Master of Science in Human Security & Resilience

Human security and resilience are interdisciplinary approaches to understanding global affairs. These concepts focus on the security of populations (human security) and their ability to withstand and recover from a wide array of internal and external shocks (resilience), ranging from extreme weather to terrorism and armed conflict.

The concept of human security was first defined by the United Nations Development Programme in 1994. Graduates of the Human Security & Resilience master's degree program are often the type of people who care about the good of humanity and seek solutions to not only ensure safety after a catastrophe but to help identify and prevent future incidences.

Embry-Riddle’s graduate degree in Human Security & Resilience is an online program designed for working professionals who want to transition into a career or a new role within the field.

Students benefit from being part of a cutting-edge program whose curriculum is designed to align with current events and security practice, policy, law, and solutions.

About Human Security & Resilience at the Worldwide & Online Campus

Awareness and understanding of the impact of the constant barrage of threats to life as we know it has become a growing area of academic study. Embry-Riddle has created a graduate program in Human Security & Resilience to support individuals who seek the knowledge to meet these challenges head-on. The M.S. in Human Security & Resilience is a 30-credit online program offered through the Department of Security and Emergency Services in the College of Arts and Sciences. The degree is tailored to recent graduates and working professionals who want to advance their careers in this complex specialty.

The study of Human Security & Resilience is an exploration of the interplay between economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security. At Embry-Riddle, you’ll have the opportunity to learn these concepts from military officers, scholars, historians, and professionals with experience in defense, environmental security, population health, international business, political science, humanitarian law, and other relevant disciplines.

The program’s objectives are for graduates to:

• Study human security and resilience as based on principles put forth by the United Nations.
• Understand the driving factors behind global, regional, and national trends impacting business, human development, diplomacy, and more.
• Gain awareness of the challenges of recovery after a natural disaster or manmade catastrophic event.
• Investigate political, economic, and social trends impacting the security, health, and economy of today’s population.
• Examine the implications of working in a global environment with multinational colleagues and considerations.
• Conduct research and analyze statistics with an emphasis on the study of stressors that can disrupt daily life in our homes, jobs, or communities.

Requirements and Courses

The Masters of Science in Human Security and Resilience (MSHSR) is a 30-credit online program tailored to working professionals and includes a capstone course following completion of the specialization courses. Capstone projects are expected to allow students to deeply explore challenges from their respective worksites or issues endemic to their careers in a scholarly way. Though not all will culminate in published research, the expectation is that capstone projects will be publishable in either scholarly journals or at conferences. The curriculum is composed of 10 three-credit courses, including a 6-credit common core, 15 credits of specialized human security and resilience courses, 3 credits of capstone courses, and 6 credits of electives, as outlined below:

The discipline is rooted in the concept of human security, first defined by the United Nations Development Programme in 1994. The UNDP definition established that human security includes protection from “chronic threats as hunger, disease, and repression, and protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily lives, whether in homes, jobs or communities”. According to the United Nations concept, human security is multidimensional and includes economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security.

Topics that fall under this multi-dimensional concept of human security include organized crime and political violence (terrorism), resource competition and environmental change, health and development, armed conflict and intervention, and post-conflict/post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.

It should be noted that there is no single definition of human security or agreement on how to achieve it. These are some of the essential questions the security and policy community is wrestling with – and wonderful areas for continued scholarship and graduate capstone project development. For example, the capstone and research projects in the Master of Science in Human Security and Resilience program will contribute to the critical debates in this field. Graduates from this program will make a significant contribution to the development and practice of this field. Human security touches every level of government: neighborhood, state, national and international. This degree program will find interest among human security practitioners, from the municipal emergency management official to the national level strategic planner, from the public health advisor to an international humanitarian aid worker.

Common Graduate Core

• RSCH 670 Research Methods
• MHSR 501 The Internet, Security, and Governance

Human Security and Resiliency Specialization

• MHSR 510 Introduction to Human Security
• MHSR 515 International Law and U.S. Security Policy
• MHSR 520 Principles of International Conflict Resolution
• MHSR 530 Environmental Security
• MHSR 540 Foundations of Resilience

Capstone

• MHSR 690 MHSR Capstone

Electives

• Choose 6 credits from other graduate-level courses approved by the program chair.