Colleges and universities have responded to the need for homeland security courses. An example is Michigan State University, which has an online certificate in homeland security studies. The program offers three courses: homeland security, terrorism and public-private partnership in emergency preparedness and homeland security. The university offers two courses during each summer, fall and spring semester. Homeland security offers a general overview while terrorism focuses on domestic and international terrorism, including causes, methods and impact. The partnership course examines how government and private industry work together, using risk management and contingency planning to protect the country and its assets. Examples of other universities, according to Wired-Homeland Security 101, include Syracuse University, which has an Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, and Ohio State University's program for International and Homeland Security.
The Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security provides free self-study courses online for homeland defense and security professionals. These courses carry no credit but are designed from content used in the master's degree program. As of February 2011, five courses are available. One course, Critical Infrastructure: Vulnerability Analysis and Protection, looks at areas such as water, power and energy as well as information and telecommunications. Protection of infrastructure involves identification of the key points in areas along with their vulnerability and how to protect them within the practical and financial means available.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers internal courses for its personnel. Examples include principles of intelligence writing and briefing, vulnerabilities and threat-risk assessment, and law enforcement intelligence operations. These and other courses last less than 1 week in duration and are available to all employees of the Department of Homeland Security along with state and local officials working in the field.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, has its own course titled Building Design for Homeland Security. Its purpose is to prepare workers to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. The course deals with threat assessments and the responses to those threats. It explores how to reduce the risk of damages from natural disasters and terrorist attacks. In the event prevention is not successful, mitigation of damages from those events is also covered.