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students pose at Model United Nations in China

National Security Fellows

Cyber attacks. Pandemics. Hurricanes. Terrorism. Wildfires. Civil unrest. As threats to national security increasingly invade American lives, the need for professionals in every field with the knowledge and analytical skills to respond to these risks has never been greater. 

National Security Fellows

Paired with your major, McDaniel’s new National Security Fellows Program prepares you to meet this need head on, giving you an edge in a surging market of high-paying jobs in private corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies alike.

 

Professionals like you, with expertise in national security, are in demand in accounting, cryptology, computer science, world languages, business, transportation, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, statistics or actuarial science, government, foreign service, and more.

Becoming a National Security Fellow

You’ll apply to join the program typically in the spring semester of your freshman or sophomore year (with exceptions made for exceptional juniors). Successful applicants will demonstrate a strong interest in the field of national security (broadly defined) and be committed to advancing educational and/or professional interests in this area. Students from all majors are encouraged to apply.

model un students in china

National Security Fellows Advantage

When you graduate as a National Security Fellow, your resume will show your expertise in your program of study AND your ability to:

  • Demonstrate your firm expertise in the field of National Security.
  • Categorize national and international threats to national security and their ramifications.
  • Explain a range of measures to respond to these threats by government, nonprofit, and private sectors.
  • Communicate the political, social, economic, and technological factors that impact national security threats and responses.
  • Describe concentrations and specializations within the field.
  • Identify your own place within these specializations and map out potential career paths.
  • Bolster your career prospects through real world experience.
  • Deploy new knowledge and skills to benefit future studies and career endeavors.

Your benefits as a National Security Fellow

  • Membership in a prestigious and competitively selected program that can be included on resumes
  • $250 grant during your junior or senior year to use toward professional development
  • Opportunities to connect with alumni and others with backgrounds in national security
  • Free Foreign Service officer exam prep session, including prep materials and practice tests
  • Access to dedicated national security advising
  • Invitations to organized events and professional development activities
  • Participation in a community of likeminded scholars
students pose in front of statue

McDaniel students attend the Model United Nations in New York. 

Leanna Jasek-Rysdahl '16

Alumna Spotlight Leanna Jasek-Rysdahl ’16

Leanna Jasek-Rysdahl ’16, completed funded grad program in Conflict Resolution at The Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, works as Teen Court/Youth Services coordinator.  

“I had phenomenal opportunities and have a dream job because of the individuals I met and the experiences I had at McDaniel,” says Jasek-Rysdahl, who was an Honors student at McDaniel, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in French and Political Science and International Studies. “McDaniel, the professors, and other students helped me in extraordinary ways.” 

More about Leanna Jasek-Rysdahl '16

The National Security Fellows Curriculum 

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 Curriculum Highlights

As a National Security Fellow, you’ll follow a 34-credit program that emphasizes career development, fulfilling requirements in pre-professional, experiential and co-curricular learning opportunities that differ from traditional learning. Combine the program with your program of study to supplement and enhance your major and minors with a value-added credential relevant to your career.

  • A required course, Essentials of Security Solutions, provides a foundation and structure for the fellowship. (4 credits)

  • Pre-professional experiences such as security simulations, internships, research assistantships, and independent studies that focus on hands-on learning outside of the classroom. (6 credits)

  • Electives in Political Science with National Security themes (Choose up to 16 credits)

  • Electives from other departments related to National Security, including Computer Science, History, Philosophy, Sociology, and more. (Choose up to 12 credits)

  • Co-curricular activities and events with National Security dimensions.

Pre-Professional Experiences

In addition to internships, independent studies, and research assistantships, your real-world experience may include:

  • PSI 2300: Model United Nations
  • PSI 2301: Model European Union
  • PSI 2302: Model Arab League
  • PSI 2240: Diplomacy, Statecraft, and War

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 Course elective highlights

Choose your electives from more than 50 courses, including:

PSI 2212: Terrorism and Counterterrorism

This course provides us with the opportunity to examine the phenomenon of terrorism: what is it, what is the logic behind it, and what factors could motivate groups and individuals that engage in it? 

PSI 2223: Future War — Tech and Politics

In this course, students will examine the interactions between scientific advancements in technology, warfare, and politics in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

CSC 3305: Artificial Intelligence

The study of computer algorithms inspired by nature and algorithms imitating human reasoning.

HIS 2247: The Nuclear Age

This course examines the history of today’s nuclear infrastructure, including its origins, its geopolitical and commercial configurations, its environmental consequences, and its global social and cultural significance.

PHI 2211: Issues of Social Justice

A comparative philosophical and religious exploration of theories of justice and specific moral issues. 

REL 2227: Nonviolence: Gandhi, King, and Mandela

An introduction to the variety of religious practices and teachings that go by the name “Hindu,” both in the U.S. and abroad.

SOC 2215: Growing Up in Gaza

This course will explore how young men and women are coming of age in the contentious and highly politicized Gaza Strip.

SOC 2408: Gender, Violence, and Crime

Why are so many mass shooters and serial killers men? Why are men over represented in our prison systems both as inmates and law enforcement? What happens when women commit violent crimes? These are some of the questions we explore in this course on the gendered nature of criminal behavior.

Boost Your Career

As a National Security Fellow, you’ll get career insights and advice from current experts — who are often Green Terrors themselves, returning to McDaniel as full-fledged pros. You'll be ready to forge your own pathway by the time you graduate. Recent speakers include:

  • Patrick Robbins ’15, deputy program manager and senior all source intelligence analyst at the Buffalo Group. 
  • Shannon Robbins ’16, Pentagon Force Protection Agency.
  • Neal Ziring, senior technical director at the National Security Agency (NSA).
  • Tony Sager ’77, senior vice president and chief evangelist for the Center for Internet Security, with 34 years prior experience at the NSA. 
  • Lisa Turner Horn ’85, chief of counterintelligence at the NSA.
  • Retired Colonel Andrew Dziengeleski ’96, U.S. Army.
  • Alexa Noruk, director of Homeland Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Our Center for Experience & Opportunity also hosts national security representatives — like the NSA and the Navy — for the Discover Paths Forward and Prepare for Success Workshop series. 

students in regalia pose

2024 National Security Fellows

Photo of three female and one male wearing suits and lanyards gathered around a laptop while smiling.

Embassy visits and ambassador meetings enhance National Security Fellow’s summer internship

Tatiana Hamilton, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies major and Political Science major, found her ideal internship with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations in Washington, D.C. “My interests are in national security and international relations, so seeing the inner workings of the National Council was exciting,” she says.

Read the full story.
Francis Grice

Faculty Spotlight Francis Grice, program coordinator and Political Science professor

An accomplished scholar and researcher in the field of International Relations and Security Studies, Francis Grice brings his expertise to his classroom teaching, his coaching of the college’s National Model U.N. team, and his leadership of the college’s National Security Fellows Program.   

The program is being spearheaded by Grice, an associate professor of Political Science and International Studies whose research focuses on security studies and international relations, especially in China, North Korea, Japan, and the broader Asia-Pacific region.  

A second option — National Security Affiliates

Interested in National Security but not ready to commit to a fellowship? Sign up to be an affiliate. You’ll receive regular updates about national security related events, job and internship opportunities, and professional development activities.

Connect With Us

Francis Grice

Program Coordinator

Phone: 410-857-2412

McDaniel College
2 College Hill
Westminster, MD, 21157
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