HLS 480 prepares students to effectively enter the workforce via an internship or co-op experience. Students learn to prepare a resume and cover letter, practice interviewing, learn about how their personality matches job descriptions, search for internships, and develop an e-Portfolio that describes themselves, their professional aspirations, skills, etc. Professional ethics, decision making, organizational power, basic leadership and management principles and professionalism are discussed and illustrated.

This course includes a thorough coverage of the historical and statutory background of emergency management (EM) in the USA as well as the significant laws and policies that have defined and shaped the field, including HSPD 5, HSPD 8, the National Flood Insurance Act, and the Stafford Act. Topics include detailed coverage of FEMA's all hazards approach, the EM cycle, integrated EM, the incident command system, the National Incident Management System, emergency support functions, and risk communications and the homeland security exercise evaluation program (HSEEP) where students are introduced to the both discussion and operations-based exercises and strategies for evaluating exercises. This course culminates with each student writing and formally presenting an integrated emergency management plan.

This course is an overview of key legal, policy, and ethical issues in the context of Homeland Security policy and practice. Students examine legal concepts regarding constitutional rights of individuals, legal process, access to courts, the law of war, and national security principles as they relate to homeland security legislation and policy initiatives. Legal principles of due process, habeas corpus, search and seizure. Compulsory process, and international agreements are explored in greater depth. The law of war will be examined in the context of preemptive war and the current National Security Strategy, the status of combatants and detention, Elements of national security law, intelligence collection and sharing, the Patriot Act, and military-civilian relations, etc.

This course will encourage students to become cosmopolitan citizens by gaining knowledge and understanding of cultures other than those of the United States. Students will learn to recognize others' values and, ultimately, accept the many ways in which we all are human. For example, using the Irish struggle for independence from Britain and the Troubles as examples, students will examine Anglo and Irish "culture" and how it is influenced by or how it can influence nation-state security, or conversely, the fight for civil liberties and independence. The main systems and structures in both the US and the UK's domestic security enterprises will be discussed as well as the origins, typologies and goals of several terrorist groups, the basics of the intelligence community in both nations, and how intelligence informs the struggle to contain terrorism. In addition, for homeland security majors, this course can satisfy either the terrorism requirement or the intelligence systems requirement (see instructors). Although a major objective of the course is to prepare students to participate successfully in a managed study abroad program (as a separate course: HLS 656, 1 credit), participation in the study abroad trip is a not required component of this course.