Global and National Security Policy Institute adds graduate certificate

The University of New Mexico's Global and National Security Policy Institute has added a new graduate certificate intended for professionals looking for targeted education in GLNS areas.

Phil Hultquist, an adjunct professor of political science, is the institute's director and a UNM alumnus.

"I got my Ph.D. and master's from UNM and then spent ten years away," he said. "I spent five years at Roosevelt University running the international studies program and five years with the U.S. Army teaching strategy and policy to military planners and war college-level students and military officers."

The institute offers three graduate-level offerings, a Master of Science, a graduate certificate, and a graduate minor, which all pull from the same set of courses.

"The certificate is our new program this year; it accompanies our professional Master of Science," Hultquist said. "It's built for professional education; it's typically for people who are already in security careers, and they're trying to work their way up or move into a career that's more policy-oriented."

The program is built around eight-week asynchronous classes to accommodate participants' work schedules. Someone taking one class at a time can finish the program in a year and a half, while taking two classes at a time shortens the program to about a year.

Hultquist said the Institute added the certificate program because they found that a sizeable portion of their prospective students didn't need a master's degree but were looking for more professional education.

"What they'll do is learn policy analysis skills and apply that to any three courses of their choosing," Hultquist said. "So, it's open-ended. I would talk to them about what they wanted to do and why, and we would select the courses from there.

"When they're done with their four courses, they must give a presentation to GNSPI and a portfolio of their work so that they can practice those policy analysis skills publicly. It's a good fit for people who just want a portion of the curriculum."

Hultquist has been director of the Institute for over two years and has emphasized developing policy analysis skills as part of the Institute's coursework, but courses come from across the university.

Hultquist said that those interested in learning more about the certificate should reach out to him and set up a meeting.

"We're very accessible; we'll talk to anybody at any time about it," he said. "Then we can walk through what they want out of the degree, how it's going to help their career, and whether our courses are a good fit for what they want to do."

More information about the graduate certificate and other GNSPI offerings can be found here.