“We recently worked on [a] study with LAX,” said Huynh, which gave him a valuable opportunity to apply his studies in a real-world setting. “Having professors who are affiliated with the center who teach and research is a fantastic combination. It’s recruiting more scholars into the field of homeland security, which is a win-win situation for both USC and DHS.”

Access to scholars and experts is part of how the centers can enrich the study of homeland security. It can be a powerful enticement for potential students.

“What drew me to USC was the CREATE Center,” said Gabriele Noriega-Ward, also a USC graduate student of public policy, as well as geographic information systems (GIS). “I reached out to CREATE and asked if there were any research assistant positions. I wanted to get a holistic view of not just homeland security but also as it relates to national disasters and crises.”

The access to the discussions, seminars, and scholars at CREATE benefits her education, in part by informing her other studies in GIS. There is one significant hurdle, however, for bridging the academic and government worlds: classified information. Students and academics generally cannot access it.

 

The Trouble with Classified Data

The challenge in seeking homeland security answers from academics, said Flynn, is that they do not always have the necessary clearances to work with sensitive data or intelligence.

“Centers of Excellence were a very thoughtful idea at the origin of DHS,” said Flynn. “The mission was going to require help, and it wasn’t indigenous within the federal government’s expertise sufficient to address emerging challenges that homeland security was wrestling with.”

While experts at centers can gain clearances with the FBI and other agencies, ongoing access to data and DHS is important for providing timely, specific solutions to DHS’s questions. This can frustrate scholars and students alike.

“It’s almost a bit discouraging,” said Noriega-Ward. “You’re working on really interesting topics, and you’re trying to find the information so you can get the experience working through the data.”

In these cases, when classified information is out of reach, she turns to professors, sharing paper ideas and research approaches.

“They can’t tell you the figures you need to use, but they’ll give you suggestions about how to work around it.”

Another path around the challenge of classified information is found at Northeastern University’s George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security. It is a secure, 70,000-square-foot research center that gives private-public multidisciplinary teams the research capacity to work with sensitive data, equipment, and protocols. This helps better translate homeland security research to the experts who need it.

“It’s not just a conduit through which government gets research to carry on an internal government conversation,” said Flynn, who is a founding co-director of the new institute. “It’s a place where you can convene those players – government, industry, academia – and come out with what we can do in the open world to address the homeland security issues identified.”

 

Homeland Education Online and Off-site

As many homeland security students are also working professionals, an important part of the homeland security education landscape is online study. More than a third of all higher education students take at least one class online. According to the “2011 Survey of Online Learning,” the digital age offers 6.1 million students new online learning formats, as well as flexibilities. This gives practicing professionals a way to improve their knowledge and credentials without leaving the workforce.

Recently, the Sloan Consortium® (Sloan-C) recognized the Polytechnic Institute of New York University’s (NYU-Poly) cybersecurity master’s degree as an “Outstanding Online Program.” NYU-Poly is New York University’s engineering and sciences affiliate and is one of the oldest private technical institutes in the United States. According to Program Director Nasir Memon, the online option gives working professionals an opportunity to formally study cybersecurity in a way that works with their schedules.

“When I speak to students, the biggest advantage is the convenience,” Memon said. “They don’t have to be in a particular place every week but have flexibility in when they can listen to the lecture,” as well as access videos, discussions, and an online lab where students can experiment with computer hacking.

Online education gives homeland security students options for organizing study around their professional careers. That is one reason why enrollment in online courses is growing rapidly. According to the online learning survey, there was an almost 10 percent growth rate for online enrollments last year (the overall higher education growth rate was less than 1 percent).

Memon estimated 60 to 70 percent of his online students are working professionals, many coming from some of the biggest companies working with DHS and local, state, and national agencies.

“Most companies have employees spread throughout the world,” he said. “Taking these courses together and doing group projects brings a sense of community among them.”