Teaching and Curricula Links:
The Department of National Security Affairs (NSA) specializes in international relations, regional studies, military history, and security policy. NSA brings together an outstanding faculty of historians, political scientists and, economists, with students from all the U.S. armed forces, from various defense agencies, and international officers and civilians from more than 60 countries around the world.
Teaching Schedule
Click here to see the current teaching schedule for the NSA Department.
Degrees
NSA offers fully accredited programs leading to the Master of Arts and Ph.D. programs in Security Studies. Master of Arts degrees always entail concentration in a particular regional or topical specialty, which is noted as part of the degree.
M.A. in Security Studies (Regional concentrations)
NSA is one of the leading centers for Regional Security Studies in the world. Its curricula meet the high standards set by the U.S. armed forces for Foreign Area Officer education. Students can specialize in the following four areas:
M.A. in Security Studies (International concentrations)
In addition to its regional curricula, NSA offers a number of degree programs focusing on topics or problems with broad application to international security generally:
Ph.D. in Security Studies
For more information on the Ph.D. program, click here (pdf).
Language Instruction in NSA
The NSA department offers in-house instruction in a number of languages:
- NS2401 Russian Language Maintenance
- NS2501 Spanish Language Maintenance
- NS2602 Chinese Mandarin Colloquium
- NS2703 Intermediate French
- NS2800 Introduction to Arabic
Additionally, instructors from the Defense Language Institute offer instruction to NSA students in the following languages:
- NS2604 Intermediate Mandarin
- NS2802 Intermediate Arabic
DLI also offers language support and instructional materials to NSA students in a variety of languages and on a needs basis.
Finally, NSA students participate in a student exchange with the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Subject to space availability, every quarter approximately 12-15 students from the NS department and MIIS are invited to take courses at each others’ institution, including language instruction. Follow these links for a list of the classes at MIIS:
NSA Courses Relevant to the Global War on Terror
Many of the classes taught in the National Security Affairs Department include content relevant to the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Follow this link for a list of the classes that have the greatest direct relevance. Consult the course catalogue and the department’s teaching schedule for other potentially relevant classes.
Our Approach
NSA's mission is to use education to create more proficient and professional officers. Because NSA professors undertake research projects sponsored by various U.S. government agencies, or travel abroad on Mobile Education Teams to assist countries dealing with security challenges, they bring first-hand experience, unique insights, and understanding of a country or region to the classroom.
This, combined with the knowledge that many students have gained in their deployments or bring from their host countries, creates a dynamic learning environment that combines academic perspectives with "real world" experience. This enhances the students' understanding of the political/military dynamics of the country or region, and allows students to better appreciate the complexity and implications of the security issues they will confront in future assignments. Most NSA students write a thesis, which allows them to study a particular issue in depth.
Points of Contact
For point of contact information, click here.
For further information on the NSA departmental requirements, click here.
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