The Department of Political Science has just added a new minor to its offerings!
The new, interdisciplinary Minor in National Security will be offered for the first time at Vanderbilt in the Fall of 2025. It will be supported by, and will support, the efforts of the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security. As such you can expect significant programming on campus related to national security to support the minor in years to come.
The goal of the minor is to equip students from diverse academic backgrounds with a robust foundation in two key areas: (1) security studies, global affairs, and foreign policy; and (2) skills in data science or formal strategic analysis. Students should be positioned for careers in the public and private sectors in national security, intelligence, diplomacy, cybersecurity, and international policy analysis.
The minor requires 18 total credit hours, including 3 credit hours of required prerequisite coursework, 6 credit hours of analytical methods courses, and 9 credit hours of electives.
The prerequisite course options include (3 total credit hours required):
PSCI 2234 (Introduction to National Security) OR PSCI 1102 (Introduction to International Politics). Introduction to International Politics will be offered in the Fall of 2025, and the Department of Political Science plans to offer Introduction to National Security in the Spring of 2026.
Methods options include 2 potential tracks (6 total credit hours required):
Data Science
- PSCI 1104 Introduction to Quantitative Political Science
- All Data Science courses
Formal Theory
- PSCI 2259 Political Strategy and Game Theory
- PSCI 3229 Strategy and International Politics
Elective courses include (9 total credit hours required):
- PSCI 2211 Terrorism and Intrastate Conflict
- PSCI 2219 Crisis Diplomacy
- PSCI 2221 Causes of War
- PSCI 2225 American Foreign Policy
- PSCI 2227 War and State Development
- PSCI 2235 The United States Military
- PSCI 2246 Civil Conflict and Civilians
- PSCI 2273 Conflict Management
- PSCI 2274 Nature of War
- PSCI 2275 Politics and Strategy of Weapons of Mass Destruction
- PSCI 2400 Political Economy of Corruption
- PSCI 3272 The War in Iraq
- PSCI 3275 National Security
- PSCI 4277 Future of Warfare
- PSCI 2170/2171 ROCCA lab
Other courses outside of Political Science are currently being considered as additions to this list and these will appear on the minor webpage, which is under construction.
Remember that, as always, only one course can be double counted between a major and a minor.
Contact Katherine Carroll, the Director of the National Security Minor, with questions (katherine.carroll@vanderbilt.edu).
This is a great opportunity, and we hope that many of you will be able to take advantage of it.