Security and Resilience Studies

The goal of the Graduate Certificate in Security and Resilience Studies is to prepare students to manage contemporary transnational risks through gaining a systematic understanding of the principles and policies for enhancing the security and resilience of communities and critical systems. Students will meet these goals through the following certificate requirements:

• Participating in a security and resilience policy course that will introduce students to the synthetic approach to managing transnational risks
• Taking two required gateway courses that support specialization in cyberspace policy, security administration, or counterterrorism
• Focusing on applied learning through group assignments and projects on how to respond to man-made threats and naturally occurring hazards
• Exercising leadership through team projects

Learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Security and Resilience Studies from the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Register for their next Welcome Day for prospective students here.

More Details

The Graduate Certificate in Security and Resilience Studies prepares students to manage contemporary transnational risks through a systematic understanding of the factors that allow us to prepare for, withstand, rapidly recover from, and adapt to natural, man-made, and malicious disruptive events.

Admissions Dates

Fall term: August 15

Spring term: December 15

Admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis.

Once your application is submitted, received, and processed, you will be able to access your Application Status Check. If you are required to provide further information regarding your proficiency in English, you will be able to complete the requirement in several ways, depending on your familiarity with English, and the frequency with which you use English each and every day:

• Non-native English-speaking applicants will be required to submit official and valid results from one of the following English Language Tests:
  • C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (Cambridge English)
  • Duolingo English Test (DET)
  • IELTS Academic
  • PTE Academic
  • TOEFL Internt-based Test (CEEB Code: 3667) Northeastern will accept either the in-person version completed in a test center, or the TOEFL iBT Home Edition
• However, based on your academic environment and the primary instructional language in either your high school or university, you may be eligible for a waiver. All waivers must be submitted through your Application Status Check. For additional information and to determine whether or not you are eligible for a waiver, please read the section below on waiving the English proficiency requirement.

Please note: Northeastern’s Admissions Committee reserves the right to request proof of English language proficiency from any applicant, regardless of citizenship or first language, at any time during the evaluation process.

The need to devise strategies to survive disruptive events, recover quickly, and rebuild stronger clearly applies not only to local and national governments and their agencies but also to private industry. Resilience focuses on identifying risk, understanding the systems involved in that risk assessment, and the determination of how to mitigate it, as well as to bounce back and adapt after disruption. Opportunities for graduates with resilience knowledge and skills are sought within:

• Public safety and public health
• Energy/power
• Transportation
• Communications
• Supply chain management
• Government entities, including DHS, FBI, Secret Service, and branches of the military (as a private contractor)

Recent graduates of the MS in Security and Resilience Studies degree have found employment in a wide variety of opportunities, including:

• Data analyst: U.S. Marshals Service
• Program analyst and emergency management: FEMA
• Cybersecurity analyst: major health insurance corporation
• Aviation security specialist: Massachusetts Port Authority
• Security consultant for private industry customers

• 1.Create your application

  Submit your application through The Common Application or the Coalition Application (both are accepted). Once you have created your application, please select Northeastern University to directly submit your application to us. Application fee of $75 or need-based fee waiver* *Northeastern accepts need-based fee waivers from the Common Application, the Coalition Application, as well as organizations such as the College Board and ACT, or in a written request from a school official.

• 2.Submit all required materials

  Double check to make sure that you have submitted all required materials. Even if your application has been submitted, we cannot begin reviewing your file until all of your required materials have been received. For applicants applying for the 2022-2023 academic year, Northeastern University is test-optional and does not require standardized testing to complete an application for admission.

• 3.Check your application status

  Within seven days of applying, you should receive a confirmation email containing your Northeastern University ID number and instructions for setting up your Application Status Check account. To ensure all of the necessary documents have been submitted, and for updates or information about your application, visit your application status check.