The Graduate Paper Application is processed within seven business days of receipt. The Current Courses offered are:
Summer:
- Terrorist Financing Analysis and Counterterrorist Finance (BSST370/BSST338Z) Analytical Reasoning
This course provides an introduction to
terrorists’ financial activities and counterterrorism finance and
sanctions policy. The course examines how terrorist groups finance their
operations and also emphasizes current policy approaches designed to
curb terrorist financing through the application of U.S. and
international sanctions.
Students will explore how multilateral forces,
such as the United Nations and Financial Action Task Force counter
terrorist finance. At the completion of the course, students will have a
better understanding of the key tools, including law enforcement,
diplomatic, or intelligence that are deployed to disrupt and deter
terrorist finance.
Formerly listed as “From Dollars to Designations:
Terrorist Finance and the Methods Deployed To Counter Terrorist
Finance”. Credit will be granted only for one iteration of this course.
This course will be taught during the full summer term (May 31-August
19) in person, in College Park. There may be an online version as an
option for non-College Park located students this summer. Please contact
education@start.umd.edu for information about distance learning options.
- Understanding the Principles and Perils of CBRN Weapons (BSST242) Natural Science Lab
This 4-credit, General Education Lab Science
course, co-taught by Dr. Gary Ackerman and Dr. Cory Davenport, and
Steven Sin, dives into the science and science policy behind the threat
and use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons.
Through the exploration of the scientific method and fundamental
principles of the hard sciences, students will bring together multiple
scientific fields into one classroom. By the end of the course, students
will be able to test hypotheses, use basic statistics, interpret
results and apply their new knowledge through discussions of practical
applications in the domains of public health, emergency management,
epidemiology, and threat assessment. This course will meet in person, in
College Park, during the Summer I term.
- The Novel and Countering Violent Extremism (BSST338N)
This course dives into themes of moderation
and Countering Violent Extremism found in modern fiction from the
Islamic world, with Dr. Jennifer Bryson as an expert guide. This course
will meet, completely online, during the Summer I term.
- Terrorist Hostage Taking (BSST372/BSST338A): Scholarship in Practice
This course will be taught completely online
during the Summer II term by Dr. Margaret Wilson, of the Imperial
College London. This course will examine different forms of hostage
taking and consider approaches to studying behavior, along with the
problems inherent in such research. Weekly topics will include issues
such as scripts and patterned behavior, victim resistance, what the
Stockholm syndrome might really mean. This course explores the tactical
choices of terrorist groups, the responses of the other players and how
the combinations might impact the end results.
- Experiential Learning in Terrorism Studies (BSST386)
Students interested in earning academic
credit for interning at the National Consortium for the Study of
Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) can now do so through the
Terrorism Studies program at the University of Maryland. Starting this
summer, undergraduates from UMD and other institutions can enroll in
BSST386 to earn from 1-5 experiential learning credits for interning
with START.
Please contact Marcella Morris for questions about the course enrollment and earning credit for your internship with START (education@start.umd.edu) or Eva Coll for questions regarding the internship program (internships@start.umd.edu).
Winter: Topical Three-Credit Course:
- The Rise of the Islamic State (ISIL)
The quick rise of the terrorist group
self-described as the Islamic State, also known as the ISIL has
surprised policymakers and foreign policymakers worldwide. This course
provides a comprehensive look at the Islamic State and will discuss key
concepts and terms in Islamic history in an effort to establish an
understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, meaning of a caliphate, the five
pillars of Islam and Shar’ia law. The course will trace the history of
the Islamic State’s rise and will examine the leadership
figures/personalities behind the group and look in depth at ISIL’s
connection to and divorce from al-Qa’ida. Students will examine how the
group finances its operations as well as the rise of its affiliates.
Students will also explore the group’s use of foreign fighters and
social media to further its agenda and explore the U.S. and global
responses to counter the Islamic State. At the completion of this
course, students will have an in depth understanding of the Islamic
State and a better understanding of the key tools, including law
enforcement, diplomatic, or intelligence, that are deployed to counter
the group.
- Geospatial Analysis for Terrorism (BSST399F)
Are you interested in learning more about
GIS, and how it can be applied to terrorism studies? In this one-credit
Winter 2015 course, students will be introduced to Geospatial
Information Systems and the technology’s specific applications to
terrorism studies. No previous experience with GIS or terrorism data is
necessary. Students will leave the course with a firm grasp of GIS
technologies and the ways in which they may implemented in terrorism
studies.
- Social Network Analysis for Terrorism (BSST399N)
Have you heard of Social Network Analysis
(SNA)? Are you interested in learning more about this emerging technique
and how it can be utilized to study terrorism? The concept of “network”
has become central to many discussions of terrorism and political
violence research. However, use of the term is rarely backed with
theoretical and empirical analysis of actual networks. This one-credit
course will instruct students in the basics of social network analysis
and how to apply SNA methods in the field of terrorism studies.
Specifically, this course will:
1. Explore the theoretical underpinnings of the network-related concepts;
2. Review existing terrorism and political violence research utilizing SNA in order to understand its research applications;
3. Introduce the basic methods needed to collect and analyze network data;
4. Practice the process of initiating and completing a network analysis using a terrorism network data set; and
5. Instruct students on ways to use SNA as a research technique in their own terrorism and political violence research
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