Online Master of Defense And Strategic Studies
Program Highlights
36 credit hours | In-state tuition: $490/credit hour | Out-of-state tuition: $575/credit hour
- Convenient 100% online format
- Flexible, asynchronous classes ideal for military and working civilian students
- Accelerated seven-week courses
- In-depth curriculum examines current defense and security challenges
- Ideally suited for students interested in intelligence and national security careers
- Financial aid and military benefits available
- Available on the Academic Common Market (ACM)*
Students from the Sergeants Major Academy must call us directly at 1-800-684-UTEP for admissions requirements and tuition information.
Be a Key Player in National Defense
National defense is a matter of extreme importance and requires a diversity of viewpoints from knowledgeable professionals with differing skill sets and expertise. Students who choose this career path require a competent understanding of the big picture, as well as the subtleties of their particular positions. They will learn the history behind the current security environment, study the evolution of modern warfare and analyze special defense challenges facing the country. Finally, they will produce an original assessment on the future of modern warfare and its implications for national military strategy.
The master of defense and strategic studies degree provides a solid background for individuals who want to:
- Work within the U.S. government in intelligence or homeland defense
- Support foreign relations by working in the U.S. diplomatic corps
- Advance in the armed services
- Help influence defense policy by providing legislative support on Capitol Hill
The government is a big employer in this area; other employers include cyber security firms and big defense contractors who work with the government.
|
Typical Employers |
Types of jobs |
|
|
UTEP Edge
Our student success initiative, the UTEP Edge, develops upon students’ assets through a variety of high-impact experiences. These experiences are designed to improve student skills and give UTEP students a competitive advantage as they move forward in their lives and careers. Our goal as a campus is to provide these UTEP Edge experiences to all students, regardless of their area of study, so they will graduate with a competitive advantage over their peers. These are the Edge experiences Defense and Strategic Studies students will have and the Edge skills they will graduate with:
Edge Experiences
- Capstone Experience
- Learning Communities
Edge Skills
- Global Awareness
- Critical Thinking
- Problem Solving
READ MORE MEET MORE STUDENTS"Although the program (MDSS) is very rigorous, it still offers students flexibility and the learning opportunity of a lifetime." - Leslie Reynoso, Graduate
Learn From Experienced and Talented Faculty
Our faculty for the strategic studies master's degree have backgrounds in all aspects of national security ranging from national security law and legal psychology to counterterrorism and modern warfare. They are committed to providing students with the critical thinking and analytical skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the field.
MEET JOSEPH BASSI, the retired. U.S. Air Force officer with 26 years of active duty under his belt. Dr. Bassi teaches Intro to U.S. National Security and Future Warfare.
Course Overview
The subject matter for the Master of Defense and Strategic Studies program is designed to help improve your knowledge of complex national security issues and further develop critical thinking skills, analytic aptitude, and cultural awareness. Lessons emphasize the development of strategy, while also examining inter-agency processes, military operations, diplomacy, regional security issues and more.
The online program consists of completing twelve (12) courses (36 semester hours) from 16 class offerings. There are five required courses and a choice of seven electives to pick from, each with a duration of seven weeks. The program can be completed over a period of one year, if you take two courses at a time in each part of a semester across three semesters, including summer. However, it is a flexible program for those with professional and/or military careers. We can design schedules and graduation targets.
There are four courses focused on the theories and broad trends of strategy, conflict and security in the modern world, and how the U.S. approaches these challenges. This is complemented by six courses outlining the strategic relevance and challenges of specific world regions such as the Middle East and Indo-Pacific. There are also five classes examining key 21st-century areas of strategic competition such as cyberwarfare and space strategy. You will finish with a course focused on the likely character of future warfare.
Academic Standards
You must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in order to earn the master's degree. Those with a semester GPA below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation and will have only nine semester hours (three courses) to return to "good" academic standing with a GPA of 3.0 or better. If you fail to return to good academic standing after nine semester hours, you may be dismissed from the program.
Defense and Strategic Studies Courses
Required Courses (5 courses for a total of 15 hours)
DSS 5300: U.S. National Security
Comprehensively examine the development of contemporary U.S. national security policy and strategy from both theoretical and organizational standpoints. Study the U.S. national security apparatus, with a particular emphasis on the use of the interagency process. Examine and interrogate organizational structures, strategies and policies that attempt to ensure the national security system deploys multiple instruments of power to achieve strategic objectives.
DSS 5301: Strategic Theory and Modern Warfare
Undertake an advanced theoretical survey of classical strategy from Clausewitz to Mao and the application of strategy to warfare in the modern age. Gain an introduction to strategic thinking on conventional warfare, irregular warfare, nuclear warfare and cyber warfare. Finish with a discussion on the contemporary constraints on modern warfare even as interstate power competition intensifies.
Approach security from a global perspective, discussing security issues that transcend borders. Modern challenges such as pandemics, climate change and human migration are nontraditional and transnational, requiring coordinated action amongst states. Additionally, explore the return of 'classic' security issues directly related to power competition and interstate war. The course provides an introduction to relevant International Relations theory and key issues such as health security, environmental security, energy security and human security.
Conduct a deep examination of U.S. grand strategy, through a theoretical and practical examination of its history, rationale, and key debates after World War II, through the Cold War, and into the complex strategic environment of the post-Cold War era. Critically interrogate the coherence and future of U.S. grand strategy in the remainder of the 21st century, exploring crucial topics such as the U.S.' posited relative decline, great power competition, and U.S. domestic political debates. Keywords: grand strategy; great power competition, security cooperation.
In this concluding course of the program, develop several visions of future warfare based on an analysis of current trends in warfare, of emerging technologies, and of new concepts and theoretical approaches to warfare by renowned strategists. Gain exposure to new concepts, such as precision engagement, network-centric warfare, and non-lethality. Discuss potentially revolutionary technologies like robotics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology as well as their possible applications and usage in future wars.
Elective Courses (Select 7 courses from the following for a total of 21 hours)
DSS 5303: Low Intensity Conflict
Examine the classical theory and practice of conflict in circumstances less than general conventional war. Also explore key concepts and strategic principles pertaining to asymmetric warfare, terrorism, insurgency and counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, unconventional warfare, and military operations less than war (peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance). Prerequisite: Departmental approval required. Restricted to Level of GR.
DSS 5304: Information Operations
Perform a comprehensive survey on the theory and fundamental principles of non-kinetic tools used to execute national military strategy in times of conflict and peace. Examine influence strategies employing strategic communication, public diplomacy, military diplomacy, military public affairs, civil affairs and psychological operations. Prerequisite: Departmental approval required. Restricted to Level of GR.
Critically examine the ubiquitous nature of the cyber domain in modern warfare in this advanced seminar. Study fundamental principles and case studies in cyber warfare to explain the importance of cyber power in national military strategy and in joint/combined operations, including defensive and offensive operations in cyberspace. There will be a particular emphasis on Russian and Chinese cyber warfare capabilities and operations.
DSS 5310: Strategic Survey - Americas
Conduct a detailed and systemic examination of the key security issues affecting the Western Hemisphere. Strongly focus on the role of this region in U.S. national security policy and strategy in a historical context, especially with respect to internal conflicts, political instability and economic inequality. Examine contemporary threats such as the impacts of regional transnational crime. Conclude by re-examining the contemporary strategic importance and opportunities of the region amidst wider global events.
DSS 5311: Strategic Survey - Africa
Conduct a detailed, systematic, and historically contextualized examination of the key security and strategic issues affecting countries across the African continent. Consider the causes and implications of regional conflict, violent extremism, and instability, and the measures that are taken to combat these trends, including through U.S. policy. Also explores contemporary strategic competition across the continent, and how that intersects with political and economic development.
DSS 5312: Strategic Survey - Europe
Undertake a detailed and systematic examination of the key security and strategic issues affecting Europe. Placing the transatlantic alliance in historical context from the end of the Second World War to the present day, outline and debate the role of Europe in U.S. national security and grand strategy. The course has a heavy focus on relations with Russia amidst the invasion of Ukraine and includes a critical discussion of NATO's expansion as well as a contextual exploration of Russian-Ukrainian relations.
DSS 5313: Strategic Survey - Middle East
Conduct a detailed and systematic examination of the key military strategic issues affecting the Middle East. Also cover the ongoing strategic competition in Central Asia. The course will place a heavy focus on the role of this region in U.S. national security policy and grand strategy and broadly outline the most pressing current security issues in the Middle East such as political instability, terrorism and radicalization through salafi-jihadi ideologies, and the conflictual competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
DSS 5314: Strategic Survey - Indo-Pacific
Perform a detailed and systematic examination of the key strategic issues affecting the Indo-Pacific. Gain an understanding of the modern history of the region and the contemporary security dynamics that are shaping it. A heavy focus will be placed on the roles of China, Japan, and India. Learn why the Indo-Pacific is the key region for U.S. strategy into the 21st century, and critically interrogate U.S. policies in key potential conflict flashpoints.
DSS 5315: Strategic Survey - North America
Examine the key military strategic and security issues affecting North America. Strongly focus on the role of this region in national security policy and military strategy, especially homeland defense, and also on the regional security crisis related to transnational crime, and how that impacts the North American economy, its borders, and its people. Also explore Arctic security in the context of a changing climate. Building understanding of U.S. security cooperation with Canada and Mexico is key to this course. Keywords: homeland defense; arctic security; transnational crime.
Explore and understand the crucial domain of space within broader overarching U.S. national strategy. Learn the history and importance of U.S. space strategies. Analyze and interrogate the rapidly increasing importance of space for U.S. national interests, and how that increasing importance is affected by US policies and strategies. A special focus will be placed on space and great power competition over the decades, and the incorporation of commercial and international partners into evolving U.S. military, commercial, and civil space strategies. Keywords: space systems; space policy; space strategy.
DSS 5321: Selected Topics in DSS
Address specialized issues in Defense and Strategic Studies in depth. Topics vary.