Security studiesU.S., Saudi universities to promote security studies

Published 6 June 2016

The University of New Haven will collaborate in the development of a new 4-year baccalaureate degree program in security studies, to be delivered at King Fahd Security College (KFSC) in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Experts from UNH’s Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences will advise their counterparts at KFSC on the creation and accreditation in Saudi Arabia of a baccalaureate degree in security studies with three specialization tracks: criminal justice, homeland security, and intelligence studies.

General Major Saad Abdullah Alkhelawi and University of New Haven (UNH) president Steven H. Kaplan signed an agreement last week to collaborate in the development of a new 4-year baccalaureate degree program in security studies. The program will be delivered at King Fahd Security College (KFSC) in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

UNH says that under the agreement, experts from UNH’s Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences will advise their counterparts at KFSC on the creation and accreditation in Saudi Arabia of a baccalaureate degree in security studies with three specialization tracks: criminal justice, homeland security, and intelligence studies.

We are excited to put the University of New Haven’s world-renowned programs in criminal justice, national security, and forensic science studies at the service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s next generation of security professionals,” said Kaplan. “This agreement deepens longstanding bilateral educational cooperation between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we are honored to support the further development of security expertise upon which so many in the region and beyond depend.”

The Lee College is home to faculty and researchers in criminal justice, national security studies, forensic science, forensic computer investigation, law enforcement, corrections, probation and parole, fire science, arson investigation, victimology studies, and related areas. The school says it focuses on experiential education, offering state-of-the-art research centers, laboratories, and internship and research experiences where students receive hands-on training and preparation for their careers.

UNH adds that the agreement makes UNH’s collaboration with King Fahd Security College, the Kingdom’s premier training institution for security studies, a natural academic partnership to establish a center of excellence for security studies in Saudi Arabia, enhancing security in the country and the region.

The initiative will also advance the cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia under the two countries’ 2008 Technical Cooperation Agreement, in the areas of critical infrastructure protection and public security.