Homeland Security

Learn about terrorism and weapons of mass destruction -- major issues that confront our nation and our world -- through two innovative ONLINE COURSES offered by the University of Missouri-Columbia's Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute.

Registration for these 3-credit-hour courses is available online. See our course catalog. There are no prerequisites, and the courses are open to both science and non-science majors, as well as to individuals who currently are not in a degree program.

NUC ENG 4330 & 7330
Science and Technology of Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Terrorism has been a familiar tool of political conflict, and it has assumed greater importance during the past 20 years. This subject has been treated by political scientists in various forms, but the scientific and technological aspects of different forms of terrorism cannot be found in a single place. In order to build better defense systems, it is important for persons who propose countermeasures to understand the basics of different types of terrorism, including the nature of chemical and biological agents and their properties (toxicity, health effects and preparedness) and nuclear threats.

Tentative topics:

• Origin of terrorism and psychology of diplomacy
• Nature of terrorism
• Biological weapons
• Chemical terrorism
• Cyber terrorism
• Nuclear terrorism
• Disaster and emergency measures and preparedness

NUC ENG 4331 & 7331
Nonproliferation Issues for Weapons of Mass Destruction

This course examines the role of nuclear technology, biotechnology and chemical technology from the basics of the industries that drive the technologies to the infrastructure, workforce and resources that are required to use these technologies for the development of weapons of mass destruction. The course goes beyond just the technical aspects and examines the relative risks associated with each category of WMD, the historical perspective for their development and use, the human factors (e.g. the motivations that lead countries or groups to seek WMDs) and how negotiations and treaties have been used to stem WMD proliferation. The future of WMDs will be examined; looking at the risks that may be posed by states, rogue nations, terrorist groups and disturbed individuals, and the strategies that can be used to mitigate these threats will be discussed.

For more information:

Course content and academic issues:

Mark Prelas, PhD

Technical questions about online courses or registration:

• MU Direct
• 102 Whitten Hall
• University of Missouri-Columbia
• Columbia, MO 65211-6300
• 573-882-3598 or 800-545-2604 (toll free)
• Fax: 573-882-5071