The online Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies program from John Jay College of Criminal Justice offers a dynamic online education taught by leading authorities in terrorism studies, law enforcement, and criminal justice. In the program, you will develop an understanding of terrorism and counter-terrorism. The online program is suitable for students interested in pursuing a career in homeland security at local, state, or federal levels; joining national and international counter-terrorism agencies; conducting research on terrorism in academia; or seeking opportunities in relevant industries.
The program operates in collaboration with the internationally renowned Center on Terrorism at John Jay College, which sponsors a highly regarded series of seminars integrated into the curriculum of the program. 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 credits every 8 weeks. Finish within one year.
- Transferrable graduate credits – Credits may be applied towards earning an advanced degree, such as the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice at John Jay College.
- Prominent faculty - Our faculty are leading authorities in terrorism studies.
- Affordable price - We offer one of the most affordable terrorism studies programs in the U.S.
- A prestigious credential - Online or on campus, you’ll obtain a credential 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 all aspects of education related to criminal justice and is 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.
Courses in the online Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies program are offered in sequence to allow timely completion of the program, typically within one year.
Plan of Study
All courses in the online Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies program are offered in six accelerated eight-week sessions each year, including two sessions in the Fall 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 12 credit hours.
Listed below are the courses offered by the program. All of them are three-credit courses.
This course discusses the history of terrorism, especially since the French Revolution; its evolving definition and how it relates to state violence; and its protean contemporary forms. The course also examines topics including the attacks on the World Trade Center, Middle Eastern terrorism from the Palestinian Hamas movement and Israeli religious violence, to state terrorism in countries such as Iraq; right-wing terrorism in this country (Oklahoma City); the case of Shoko Asahara’s fanatical Japanese group, Aum Shinrikyo; and the specific threat of terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. Develops a global perspective in raising comparative questions about terrorism.
This course gives present and future law enforcement managers an overview of counter-terrorism policy in the context of current events and policies. The topics will include emergency response to disaster scenes, the identification of terrorists and terrorist groups, and the assessment of vulnerability and risk for population and infrastructure. The course will cover preventive law enforcement strategies and tactics, as well as methods to improve information sharing and coordination between agencies.
This course examines the new, apocalyptic or world-ending violence that reached American shores in its most tragic form on September 11, 2001. Discusses the history of apocalyptic movements (such as the Crusades), of violent cultic groups from the Middle Ages to the contemporary world (such as Jim Jones), of fundamentalism in the major religions of the world and how and why it so often gets connected to terrorism, and of the way nuclear, biological and chemical weapons have changed our psychological landscape.
The intensive seminar in terrorism studies is the core experience of all students pursuing their “Certificate in Terrorism Studies.” The seminar is open only to students seeking the certificate. Students are expected to read in advance publications by the distinguished scholars who present their work at the seminar, participate in discussions, and write critiques of the presentations they have heard and publications they have read. Students have access to online streaming videos of the seminars and may engage in online interactions with the professor, guest speakers, and fellow students.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Admission to the online Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies program is competitive, and evaluation is based on the student’s academic and professional records of achievement.
To be considered for admission, students must meet the following requirements:
- A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. or an international equivalent
- An undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (or meet contingency requirements as determined by the program on a case-by-case basis)
- The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or IELTS, is required for international applicants who have not studied in English-speaking countries. John Jay College’s TOEFL code number is 2115-99. The minimum acceptable TOEFL score is 550 for the paper-based test, 213 for the computer-based test, and 79-80 for the Internet-based test. The minimum score for IELTS is 7.
- Submission of a complete application (see Application Process below)
Faculty Name
Charles B. Strozier
Director, Center on Terrorism
MA, University of Chicago
PhD, University of Chicago
Biography
Charles B. Strozier has a Harvard B.A., an M.A. and a PhD from the University of Chicago, and has training as a research candidate at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and clinical psychoanalytic training at TRISP in New York City. He is a Professor of History and the founding Director of the Center on Terrorism, John Jay College, City University of New York, and a practicing psychoanalyst in New York City. Strozier’s most recent book, from Columbia University Press in August of 2011, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, is Until The Fires Stopped Burning: 9/11 and New York City in the Words and Experiences of Survivors and Witnesses. In 2011 he also published two other edited volumes, The Psychology of Leadership (with Offer and Abdyli, Springer) and The PKK: Financial, Social and Political Connections (VDM Verlag). In 2011 he published, along with Terman, Jones, and Boyd, The Fundamentalist Mindset: Psychological Perspectives on Religion, Violence, and History (Oxford, 2010). His earlier books include a prize-winning psychological study of Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln’s Quest for Union: A Psychological Portrait, Basic Books, 1982, revised edition in paper from Paul Dry Books, 2001, and Heinz Kohut: The Making of a Psychoanalyst (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001), which won the Gradiva Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, the Goethe Prize from the Canadian Psychoanalytic Association, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of Apocalypse: On the Psychology of Fundamentalism in America (Beacon Press, 1994, new edition 2002) and has edited, with Michael Flynn, Trauma and Self (1996), Genocide, War, and Human Survival (1996), and The Year 2000 (1997). Strozier was the founding editor (until 1986) of The Psychohistory Review and has published scores of articles and book chapters on aspects of history and psychoanalysis.
Faculty Name
Nikolaos (Nick) Petropoulos
Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration
Department of Public Management
MA, MSc, University of Athens
MA, MPA, Panteion University of Athens
Biography
Nikolaos (Nick) Petropoulos is a PhD student in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. He holds an MA in Criminal Justice from John Jay College/CUNY. He also holds four additional master level degrees: an MA in European Law from the University of Athens; an MA in Criminal Law from Panteion University of Athens, an MSc in Crisis Management from the University of Athens; and an MA in Public Administration from Panteion University of Athens.
A native of Greece and an active police officer, Nick Petropoulos has extensive experience in international law enforcement cooperation, with a focus on anti-terrorism. He was a member of the anti-terrorism service of the Greek Police and was directly engaged in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics security preparation. Over the past decade, he has participated in scores of international meetings, trainings and workshops on international terrorism. He holds an advanced certificate in terrorism studies from the Center on Terrorism/John Jay College where he worked as a researcher in 2009, helping build a database of individuals associated with terrorist attacks worldwide. He is currently a research assistant with the Center for International Human Rights/John Jay College where, among other duties, he participates in the “UN Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights” research project as a researcher.
Last but not least he is an adjunct instructor at John Jay College where he teaches undergraduate courses for the Department of Public Management and the Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration. His research interests include international terrorism, radicalization, security and human rights, and homeland security. He speaks Greek, English, Spanish and Italian.
Faculty Name
Maria (Maki) Haberfeld
MA, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
MPhil, The Graduate School and University Center, CUNY
PhD, The Graduate School and University Center, CUNY
Biography
Maria (Maki) Haberfeld is a Professor of Police Science, in the Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She was born in Poland and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. She served in the Israel Defense Forces in a counter-terrorist unit and left the army at the rank of a sergeant. Prior to coming to John Jay she served in the Israel National Police and left the force at the rank of lieutenant. She also worked as a special consultant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in the New York Field Office. She has conducted research in the areas of public and private law enforcement, integrity, and white-collar crime in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe and Israel. In addition to her research, she has also provided leadership training to a number of police agencies. Since 2001 she has been involved in developing, coordinating and teaching in a special educational program at John Jay for the New York City Police Department. Her recent publications include: Critical Issues in Police Training (2002), Contours of Police Integrity (co-editor, 2003), the International Volume of Sage’s Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement (volume editor, 2004), Police Leadership (2005), Enhancing Police Integrity (co-author, 2006), and Comparative Policing: The Struggle for Democratization (co-editor, 2007). Her latest works include three books on terrorism related issues: A New Understanding of Terrorism (co-editor, 2009), Modern Piracy and Maritime Terrorism (co-editor, 2009), Terrorism Within Comparative International Context (co-author, 2009), Russian Organized Corruption Networks and their International Trajectories (co-authored, 2011), Critical Issues in Police Training (2011), Police Organization and Training: Innovations in Research and Practice (co-edited, 2011) and Police Leadership: Organizational and Managerial Decision Making Process (2012), Policing Muslim Communities (co-authored, 2012).
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