Online Master's in Security Studies, Industrial and Economic Security Concentration
Gain in-depth knowledge of past and current security threats that impact the U.S. economy and privately held companies with UMass Lowell's Master's in Security Studies: Industrial and Economic Security concentration. Understanding the scientific and technological approaches used to combat advanced security threats will allow you to identify vulnerabilities, address incidents and deter attacks. The program's robust curriculum examines various topics, including global trafficking, economic crime, energy security, computer network and facility security and the defense industry.
Career Outlook
Key Takeaways
Deepen your professional knowledge of a diverse range of topics, including:
- The nature, causes, consequences, investigation and prevention of economic crime
- Multi-modal transportation security threats, vulnerabilities and risks
- Methods for creating best practices in security management
- Homeland security and defense as undertaken in the United States since 9/11
- The general role of science and technology in homeland and national security
- The history and evolving nature of the relationship between technology, crime and security
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.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.
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 Required for the
Master of Arts in Security Studies: Industrial and Economic Security Concentration
: 10 (30 Credits)
Required Core Courses (5 Courses / 15 Credits)
- CRIM.5750 Contemporary Security Studies (3cr) - Available Summer 2024!
- CRIM.5780 Intelligence Analysis Policy and Practice (3cr) - Available Summer 2024!
- CRIM.6680 Scientific & Technological Dimensions of National Security (3cr)
- CRIM.5910 Research Design (3cr) - Available Summer 2024!
- CRIM.6990 Security Studies Capstone Research Paper (3cr) - Available Summer 2024!
Concentration Elective Courses (Choose 5 Courses / 15 Credits)
- CRIM.5260 Economic Crime (3cr)
- CRIM.5730 Threat Assessment and Risk Management (3cr)
- CRIM.6580 Issues in Computer Crime and Cyber Security (3cr)
- CRIM.5700 Crisis and Emergency Management (3cr)
- CRIM.5900 Descriptive & Inferential Statistics (3cr) - Available Summer 2024!
- MGMT.5010 Organizational Behavior (2cr) - Available Spring 2024!
- CRIM.5740 Overview of Homeland Security (3cr) - Available Summer 2024!
- CRIM.5660 Transportation Systems Safety and Security (3cr)
Course Descriptions
CRIM.5260 Economic Crime (3cr)
Introduction to economic crime including nature, causes, consequence, investigation, and prevention. Empirical findings and major economic crime cases will also be examined.
Requirements:
CSCE Graduate Restrictions
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.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.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
MGMT.5010 Organizational Behavior (2cr)
Introduces students to management and organizational behavior. Its general purpose is to study and understand the behavior of individuals and groups in organizations. It is directed toward behavioral action components and emphasizes the close relationship between the study of organizational behavior and the practice of management. Pre-requisites: MBA or Certificate Programs, or Permission of MBA Director.
Requirements:
MBA/ MSF/MSEM/MGFB/PSM or PHD.
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.
Summer 2024 Tuition |
Cost Per Credit | Cost Per 3-Credit Course* |
---|---|---|
Graduate |
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Online | $600 | $1,800 |
Online Business1 | $655 | $1,965 |
Online Education2 | $470 | $1,410 |
Online 7000-Level Education | $655 | $1,965 |
Select Online Nursing M.S. courses3 | $750 | $2,250 |
On Campus | View Here |
Additional Costs |
|
---|---|
Term Registration Fee | $30 |
Returned Check Fee | $30 |
Graduate Degree and Certificate Application | $50 |
Please note: Tuition and fees are subject to change.
Estimate the cost of this program with our online tuition calculator
Looking for Financial Assistance?
UMass Lowell offers a variety of financial aid and scholarship options.Apply
Admission Requirements for the Security Studies: Industrial & Economic Security Concentration Program
- Undergraduate Degree: Please provide official transcripts. A minimum overall GPA of 3.000 is required.
- TOEFL for international students: (600+ paper-based, 250+ computer-based, or 100+ Internet-based).
- Successful completion of all other University admissions requirements, including a statement of purpose and two letters of recommendation. See UMass Lowell's Graduate Admissions Requirements for details.
- F1 student visas are not issued for this program since it is offered exclusively online.
Applying into a Graduate Degree Program
All applicants must submit:- An application
- An application fee
- A statement of purpose
- Two letters of recommendation
- Official transcripts
- No GRE required
- Resume
Graduate Program Admissions Requirements
Admission to all graduate programs at UMass Lowell is contingent upon successful completion of a bachelor's degree. In many cases, applicants may register for a course before formally applying to the program; however, students requiring financial aid may want to wait until they have been formally accepted into the program to ensure that their course(s) will be covered. Contact UMass Lowell's Office of Graduate Admissions if you have questions about the application process.
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!