This certificate program, Borders, Ports of Entry, and Homeland Security speaks directly to the need to secure the United States’ borders and ports of entry as directed by federal law. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the US Border Patrol refocused its priorities on preventing terrorist penetration, while remaining committed to its traditional duties of preventing the illicit trafficking of people and contraband between official ports of entry. Shortly after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the US Border Patrol was directed to formulate a new National Border Patrol Strategy (NBPS) that would better reflect the realities of the post-9/11 security landscape. The Certificate of Undergraduate Study (CUGS) in Borders, Port of Entry, and Homeland Security is at the forefront of this need to address national security priorities. The certificate enables students to deepen their appreciation of the complexity, breadth and topicality of concerns grouped under the rubric border security and homeland security while providing them with a coordinated, discipline-specific theoretical perspective, methodology and research approach appropriate to the disciplines of emergency management and security studies.
