Graduate Programs

Master of Science in Security Management

About This Program

Curriculum

Requirements

Program Summary:

Credits Required: 36
Tuition Per Credit:
Financial Aid
Application Deadline

Next Start Date:

08-28-2026

The online Master of Science Program in Security Management from John Jay College of Criminal Justice offers a dynamic online education taught by experts in the security industry. You will develop an understanding of security theory while acquiring the practical skills needed for a successful career. The online program is suitable for both security professionals and those seeking opportunities in the global security industry. Key components of the program are:

  • 100% online courses - Flexible course schedule. No scheduled meeting times. You can study when and where you want.
  • Small class size - Typically no more than 20 students per class. That means more one-on-one time with the instructor.
  • Accelerated 8-week session format - Earn up to 6 credits every 8 weeks. Part-time and full-time options are available.
  • Prominent faculty - Our faculty are global experts in security management.
  • Affordable price - We offer one of the most affordable security management programs in the U.S.
  • A prestigious degree - Online or on campus, you will earn a John Jay College degree that is recognized worldwide.
     

A senior college of The City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a preeminent national and international leader in justice education, accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

 

For more information about our program, please complete the Request Information form, or apply today for admission.

Curriculum

Courses in the online Master of Science in Security Management program are offered in various sequences to allow for individualized flexibility. Students complete the program typically within two years.

Plan of Study

All courses in the online M.S. in Security Management program are offered in six accelerated eight-week sessions each year, including two sessions in the Fall, one in the Summer, and two in the Spring. Students admitted to the program may enroll in up to six credit hours of courses during each eight-week session.

To complete the program, a student must earn a total of 36 credit hours, including:

  • 12 credit hours in Core Courses
  • 12 credit hours in Management Analytic
  • 12 credit hours in Electives

For a full list of the courses offered in this program, visit the College's Graduate Bulletin.

Curriculum Courses


CORE COURSES (12 credits)
Course Name
SEC 701 Introduction to Protection Management Systems
Course Description
Develops and integrates theory and principles common to the design and implementation of systems--broadly defined--for the protection of people and property in public, commercial and residential settings from loss associated with fire, casualty, disruption and crime. Reviews and integrates the historical, theoretical, managerial, and technological bases for the fields associated with protection management: security managementand fire protection management. Reviews security design issues and technologies applicable to structural and nonstructural environments. Examines alternative roles and structures for protection management in public, private, and independent sector organizations, and their relationships to law enforcement organizations.
Course Name
SEC 732 Privatization: Models and Applications for Private Security
Course Description
3 credits
Course discusses how public policing functions are being “privatized” on a national and global scale. Course delivers specific instruction on how private security partners, develop and execute effective collaboration with the public police sector. Course also provides specific guidance on how private security professionals identify potential markets for privatized services, how those services are contracted and are assessed under traditional cost-benefit analysis. The course also deals with marketing challenges for private security entities and the various career tracks that have emerged from the privatization movement.
Course Name
SEC 733 Legal, Regulatory and Administrative Issues in Private Sector
Course Description
The course delves into the legal ramifications and issues commonly witnessed in private security practice. The course weighs and scrutinizes the rules, regulations, and administrative legalities relevant to the typical roles and functions of private security Course examine how state and local authorities regulate the industry. Course evaluates relevant case law and authorities that set out the parameters of constitutional applicability. How the private security industry becomes liable for conduct in tort law, strict liability and other civil harms is also covered and with special emphasis on how the private security industry becomes legally entangled with public police agencies.
Course Name
SEC 731 Risk, Threat and Critical Infrastructure
Course Description
A broad overview of the concept of threat and risk is first provided in the course approach with a special emphasis on how the private security industry plays a critical role in the control and maintenance thereof. Next, the course targets specified Critical Infrastructure in light of risk and threat by cataloguing and defining specific targets. The class introduces the concept of CI as an industrial and enterprise risk conductor, highlighting the reality that a CI failure can propagate a crisis with cascading repercussions to other CI sectors and the entire economic ecosystem. The course then considers the new global forces behind threats and hazards facing the public and private sectors. What is needed to better cultivate, design, develop, and operate emerging management and preparedness thinking in the current environment is explored.

Requirements

Comprehensive Examination

All students in the program must pass a Comprehensive Exam that measures knowledge essential to security management and is administered by the program. The exam is offered every six months. The Program Director will issue a list of readings and texts at least 30 days before the administration of each Exam. Students must complete 24 credits in the program in order to be eligible to complete the exam. Students who fail the exam have two additional opportunities to retake it, in accordance with normal academic calendar.