International security studies is a hybrid concentration of dynamic subjects intended
to prepare you for a variety of positions in the domestic or international security
architecture of the modern world.
This world encompasses civil roles with a variety of governmental bodies, foreign
service agencies, and the military as well as professional careers in such fields
as consulting and nongovernmental agency work.
As an ISS major, you will study subjects such as the origins and termination of war,
fourth- and fifth-generation conflict, hybrid warfare, ethnic conflict, human security,
the nature and function of intelligence, as well has historical drivers for conflict.
You also will study the ethical, moral, religious, and legal limitations imposed on
conflict in the modern era, as well as an array of case studies illustrating efforts
at managing conflict.
As an ISS graduate, you’ll also be well prepared should you wish to pursue a master’s
or Ph.D. in graduate school.
Program Information
As an ISS major, explore global security concerns: war origins/terminations, ethnic
conflict, human security, intelligence, and more. Dive into critical aspects of global
security studies.
"The ISS major is very well rounded. You’ll feel like a jack of all trades when
it comes to subjects involving political science, international relations and cyber
security— [especially with] its emphasis on practical application."
—Dustin Shore
Learning Outcomes
Explore the world through international security issues.
Demonstrate and explain comprehensive knowledge of the international system and the
role of security within it.
Identify and describe all of the major collective security arrangements in the international
system relating to global security.
Demonstrate specialized knowledge of the political and economic influences that drive
security policy formulation and execution.
Comprehensively identify, describe and analyze the social, economic and human costs
of security.
Identify, describe and apply a comprehensive knowledge of the decision processes involved
in security policy formulations.
Identify and explain the regional, ethnic and constructivist drivers that underpin
security interests.
Demonstrate knowledge of the ethical, moral and religious constructs that govern security.
Have the ability to explain what the state can do to secure itself, its people and
its interests in the modern world while being faithful to its cherished ethical and
moral values.
Program Requirements
Courses for the international security studies major are drawn principally from the
history, mathematics and computer science, political science and international relations
programs. Students majoring in ISS will complete 36 credits comprising the following.
IR 210/POSC 210 Introduction to International Security Studies
IR 290 The Role of Force in the Modern World
IR 498 Global Security Problems
At least 15 credit hours in IR or ISS as prerequisite
Students are required to take three security elective courses. Some examples of security
electives include:
IR 219/HIST 209 American Naval and Maritime History
IR 295/POSC 295 War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
IR 296 Intelligence Operations
IR 300 Intelligence, Covert Action and Counter-Insurgency
IR 302 The History and Use of Air Power
IR 360/POSC 360 Crisis Management in Complex Emergencies
IR 362 Federal Criminal Law Enforcement
IR 406/POSC 405 Homeland Security
IR 407/POSC 407 Terrorism
IR 409W/POSC 419W Ethnic Conflict: Politics & Policy
IR 415/POSC 496 Twenty-First Century Terrorism
IR 417 Armed Groups
IR 422W/POSC 422W American Defense Policy
IR 423W/POSC 429W Comparative Intelligence Agencies
IR 437 Intelligence Research
Students must select one course that focuses on a specific location or territory to
study more in-depth. Some examples that will fulfill this requirement include:
IR 202/POSC 205 Politics of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and South Asia
IR 220 The Arabs
IR 222/POSC 222 Intelligence and Foreign Policy
IR 253/HIST 254 History of the Modern Middle East
IR 279 Culture and Politics of the Middle East
IR 293/HIST 293 History of Modern China
IR 294/HIST 294 China Today
IR 311 European Security and Mass Migration
IR 315/POSC 316/WSGS 315 Women in Global Conflict
IR 319/POSC 321 Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe
IR 326/POSC 315 German Foreign Policy
IR 328W/MLSP 329W Revolt and Change: Protest in Spanish American Literature
IR 376/HIST 376 Revolution: Modern Latin America
IR 378/HIST 378 Modern Africa: Independence and Issues
IR 379/HIST 379 East Asia and the U.S.
IR 435/POSC 437 Political Islam
IR 443 American National Security Law
IR 483W/HIST 483W Mexico and the U.S.
IR 485W/HIST 485W China in Revolution
IR 488W/HIST 488W China and the West
Students are required to take one class that serves as a diplomacy elective. Examples
of such courses include:
IR 101/POSC 101/CATH 122 Catholic Thought, the State and Security in the Modern World
IR 110/POSC 110 Current Problems in International Politics
IR 120/POSC 120 International Political Economy
IR 201/POSC 201 Human Security in Sub-Saharan Africa
IR 272 Governance and National Security in the Arab World
IR 301 Intelligence Ethics
IR 303/POSC 303 Politics of Immigration
IR 315/POSC 316/WSGS 315 Women in Global Conflict
IR 342 Global Economic Perspectives
IR 345/POSC 345 Security Ethics
IR 391 Advanced International Political Economy
IR 405 Transnational Organized Crime
IR 413W/POSC 413W Human Rights and Human Security: Politics, Policy and Law
Students must select one cybersecurity elective from the following list:
IR 404 Introduction to Information Security
IR 432 Network Situational Awareness
IR 462 Applied Threat Systems
IR 464W/COSC 464 Cybersecurity Studies Capstone Project
IR 470 Cybersecurity Leadership and Strategy
Six credit hours from any IR prefixed courses in the catalog not already taken, including
those above.
The Department and Duquesne's Mission
A holistic approach to the field.
The role of security is paramount to the existence of any sovereign entity, such as
a country or state, and the choices made in security policies affect the destinies
of generations. To do this from the lens of moral insight speaks to understanding
the need to temper power with moral values.
A university engaged in Catholic liberal arts education should be able to speak with
a certain voice in this arena. The Roman Catholic church has spoken on this topic
for centuries; the American Catholic church has been a major contributor to this dialogue
since the 1920s and produced some of the leading scholarship on the role of force
since then. As an international university sponsored by an international congregation,
we seek to educate informed, critical thinkers on this topic who will be able to project
core values into this forum.
As St. Augustine wrote, "The purpose of all wars is peace."
