Homeland Security

 

Types of Degrees Homeland Security Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many homeland security graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,273
Basic Certificate	602
Associate Degree	227
Undergraduate Certificate	42

What Homeland Security Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to homeland security and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Homeland Security Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Homeland Security Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to homeland security:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Homeland Security Majors

Homeland Security majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Homeland Security Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with homeland security:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	6.6%	$89,030

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Homeland Security?

This major attracts more men than women. About 67% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of homeland security majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	7
Black or African American	27
Hispanic or Latino	79
White	85
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	28

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Homeland Security. About 0.4% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Homeland Security Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Homeland Security majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $82,570 to $115,590 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Homeland Security

Some careers associated with homeland security require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to homeland security have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	14.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.4%
Some College Courses	8.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	11.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	43.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.3%
Master’s Degree	16.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.7%

Online Homeland Security Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	15	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	36	9
Bachelor’s Degree	30	18
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	43	24
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Homeland Security Worth It?

The median salary for a homeland security grad is $93,100 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 133% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,064,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Homeland Security

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to homeland security.

Major	Number of Grads
Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management	2,655
Critical Infrastructure Protection	628
Other Homeland Security	267
Terrorism & Counterterrorism Operations	198

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.