Master of Science in National Security Contribute to the Security of our Nation
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Degree Options
100% online, 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Protect Your Country Using a Master’s Degree in National Security
Are you committed to protecting the welfare of your country and its citizens? Pursue a career within the federal government or law enforcement with Liberty University’s Master of Science (MS) in National Security. Your training in the various aspects of national defense policy can help prepare you for leadership, management, or other positions of influence that often require master’s-level credentials and training.
This degree will help you explore how nations use diplomacy, intelligence, and military strength to develop policy and regional stability or to take action in a crisis. You’ll study history, political theory, and public policy analysis. Within our national security-focused courses, you’ll learn about threat scenarios, defense budgets, and security strategy.
You can explore a wide variety of career opportunities in national security — especially once you have a master’s degree. You could pursue a career as a federal agent, secret service member, cryptologist, or security officer. You could even go into fields like intelligence, foreign affairs, logistics, or industrial security.
Your country benefits when people like you stand guard over the welfare of its people. When you pursue your degree through Liberty, you can receive the training you need to lead with integrity in national security.
What Will You Study in Our MS in National Security Online Degree?
Our master’s degree in national security offers comprehensive and advanced training in intelligence, terrorism and counterterrorism, hazard management, and other components of national security. You will explore the historical and contemporary concepts of national security as well as the laws, strategy, and data that guide national security agencies in decision-making.
Throughout the program, you can learn how to:
- Analyze the structures, functions, capabilities, and activities of national and international security community members.
- Apply a Christian worldview to aspects of the national security context.
- Apply knowledge of the literature in the discipline of national security to research and analysis of national security strategy, policy, and execution.
- Prescribe responses to contemporary and anticipated threats to national security.
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This program falls under the Helms School of Government.
- View the Graduate Government Course Guides (login required).
Why Choose Liberty’s Online Degree?
Choosing where you’ll pursue your master’s degree is an important decision. When you choose Liberty, you’re choosing a well-respected, globally recognized, accredited university. You’re also choosing flexibility with course scheduling and academic excellence that is grounded in Christian principles and values.
Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). This means that all of our degree programs have met rigorous academic standards and accreditation requirements. You can rest assured that you’ll be earning a challenging degree that can help equip you for the real world.
We’re also committed to Training Champions for Christ. Every professor in this program is dedicated to teaching from a biblical perspective. We understand that while you pursue your degree, you’ll still have family, work, and extracurricular responsibilities. This degree can be completed 100% online with 8-week courses available and no set login times. So choose Liberty, and stay committed to both your personal priorities and your career success.
Career Opportunities for MS in National Security Online Graduates
- Cryptologist
- Defense program project manager
- Elected official
- Federal law enforcement officer
- Foreign affairs officer
- Government manager/executive
- Industrial security analyst
- Intelligence analyst
- Legislative aide
- Logistics specialist
- National security analyst
- Policy analyst
- Professor
- Research specialist
- Secret service member
- Security officer
MS in National Security Degree Options
Check out the available specializations for our program:
Generalized Track (No Specialization)
Liberty University’s MS in National Security – generalized track* can help give you a solid foundation in government law enforcement while providing the flexibility you need for your schedule. With the general track, you will have 9 credit hours of free electives that you can fill with the graduate-level government courses of your choosing!
View the Degree Completion Plan.
*Please note that this is not a specialization. Any reference using the term “General” is the main degree and is only used to differentiate from other specializations.
Homeland Security
Our MS in National Security – Homeland Security program can help you develop advanced professional skills in research while you focus on security, transportation disaster response, anti-terrorism, and intelligence. You can develop an awareness of the internal workings of the criminal justice and national security departments so you can learn how to serve efficiently at all levels of government.
View the Degree Completion Plan.
Not sure what to choose?
Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.
Tuition & Aid
Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
Graduate Full Time | $565/Credit |
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Graduate Part Time | $615/Credit |
Military Graduate | $275/Credit |
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for Our MS in National Security Online Degree
Admission Requirements
- Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
- Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
- Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
- Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
- Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
- If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
- Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Transcript Policies
Unofficial College Transcript Policy
Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:
- Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
- Cumulative GPA
- A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
- Degree and date conferred (if applicable)
Official College Transcript Policy
An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.
If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
Military
Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.
Who May Qualify?
- Active Duty
- Reserve/National Guard
- Veterans/Retirees
- Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
- Current Department of Defense Employees
Available Benefits:
- Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
- Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)*
- 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)
*Not applicable to certificates.
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
Inner Navigation
- Overview
- What Will You Study?
- What Sets Us Apart?
- Potential Careers
- Specializations
- Tuition & Aid
- Admission Information
- Military
Have questions?