Wichita State University is planning to unveil a new fully online degree in spring 2018 for students interested in homeland security. If approved by the Kansas Board of Regents, WSU will be the only university in Kansas to offer this four-year degree.

The program is a broad overview of homeland security and will give students knowledge of the operations behind a job in this area. This degree goes hand in hand with WSU’s criminal justice degree. Both deal with domestic security and will open the door to multiple fields of employment.

“There are just so many jobs you can get with this major,” says Michael Birzer, professor of criminal justice and director of the School of Community Affairs. “Students can work in federal law, homeland security, private and public security – you name it.”

The homeland security program is four-year degree, but students never have to set foot on campus. All 120 credit hours, including the 36 to 50 homeland security hours, are completed online. Birzer has seen other online majors offered at WSU being completed out of state, overseas and even on naval ships and expects the new major to be just as easy to access.

Birzer also expects big growth in the homeland security business and believes that such easy access to classes will mean more popularity for the degree.

Mark Porcaro, executive director of Online Learning, says the homeland security degree will help WSU stand out and continue to show how progressive the university is.

“WSU was one of the first universities to offer a criminal justice major,” says Porcaro. “The online homeland security program is another big step forward for the school.”

Learn more about Online Learning and criminal justice at WSU.