Graduate Certificate in Security Studies

View an estimate of a student’s educational expenses for an academic year.

All students are required to meet the general university admission requirements.

Program-Specific Deadlines

Admissions decisions for U.S. applicants are made in two rounds. The initial round will close Jan. 8, and the admissions committee will admit a number of applications, put other applicants on a waiting list and reject the remainder. A second round will close on Aug. 1. Those on the waiting list from the February round will automatically be considered for the August round. Because of the tight deadlines, all candidates intending to apply for the August round should contact the director of security studies as soon as possible to inform the program of their plans.

• U.S. Applicants
• Fall semester (begins in late August): Jan. 8 and Aug. 1

• International Applicants
• Fall semester (begins in late August): Jan. 8

Additional Documentation

Your application must include the following:

• Statement of objectives: State your academic objectives, giving specific reasons for the selection of your field of study, contemplated research areas, and professional plans. Most statements are three to four paragraphs in length. The objectives allow faculty to:
• determine that your expectations of the security studies program are congruent with what the program provides
• review a sample of your writing skills
• Names and emails of three professional and/or academic references. At least two of the three letters should be from those who can speak authoritatively to your potential to succeed in graduate studies in an academic context.
• Unofficial transcripts from each institution attended
• Failure to list any colleges or universities from which you received a degree or enrolled in graduate coursework may result in dismissal from the university.
• If your transcripts are not in English, you must furnish a translation by an appropriate authority.
• You will be asked for official transcripts after notification of admission.
• Official reports of Graduate Record of Examination (GRE) test scores are recommended but not required. For applicants with a GPA below 3.0 at the institution at which they earned their bachelor's degree, GRE scores are particularly important in meeting the requirements for admission to the K-State Graduate School.
• A writing sample. This should be between 10 and 30 pages and representative of your best scholarly work. Term papers, thesis chapters and copies of published articles are all examples of acceptable writing samples.

The security studies graduate certificate will advance your career or prepare you for a variety of roles in fields such as:

• international affairs
• foreign policymaking
• policy research and analysis
• intelligence analysis
• military services
• homeland security
• law enforcement

What courses will I take? Learn more about the courses in this program.

Security Studies Graduate Certificate