Numerous catastrophic events across the globe have demonstrated the speed with which extensive damage can be wrought to domestic and international infrastructures. Large populations are inevitably affected when critical infrastructures are damaged or destroyed, whether from terrorist attacks, criminal mischief, acts of war, human error, or natural disasters. The mission of critical infrastructure protection demands a professional, highly educated workforce and cadre of leaders at all levels of government and the private sector. Stewards of infrastructure must be able to assess risks and vulnerabilities and to develop mitigation strategies that will prevent and minimize damage. They must also be skilled in exercising leadership in crisis situations, enabling them to respond to catastrophes, rapidly restore critical capabilities, and prioritize rebuilding if required.

The Center for Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (CIP/HS) is committed to developing an education, training, and leadership development continuum for infrastructure protection professionals. These capabilities will nurture the talent, skills, and esprit de corps of a professional workforce and leadership group able to manage the security and recoverability of all sectors of infrastructure across our nation, and internationally.

The various disciplines within infrastructure protection (IP) each have their own supporting education systems for their respective subject matters. But there has been no strong, central guidance in the educational development of the broader concepts of infrastructure protection. In this critical area, a strong commitment is required in order to establish standard educational and training programs for infrastructure protection, and to encourage the adoption and incorporation of these programs within the education systems of the component IP professions.

For example, infrastructure protection encompasses a range of professionals that includes business managers, engineers, security and intelligence specialists, emergency responders, network/systems operators, physicists, chemists, transportation experts, policy analysts, manufacturers and distributors, and much, much more. Each of these disciplines is focused on evolving its own education and training programs to continually improve its expertise and develop a necessary corps of professionals within that expertise. Most of this training is targeted to the respective profession in which it occurs, or is delivered within the context of a specific industry sector.

One of the key objectives of the CIP/HS Education and Training Programs is to help eliminate stovepipes and produce IP professionals who understand the importance of working together across sectors, and who are equipped with the education, skills, and strategies to do so. Another key objective is to begin crafting a commonly-developed, standard IP curriculum that integrates the broader concepts of infrastructure protection, such as:

•    risk analysis for domestic security purposes;

•    information sharing across and within industries, sectors, and varying levels of government;

•    mitigation strategies to protect against cross-sector cascading effects; and

•    global supply chain management during both natural disasters and manmade threats, etc.

A strong and continuous IP education system is necessary to enhance the knowledge, leadership ability, professionalism, and capabilities of the IP workforce who secure and defend the nation.

CIP/HS has developed a series of graduate courses related to Infrastructure Protection which are freely available.

George Mason University degrees & certificates focused on critical infrastructure protection and homeland security:

The Executive Masters in Public Policy for Leadership in Critical Infrastructure Protection at the School of Public Policy focuses on developing leaders in critical infrastructure protection.

The National Defense Executive MBA at the School of Management emphasizes executive leadership growth, industry intelligence and an expert skill set to support programmatic, operations and budgetary decision-making in the defense sector.

The Homeland and National Security Law Concentration is offered by the School of Law.

The Homeland Security and Justice Concentration in the Bachelor of Science in Criminology, Law and Society is offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Emergency Management and Homeland Security Concentration in the Master in Public Administration at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences enhances the capabilities of people in federal, state, local, and volunteer agencies, and the private sectors to work together in order to minimize the impact of disasters on the American public.

Graduate degrees in Biodefense (with the opportunity to concentrate in Homeland Security) at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences integrate knowledge of natural and man-made biological threats with the skills to develop and analyze policies and strategies for enhancing biosecurity.

The Graduate Certificate in Critical Analysis and Strategic Responses to Terrorism at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences focuses on multidisciplinary analysis and holistic cross-sectoral approaches to long-term prevention of and response to terrorism.

The Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management and Homeland Security is offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

 The Graduate Certificate in National Security & Public Policy is offered by the School of Public Policy.

Additional Education Opportunitites

* List of colleges and universities with degree or certificate programs in Homeland Security (list maintained by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California).

* Lists of academic courses, certificates, and degree programs in Emergency Management (lists maintained by the FEMA Emergency Management Institute, Emmitsburg, Maryland).

*Free online training from the Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study Program

~ Critical Infrastructure Protection

• IS-860.a National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)
• IS-821 Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Support Annex (part of the NRF)
• IS-800.B National Response Framework (NRF), An Introduction
• IS-700.a National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction

~Citizen Preparedness

• IS-22 Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
• IS-7 A Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance

All other topics can be found in the list of Independent Study Programs offered by the Emergency Management Institute.

* Free Webinars

DHS’s Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Learning Series

Articles of Interest:

Development of an Outcomes-Based Undergraduate Curriculum in Homeland Security, by Jim Ramsay, Daniel Cutrer, and Robert Raffel. Homeland Security Affairs VI, no. 2 (May 2010).

 Homeland Security: An Aristotelian Approach to Professional Development, by Philip J. Palin. Homeland Security Affairs VI, no. 2 (May 2010).

 Homeland Security-Related Education and the Private Liberal Arts College, by Gregory Moore, John G. Hatzadony, Kelley A. Cronin, and Mary B. Breckenridge. Homeland Security Affairs VI, no. 2 (May 2010).

 Partnership in Progress: A Model for Development of a Homeland Security Graduate Degree Program, by Cheryl J. Polson, John M. Persyn, and O. Shawn Cupp. Homeland Security Affairs VI, no. 2 (May 2010).

 Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Courses, by Linda Kiltz. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1, Article 36 (2009).

 Educational Challenges in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, by Robert McCreight. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1, Article 34 (2009).

 Civic Mission of HS Education: A Response to McCreight, by Linda Kiltz. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1, Article 57 (2009).

 Meeting Educational Challenges in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, by Donald A. Donahue, Jr., Stephen O. Cunnion, Carey D. Balaban, and Ken Sochats. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1, Article 19 (2009).

 Learning” Homeland Security – How One Executive Education Program Engages State and Local Officials, by Glen Woodbury. Homeland Security Affairs II, no. 3 (October 2006).

Changing Homeland Security: Teaching the Core, by Christopher Bellavita and Ellen M. Gordon. Homeland Security Affairs II, no. 1 (April 2006).

 Developing a New Curriculum in Sport Security Management, by Stacey Hall, Rosalie Ward, Trey Cunningham, and Lou Marciani. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1, Article 16 (2008).

 Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercises: A Primer for the Classroom and Beyond, by Karen Wood and Stanley B.Supinski. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1, Article 36 (2008).

 Toward a Theory of Homeland Security Nursing, by Deborah J. Persell and Susan Speraw. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1, Article 12 (2008).

 So Are You Still Active in the Field, Or Do You Just Teach?, by James Kendra. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 4 : Iss. 3, Article 8 (2007).

Enhancing Homeland Security: Development of a Course on Critical Infrastructure Systems, by George H. Baker III and Richard G. Little. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 3 : Iss. 4, Article 4 (2006).

Terror Medicine: Birth of a Discipline, by Shmuel C. Shapira and Leonard A. Cole. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 3 : Iss. 2, Article 9 (2006).

 The Way Forward: Education and Jointness in Homeland Security—Learning From the Department of Defense, by Captain Robert G. Ross and Commander Peyton M. Coleman. Journal of Homeland Security (May 2003).

More Information:

 Resource Centers from DHS:

~What are the CIKR Sectors? The DHS CIKR Resource Center provides overviews of all sectors, including a video introduction to each sector, as well as sector priorities, partners, sector-specific plans, and additional resources.~

• Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Resource Center
• National Response Framework Resource Center
• National Incident Management System Resource Center

Document Libraries:

• Critical Infrastructure Protection Oral History Project and Digital Archive (a project of George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media
• Homeland Security Digital Library (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA and the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.)
• National Homeland Defense Library (maintained by the National Homeland Defense Foundation).

 Journals:

• Homeland Security Affairs
• Journal of Homeland Security
• Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management