Joanna Spear,
Program Director

A Master's degree in Security Policy Studies can open doors to future employment in the security policy institutions of the federal government, in the private sector, in international organizations such as NATO, and in the many non-profit institutions engaged in security policy work.

Security Policy Studies is a policy-oriented program focusing on international security issues and the policy responses to those issues, with particular emphasis on emerging transnational threats. These threats include but are not limited to weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, regional and ethnic conflicts, international crime, and the security implications of a globalized economy. It also examines the national and international policy responses to these problems, including the operations of the intelligence community, the military, diplomats, and international economic policy-makers.

The curriculum provides strong grounding in the national security and defense policy-making process. Students choose two specific concentrations — which can range from transnational security issues to conflict resolution to U.S. national security policy-making. Students also have the option of emphasizing a particular region, such as East Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America, by selecting a regional field as one of their two concentrations.

The program's faculty includes internationally recognized authorities in defense policy and resources, foreign policy, the national security policy process, and regional and transnational security issues. The faculty includes leading scholars at the George Washington University as well as an outstanding array of adjunct faculty drawn from the many research institutions and policy organizations in the nation's capital.

Program Director:
Joanna Spear, Associate Professor of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW Suite 601, Washington, D.C. 20052
Phone: (202) 994-1088
Fax: (202) 994-7761
E-mail: jspear@gwu.edu.

Program Assistant:
John Townsend, Program Assistant
1957 E Street, NW Suite 601, Washington, D.C. 20052
Phone: (202) 994-7003
Fax: (202) 994-7761
E-mail: security@gwu.edu