Bachelor of Science in National Security Studies

Associate Dean of Continuing Studies: Mark L. Parker
Program Manager: James Dalton

The Bachelor of Science in National Security Studies (BSNSS) is an upper-division degree-completion program to build on the military education and experience of Combat Arms and Combat support personnel in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. The BSNSS program fulfills general education competencies needed to complete the bachelor’s degree while developing a service member’s knowledge in vital areas such as geography, cultural awareness, regional politics, international conflict, and other social science disciplines. The program is open to those who are active duty or retired from the U.S. Department of Defense, including reserve and National Guard components. Members of the military or civilian intelligence community and federal law enforcement personnel are eligible.

Instruction in National Security Studies at Norwich University is highly experiential through an integration of the operational and international experiences of service men and women into the curriculum. A service member will apply course work and study to initiatives and field exercises related to his or her deployment area. Students conduct research concerning a region’s conflicts and opportunities and incorporate both their research and field experiences into their program of study, thus potentially enhancing the U.S. Department of Defense’s body of knowledge of that region. Principles of critical thinking, ethical decision making, and leadership interweave throughout the curriculum.

Program outcomes:

• Evaluate classic and contemporary theories, strategies, doctrines, and procedures related to the causes, conduct, prevention and termination of armed conflict and the maintenance of peace;
• Assess and predict traditional and non-traditional threats to national security;
• Conduct research and create professional and academic analyses on issues critical to national security;
• Identify, understand, and analyze critical national and international security issues.

Curriculum

The Bachelor of Science in National Security Studies (BSNSS) is designed for students with at least 30 credit hours of prior college coursework or its equivalent in eligible military or professional training.  The program consists of four curriculum areas:

• Core Courses
• Degree Electives
• Field Studies
• Capstone

The core courses are degree requirements to be taken by all students.  All BSNSS students must complete 18-credits of focused degree electives and 12 credits of field studies.  The capstone is the culminating activity for the program and is required for completion of the degree. Free electives are taken by students who enter the program with fewer than 60 credits.  

Successful completion of HIST 411 and HIST 412 provides a pathway into the Master of Arts in Diplomacy degree program (4+1). 

Field Studies

Students will conduct research and submit professional and academic analyses on issues critical to national and international security.

Capstone 

The capstone course is the culminating academic activity for BSNSS students.  In it, students analyze and synthesize program learning with a particular focus on ethics and leadership related to national security issues. Throughout the course, students will be required to analyze potential national security scenarios and the inter-agency cooperation process while presenting their findings in written format. Students must address how their work will contribute to the Department of Homeland Security, Department of State or the Department of Defenses’ body of knowledge about the topic(s) under discussion. Students must propose, present, and deliver a final in-depth analysis paper that combines the general knowledge acquired in the core courses with the specific knowledge of the field study research.  The capstone course may not be fulfilled through transfer credit.  

General Education

Students are required to meet general education competencies in writing, literature, history, arts and humanities, science, social science, and math and may do so by transfer credit or enrollment in courses offered through the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Transfer Credit and Student Progress in the Program

CLEP and DSST exams may be accepted for transfer credit by the program manager, depending on the requirements of the Norwich course for which credit is sought. CLEP and DSST transcripts must be applied to a student’s record by the time they have earned 100 credits in their program. No credit derived from CLEP or DSST exams will be applied to the student’s record after this point.

Students must complete all core and elective coursework, including any courses necessary to fulfill required general education competencies, before being enrolled in a field study course unless given prior written approval by the program manager.

Students must complete all required coursework including any required field study courses before being enrolled in a capstone course, unless given prior written approval by the program manager.

All transfer credit must be applied to the student’s record before the student can be enrolled in a capstone course.