Curriculum & Degree Requirements
The MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies will require 60 graduate credits drawing from the rich menu of nonproliferation and terrorism courses and workshops available at the Monterey Institute.
The curriculum provides students with the in-depth knowledge and specialized professional skills necessary to analyze weapons of mass destruction (WMD), terrorism, and other security threats.
Foundational Courses (8 credits total)
- IPOL 8501 Policy Analysis (4 credits)
- IPOL 8505 Global Politics (4 credits)
Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies Gateway Courses (12 credits total)
- IPOL 8574 Introduction to WMD Nonproliferation (4 credits)
- IPOL 8584 Introduction to Terrorism (4 credits)
- IPOL 8559 WMD Science and Technology (4 credits)
Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies Advanced Courses, Seminars, and Workshops (16 credits total)
Students must take at least 16 credits of advanced courses, seminars, and/or workshops in nonproliferation and/or terrorism studies. At least two of these courses must be seminars. Advanced courses, seminars, and workshops include the following:
- IPOL 8510 Security & Arms Control in Northeast Asia (4 credits)
- IPOL 8517 Terrorism in South-East Asia (2 credits)
- IPOL 8526 Nonproliferation Tools: Export Controls (2 credits)
- IPOL 8536 Comparative National Security Policy (4 credits)
- IPOL 8538 Political Violence in the Middle East (4 credits)
- IPOL 8555 Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (4 credits)
- IPOL 8558 Israel and the Bomb (2 credits)
- IPOL 8565 Introduction to Network Analysis (4 credits)
- IPOL 8569 Terrorism and Violence in Eurasia (4 credits)
- IPOL 8586 Arms Control Simulation (4 credits)
- IPOL 8606 Seminar: Chinese Nonproliferation and Security Policy (4 credits)
- IPOL 8608 Seminar: Nuclear Weapons and Democracy (4 credits)
- IPOL 8627 Seminar: Militant Islamic Movements (4 credits)
- IPOL 8629 Seminar: Understanding Terrorism in Russia (4 credits)
- IPOL 8631 Seminar: Nuclear Proliferation Trends and Trigger Events (4 credits)
- IPOL 8632 Seminar: Advanced Studies in Terrorism (4 credits)
- IPOL 8641 Seminar: Nonproliferation in the NIS (4 credits)
- IPOL 8651 Seminar: Science, Technology, and Nuclear Policymaking (4 credits)
- IPOL 8654 Seminar: Security and Nonproliferation Issues in the Middle East (4 credits)
- IPOL 8658 Seminar: Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction (4 credits)
- IPOL 8662 NPTS Honors Thesis
- IPOL 8668 Seminar: Terrorism in South Asia (4 credits)
- IPOL 8670 Seminar: Deterrence, Nonproliferation, and Antiterrorism (4 credits)
- IPOL 8675 Seminar: The Nuclear Renaissance and Nonproliferation (4 credits)
- IPOL 8677 Seminar: Tracking Nonproliferation Progress (4 credits)
- IPOL 8678 Verifying Nuclear Arms Control (4 credits)
- IPOL 8683 Seminar: South Asia & Weapons of Mass Destruction (4 credits)
- IPOL 8684 Seminar: Chemical and Biological Weapons and Arms Control (4 credits)
- IPOL 8685 Seminar: Cooperative Threat Reduction (4 credits)
- IPOL 8689 Seminar: Islam, Politics, and Political Violence in Russia and Eurasia (4 credits)
- IPOL 86xx Seminar: Nuclear Weapons and Intelligence (4 credits)
- WKSH 8522 Iran's Nuclear Program (1 credit)
- WKSH 8523 History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development (1 credit)
- WKSH 8524 Missile Proliferation and Missile Defense (1 credit)
- WKSH 8530 History of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy (1 credit)
- WKSH 8542 Tactical Counterterrorism (1 credit)
- WKSH 8549 Human Trafficking (1 credit)
- WKSH 8561 Terrorism and Media in the Arab World (1 credit)
- WKSH 8576 Trafficking in Nuclear & Radioactive Materials (1 credit)
- WKSH 8590 Nonproliferation Policy and Law (1 credit)
- WKSH 85xx Israel and Nuclear Weapons (1 credit)
- WKSH 85xx The Nuclear Age as Moral History (1 credit)
- WKSH 85xx Cyberterrorism (1 credit)
- WKSH 85xx Assistance and Protection against Chemical Weapons (1 credit)
- NPGS 8500 Naval Postgraduate Agreement (credit varies)
Advanced Language Requirements (12 credits total)
Students must complete 12 credits in their official language of study if they enter the program satisfying the Institute’s minimum requirements for entry. Students with advanced language skills may have to complete fewer credits. Please review our language proficiency requirements for more details about this component of your degree. You can improve your language skills over the summer by attending the Summer Intensive Language Program.
Electives (12 credits total)
Students must take at least 12 additional credits in any subject to complete the 60 credits required for the MANPTS degree. The topics of elective courses need not be related to nonproliferation or terrorism.
