and analysis from various perspectives. Topics will include strategies, tactics, legal and ethical implications, sources, means, methods, limitations, covert action, methods of analysis, and case studies of prominent intelligence successes and failures in the last half century.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.5790 Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience (3cr)

This course will develop an in-depth understanding of the 16 Critical Infrastructure sectors in the U.S.; federal, state and local government regulations and strategies to ensure resilience; the planning, processes and physical, operational and systems measures to protect and harden critical infrastructure; and the interdependency among these sectors and between operations and infrastructure in light of national and homeland security.

CRIM.5900 Descriptive & Inferential Statistics (3cr)

This course is a rigorous introduction to statistical inference: probability theory, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests. The course also covers regression analysis, which is developed in a non-technical way, with an emphasis on interpretation of regression results, using examples from recent research.

CRIM.5910 Research Design (3cr)

Research design is a graduate-level introduction to methodology as used in criminology/criminal justice. The course surveys the research design enterprise and covers a host of issues on the measurement and collection of data, and other procedures that influence whether a research study will lead the investigator to scientifically rigorous information. This course explains various strategies for devising social science studies, compares the relative benefits of various designs, and identifies the tools necessary to conduct studies that will yield data worthy of analysis and interpretation. This material will be valuable for students who will conduct research and administrators who must evaluate the research of others.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.6580 Issues in Computer Crime and Cyber Security (3cr)

This course will examine the history and evolving nature of the relationship between technology, crime, and security, with a particular focus on legitimate and illegitimate Internet commerce, and cyber criminal methodologies and techniques. We will study major issues in cyber security including criminal and state-sponsored hacking; data, intellectual property, and identity theft; financial and personal data security; cyber-terrorism; tools and methods used to exploit computer networks, and strategies to protect against them; and new and emerging technologies. This course will be taught specifically for non-computer science majors, although students with computer science backgrounds are welcome for the experiences that they can bring to the class discussions.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.6640 Weapons of Mass Destruction (3cr)

This course explores the threats that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) pose to the U.S. and its interests along with the strategies to meet those threats. The course will examine the technical aspects, history, and contemporary threat of each category of weapon Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear followed by a critical analysis of U.S. and global efforts to limit access to these weapons and prohibit their production, proliferation and use. The course will also review some aspects of WMD attack response, recovery, and mitigation.

CRIM.6680 Scientific & Technological Dimensions of National Security (3cr)

In this required course for the MS in Security Studies program, students will take this course to learn all about the efforts in the public and private sector to design new sensors, scanner, and the general role of science and technology in homeland and national security.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.6990 Security Studies Capstone Research Paper (3cr)

This course represents the culminating capstone experience for students in the MA in Security Studies program at UMass Lowell. Incorporating the tools learned in CRIM.5900, Research Design and Methods, students are required to design a research question, gather and analyze information, and write a Masters level research paper of at least 50 pages on a topic of their choosing related to security studies. Students will provide drafts of their paper to their faculty supervisor periodically during the semester, and the final version will be submitted for grading on the basis of quality research and writing.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

CRIM.7100 Advanced Research in Terrorism (3cr)

This course focuses on describing and understanding how research and evidence-based analysis helps us to understand, explain and predict changes in terrorist behavior. The course makes use of case studies to illustrate quantitative and qualitative research methods, and to approach research questions on terrorism from multiple levels of analysis. The course will also examine successful examples of interdisciplinary research and will help students navigate the pathway from theoretically informed research on terrorism to policy and practitioner-relevant counter-terrorism.

Requirements:

PhD Students only, or Instructor Permission.

ENVS.5810 Understanding Massachusetts Contingency Plan (3cr)

The Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) is a body of regulations designed to streamline and accelerate the assessment and cleanup of releases of oil and hazardous materials to the environment. This course serves as an introduction to the MCP and will explore the intent and use of key aspects of this working document. Though primarily a regulatory course, some topics to be covered are technical by nature. Prerequisites: None. Though not required, some familiarity with relevant environmental science and/or engineering principles is desirable.

Requirements:

CSCE Graduate Restrictions

MSIT.5450 Designing and Building a Cybersecurity Program (3cr)

This course focuses on best practices for designing and building a comprehensive Cybersecurity Program based on the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity ("The Framework"). The Framework was issued on February 12, 2014, as directed by President Obama in Executive Order 13636. This framework provides guidance for reducing cybersecurity risk for organizations, and this course will examine its basic tenets of: "Cybersecurity Fundamentals", techniques applied to "Building a Controls Factory", "Cybersecurity Programs" "Establishing Cybersecurity Centers of Expertise" and "The Cybersecurity Program Implementation Roadmap".

PUBH.6161 Exposure and Risk Assessment (3cr)

This course covers quantitative and qualitative approaches to the development of sampling strategies. Statistical considerations in the quantification of occupational exposures are covered. Assessment of dermal exposures and the use of biomarkers for exposure assessment are also a focus of this class. An introduction to the methods of risk assessment will also be covered.


Program Requirements

To be recommended for a University of Massachusetts Lowell master's degree, candidates must satisfy all of the general requirements below, plus any additional requirements that may be required by the department through which the program is offered. Any additional requirements for this program are either listed below or may be found in the University's Graduate Program Catalog.

General Requirements:

  • Students must complete the program of study designed by the Department in which they are enrolled and approved by the University.
  • Satisfactory grades in all subjects offered for the degree must be earned. See Academic Standing.
  • All financial obligations, including tuition, fees and expenses, must be satisfied as evidenced by completion.
  • Upon completion of all their courses, graduate degree candidates must submit a signed Declaration of Intent to Graduate (DIG) form to their coordinator. The coordinator will apply them in SIS, Graduation Tracking.

Graduate Program Policies

In applying for a degree program or registering for courses, each student assumes full responsibility for knowledge of and compliance with the definitions, regulations and procedures of UMass Lowell as set forth on our website. For additional information, please refer to the Graduate Program Policies found within the UMass Lowell Graduate Catalog.

Tuition & Fees

Tuition at UMass Lowell is typically half the cost of private colleges, and our online tuition is among the lowest in the nation. Tuition for online programs offered through the Division of Graduate, Online & Professional Studies is the same whether you live in-state, out-of-state or outside of the U.S.

Fall 2024 Tuition

Cost Per Credit Cost Per 3-Credit Course*

Graduate

Online $600 $1,800
Online Business1 $655 $1,965
Online Education2 $470 $1,410
Online 7000-Level Education $655 $1,965
Online HyFlex $750 $2,250
Select Online Nursing M.S. courses3 $750 $2,250
Select On Campus courses4 $600 $1,800
All other On Campus courses5 View Here
*Tuition is priced on the listed credit hour unless the contact hour is different. Tuition is then based upon the listed contact hour.
1Applies to ACCT, BUSI, ENTR, FINA, MGMT, MKTG, MIST and POMS courses.
2Applies to EDUC courses excluding 7000-level courses.
3Applies to NURS.6510, NURS.6511, NURS.6512 and NURS.6513 courses.
5Applies to graduate on campus courses excluding select courses

Additional Costs

Cost
Term Registration Fee $30
Returned Check Fee $30
Graduate Degree and Certificate Application $50

Please note: Tuition and fees are subject to change.

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Applying into a Graduate Degree Program

You can apply anytime. There are no deadlines. Applications are accepted throughout the year.

All applicants must submit:
    • An application
    • An application fee ($50)
    • A statement of purpose
    • Two letters of recommendation
    • Official test scores
        • GRE not required
        • If English is NOT the national language in your home country, please submit one of the following English proficiency tests:
            • TOEFL: minimum acceptable score is 79
            • IELTS: minimum acceptable score is 6.5
            • Duolingo: minimum acceptable score is 115
            • ASC English: minimum acceptable level is 6
            • Pearson Test of English: minimum acceptable score is 53

Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.000 GPA from an accredited institution
  • Applicants must have earned an undergraduate degree in a science, technology or engineering discipline from an accredited institution of higher education. Applicants with a bachelor's degree in behavioral and social sciences will be considered on a case-by-case basis

Additional Information

F1 student visas are not issued for this program.

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Questions Regarding Your Graduate Application?

Email Graduate_Admissions@uml.edu or call 800-656-4723 (for U.S. students) or 978-934-2390 (for international students).

For General Assistance:

For general questions about registering for courses or to find out who the advisor is for your graduate program, call 800-480-3190. Our admissions and advising teams are here to help!

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