International Security and Law, BA

The BA in International Security and Law is among the first programs in the country to combine the study of security with international law. The international security and law program:

• Teaches students to analyze enduring and new security challenges related to intelligence, cybersecurity, terrorism, migration, and environmental and technological change.
• Prepares students to apply these risk-assessment skills to be successful in positions in law, government, business, and international organizations.
• Provides students with a foundation for graduate study in political science, law, area/regional studies, international development, public policy, cybersecurity, and international relations. 

Admissions

See Undergraduate Admission Policies for more information.

Policies

See AP.5 Undergraduate Policies for more information.

Students pursuing this degree must earn a minimum grade of 2.00 in each course applied to the major.

Banner Code: PP-BA-ISLW

Degree Requirements

Total credits: 120

Major Core

Advanced Core

Professional Skills Core

Additional Coursework

¹

At least six of the twelve credits must be from GOVT courses.

²

Topics to include Law and Security, Technology and Security, National Security Budgeting, or at the program director's discretion.

³

Topics included at the program director's discretion.

Applied Skills Requirement

Students must complete 6 credits of competence-based coursework taken from any combination of:

• Language courses beyond the intermediate level
• Internship courses
• Study abroad courses offered by Mason's Global Education Office

Electives

Any remaining credits may be completed with electives to bring the degree total to 120.

Mason Core 

Some Mason Core requirements may already be fulfilled by the major requirements listed above. Students are strongly encouraged to consult their advisors to ensure they fulfill all remaining Mason Core requirements.

Students who have completed the following credentials are eligible for a waiver of the Foundation and Exploration (lower level) requirement categories. The Integration category (upper level) is not waived under this policy. See Admissions for more information. 

• VCCS Uniform Certificate of General Studies
• VCCS or Richard Bland Associate of Science (A.S.), Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Arts and Sciences (A.A.&S.), or Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.)

¹

In addition to covering content related to the designated category, Exploration level courses marked with a Just Societies "flag" are specifically designed to help students learn how to interact effectively with others from all walks of life, including those with backgrounds and beliefs that differ from their own. Students who wish to increase their knowledge and skills in this area may choose to enroll in a Just Societies-flagged course. Students interested in this approach to completing their Mason Core Exploration Requirements should work closely with their advisor to identify the appropriate Just Societies-flagged courses.

²

Most programs include the writing-intensive course designated for the major as part of the major requirements; this course is therefore not counted towards the total required for Mason Core.

³

Minimum 3 credits required.

Honors in the Major

Highly qualified students majoring in an undergraduate Schar School program may pursue advanced work leading to graduation with honors in the major. Those students selected for participation in this program take a two-course sequence: GOVT 491 Honors Seminar (Mason Core) and GOVT 496 Directed Readings and Research. To graduate with honors in the major, students must complete these courses with a minimum GPA of 3.50.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the BA degree in International Security and Law, students will be able to:

• Recognize and describe enduring security problems and new developments (e.g., military, economic, demographic, environmental, and technological change; sustainable development; forced migration, and humanitarian emergencies), and the effects of the international system on defense policies of states, particularly the tension between national demands and international interdependence;
• Classify and appraise the policy tools available to address security challenges, and the likely costs and consequences of these tools;
• Identify and assess the relationship between war, peacetime settlements, politics, and strategy, particularly the issues of morality in armed conflict, and implications of such ideas for international relations;
• Explain the relationship between law and security and how law can be used to pursue international security and foreign policy;
• Identify the links between diplomacy and foreign policy, and the role of international diplomats in forwarding their governments’ objectives
• Identify the organizations comprising the US national security apparatus, and this structure’s legal underpinnings derived from the US Constitution and federal law;
• Describe the diversity of states and how governmental form conditions foreign policy, including authoritarianism and democratization;
• Identify and synthesize the theories and debates in international politics: conflict, human rights, international organizations, trade, economics, and development;
• Describe the fundamentals of US government and politics, essential for any security professional operating either domestically or in a multilateral setting;
• Generate research questions and develop investigative strategies to explain political phenomena; calculate and interpret basic statistics; and understand the ethical concerns that pertain to the conduct of research on human subjects;
• Conduct basic statistical analyses and apply statistical inference and causal reasoning to analyze social scientific and policy issues; and
• Critically assess social scientific and policy arguments; apply the fundamentals and theories of international security to evaluate the quality, credibility, and limitations of an international security policy solution.