National Security Policy Center

About
National Security Cohort

National Security Cohort

The National Security Cohort consists of Batten MPP students who are interested in national security policy issues. Members of the cohort come from the United States and around the world. Cohort students engage in all center activities including speaker series, policy engagement, and research. They also benefit from exclusive opportunities such as site visits and networking events.

The National Security Cohort curriculum consists of two required courses (“Introduction to National Security” and “Principles of Net Assessment”) and two required electives on national security problems and technologies. This concentration supplements the requirements of the Batten MPP core curriculum, which provides students with a foundation in the concepts, methods, and strategies of policy analysis and effective leadership.  

Required Courses

o   Introduction to National Security | Philip Potter | Syllabus 

o   Principles of Net Assessment | Syllabus 

o   Technologies of national security (e.g. nuclear, conventional, or cyber). 

o   Problems of national security (e.g. terrorism, human security, or war).

Selected Elective Course Offerings 

  • Leadership in US Foreign Policy
    • Instructor: Gerald Warburg – Former Executive Vice President, Cassidy & Associates; Former legislative assistant for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
  • Economics of Public Policy
    • ​Instructor: Prof. David Leblang – Director, Batten Global; J. Wilson Newman Professor of Governance
  • Global Humanitarian Crises: Dilemmas, Leadership, and Action 
    • Instructor: Kirsten Gelsdorf – Director of Global Humanitarian Policy, Batten Global; Former Chief of the Policy Analysis and Innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
  • Leading and Implementing Intelligence Policy 
    • Instructor: Paul Becker – Rear Admiral (ret.), United States Navy; Former Director of Intelligence (J2) for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Intelligence Policy 
    • Instructor: Timothy Kilbourn – Former Dean of the Kent School; Presidential Daily Briefer 2005-2008; Former Deputy Director of the Office of Iraq Analysis, CIA
  • Cyber Security 
    • Instructor: Tom Dukes – Former Deputy Coordinator for Cyber Issues, Department of State; Senior Prosecutor for Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, Department of Justice
  • Prosecuting Terrorism
    • ​Instructor: J.E. Shreve Ariail – Former Chief of Eastern District of New York’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Department of Justice
  • Development and National Security 
    • Instructor: Jason Foley – Deputy Assistant Administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • Analyzing U.S.-China Relations
    • ​Instructor: Prof. Harry Harding – Founding Dean, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy