Overview 

Building on UC Berkeley’s strengths across multiple departments, the Graduate Certificate in Security Policy (GCSP) prepares masters students to think critically about security policy, focusing on the policy dimension of a wide range of security challenges, including international security, homeland security, cybersecurity, election security, and climate security. The certificate will equip students with the tools and knowledge necessary to engage security dilemmas emerging from, and related to, their domains of academic and professional specialization.

The Certificate in Security Policy is recommended for graduate students who:

• want to incorporate education in security affairs and public policy to their degree programs
• aspire to bridge the gap between advanced academic research and policy application in the arena of security policy
• aspire to careers in government agencies or government-based research, including at the National Labs

The GCSP is hosted by the Goldman School of Public Policy and  administered by the Center for Security in Politics, led by former Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. Students from any graduate program at UC Berkeley are eligible to pursue the certificate.

Eligibility and Requirements

Applicant requirements:

• Be registered and enrolled in a graduate degree program at UC Berkeley 
• Be in good academic standing with a 3.0 GPA or better 

Coursework requirements: 

Minimum of 3 courses (totaling a minimum of 10 units), each of which must be taken for a letter grade. If you do not hit the 10 unit minimum with 3 courses including the core course, you must take more electives.

1. Required core course: PP 155/255: Introduction to Security Policy  (4 units, taught each fall) 
2. Minimum of two elective courses, chosen from the list below, totaling a minimum of 6 units. Courses not on the electives list will be considered on a case by case basis
3. PASS/FAIL on electives + core course is not allowed
4. B+ or higher on all final grades for courses counting toward the elective

Program Benefits

The curriculum is designed to emphasize the transferability of academic research and education to practical purposes. For example, the Certificate’s core class, “Introduction to Security Policy” formulates student assignments as the kind of professional work product that students would be required to produce as policy analysts, advisors, and researchers. The core class concludes with a crisis simulation exercise that will give students “hands on” experience of managing a major crisis. And the core class will feature a series of guest presenters, including high-profile former public officials, who will be able to share with students their experience of public leadership.

Taken as a whole, the curriculum offered as part of the GCSP will be practical and practice-oriented, characteristics that will enhance the professional prospects of students who graduate from Berkeley with a Certificate in Security Policy.

Certificate Forms

Application for Admission Form

Elective Petition Form 

Certificate Completion Form

Application

Complete the Application for Admission Form to plan out your certificate coursework. Students who apply must have already taken the core course PP155/255 or be currently enrolled. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. For students in 2-year masters programs, you are encouraged to take the core course and/or at least one elective during your first year to ensure you are able to complete the certificate requirements.

This application for admission signals a student’s interest in the Graduate Certificate in Security Studies, but does not guarantee that the certificate will be awarded, nor guarantee a seat in GCSP-approved courses.

Core Course

PP 155/255 Introduction to Security Policy is held every fall and is taught by Professor Janet Napolitano and Associate Professor Daniel Sargent. The course presents a theoretical, historical, and practical introduction to the complex arena of security policy. The course surveys the origins and evolution of the governing framework for security policy in the United States, including the post-9/11 creation of Homeland Security. The course will introduce students to key methodologies of security policy, including risk assessment and resource allocation, and it will evaluate the variety of scales at which security policy is enacted, from local and state-level government to the federal scale and beyond, including international organizations and cooperation. The course then dives deep into three urgent security arenas that imperil U.S. society today: our embattled democratic process and its vulnerability to external interference; the emergence of new “cybersecurity” risks across, including to our critical infrastructure; and the variety of security risks that are resulting from the process of anthropogenic climate change. The course will conclude with a daylong crisis management simulation, in which all students will be required to participate.

Elective Courses

The following electives count toward the Graduate Certificate in Security Policy. Note that not every course is offered on a yearly basis. Check guide.berkeley.edu for the most up to date course descriptions and class schedule.

Elective Petitions

Students can petition for graduate courses (200 level) beyond the standard elective list to count toward the certificate. Particularly 290 Special Topics and 299 Independent Study courses will be considered on a case by case basis, as topics pertain to security studies. Submit the Elective Petition Form  to propose a course. Electives proposed by petition must be approved by the certificate administrator and faculty director for the course to count toward the certificate.

Certificate Completion

Students submit the Certificate Completion Form at the point that all requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Security Studies are complete. Submit this form by April 15 of your graduating year in order for the certificate to appear on your transcript. If you have certificate courses in progress during your final semester, you can indicate this on the form. Final grades will be verified prior to award of the certificate.

Completion of the GCSP will be noted in the memorandum section of the student’s official transcript (not on the diploma). At the time of completion, each student receives a physical certificate signed by the Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy and Faculty Director of the Center for Security in Politics, Janet Napolitano.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Rohrschneider, certificate administrator, at srohrschneider@berkeley.edu.