DeKALB | NIU students may assume the activities of the Department of Homeland Security are restricted to Capitol Hill. However, students now have the option of completing undergraduate and graduate certificates in the subject of homeland security.

The idea was initiated over a year ago after the terrorist attacks in 2001, said Mary Pritchard, associate dean of health and human sciences. Since then, almost 20 departments within the university have become involved with creating the program.

“There has been a huge amount of interest surrounding the program,” Pritchard said. “Even the dean of the college of law has gotten involved with our committee meetings.”

There are four “tracks” a student can take when earning this certificate: biochemical sciences, health sciences, environmental hazards risk assessment and manufacturing and industrial technology. Pritchard said new tracks are being developed for the 2007-2008 course catalogue. She said the courses prepare people to work rationally with natural and human-made disasters.

Students pursuing a certificate will begin by taking either UNIV 310 or UNIV 510, depending on whether they are undergraduates or graduate students. The curriculum covers disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

“The idea of the course is that it’s a lesson in emergency planning,” said Dennis Cesarotti, assistant professor of technology. Cesarotti teaches the UNIV 310 and 510 courses, and said although natural disasters and man-made emergencies are very different, he explores risk prevention tactics through both examples.

“We try and bring in some of the concepts of risk planning depending on the location,” he said. “You wouldn’t prepare for a hurricane in DeKalb, but you would prepare for a tornado.”

Each track also requires two other core courses and then a total of four courses specific to its topic of study. Pritchard said students would choose their track based on their previous interests or their current major or minor.

For example, said Pritchard, students interested in geography would probably choose the environmental and hazards risk assessment track.

“The program is great for students who are interested in earning a certificate in something different from their [major path],” Pritchard said.

Lauren Stott is a Campus Reporter for the Northern Star.