Students may select one of the following Department of Homeland Security organizations to perform the research paper:

1. The Directorate for National Protection and Programs (Links to an external site.)
   works to advance the Department’s risk-reduction mission. Reducing risk
   requires an integrated approach that encompasses both physical and
   virtual threats and their associated human elements.
2. The Directorate for Science and Technology (Links to an external site.)
   is the primary research and development arm of the Department. It
   provides federal, state and local officials with the technology and
   capabilities to protect the homeland.
3. The Directorate for Management (Links to an external site.)
   is responsible for Department budgets and appropriations, expenditure
   of funds, accounting and finance, procurement; human resources,
   information technology systems, facilities and equipment, and the
   identification and tracking of performance measurements.
4. The Office of Policy (Links to an external site.)
   is the primary policy formulation and coordination component for the
   Department of Homeland Security. It provides a centralized, coordinated
   focus to the development of Department-wide, long-range planning to
   protect the United States.
5. The Office of Health Affairs (Links to an external site.)
   coordinates all medical activities of the Department of Homeland
   Security to ensure appropriate preparation for and response to incidents
   having medical significance.
6. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (Links to an external site.)
   is responsible for using information and intelligence from multiple
   sources to identify and assess current and future threats to the United
   States.
7. The Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (Links to an external site.)
   is responsible for monitoring the security of the United States on a
   daily basis and coordinating activities within the Department and with
   governors, Homeland Security Advisors, law enforcement partners, and
   critical infrastructure operators in all 50 states and more than 50
   major urban areas nationwide.
8. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (Links to an external site.)
   provides career-long training to law enforcement professionals to help
   them fulfill their responsibilities safely and proficiently.
9. The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (Links to an external site.)
   works to enhance the nuclear detection efforts of federal, state,
   territorial, tribal, and local governments, and the private sector and
   to ensure a coordinated response to such threats.
10. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA (Links to an external site.)) protects the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.
11. United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (Links to an external site.)
    is responsible for protecting our nation’s borders in order to prevent
    terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, while
    facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel.
12. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (Links to an external site.)
    is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization
    adjudication functions and establishing immigration services policies
    and priorities.
13. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (Links to an external site.),
    the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security,
    is responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in the
    nation’s border, economic, transportation and infrastructure security.
14. The United States Coast Guard (Links to an external site.)
    protects the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests—in
    the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, on international
    waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national
    security.
15. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (Links to an external site.)
    prepares the nation for hazards, manages Federal response and recovery
    efforts following any national incident, and administers the National
    Flood Insurance Program.
16. The United States Secret Service (Links to an external site.)
    protects the President and other high-level officials and investigates
    counterfeiting and other financial crimes, including financial
    institution fraud, identity theft, computer fraud; and computer-based
    attacks on our nation’s financial, banking, and telecommunications
    infrastructure.

Students will select one of the 16 Homeland
Security organizations to prepare a research paper. The total length of
the paper must be at least 2,000 words (approximately 8 pages) in APA
format. Your paper must include a title page or cover sheet and
reference page, which are not counted towards the minimum number of
words. You must use 8 or more course-external sources and address the
following in your paper:

1. Mission and History.
   Describe the mission and scope of the organization. Identify through a
   brief synopsis of the organizational history the rationale to frame the
   organization within the Department of Homeland Security
2. Organization.
   Discuss the organization using a chart or other graphical depiction.
   Illustrate how this subordinate organization is aligned within the
   Department of Homeland Security.
3. Roles and Responsibility.
   Discuss the various roles and responsibilities of the organization and
   how those roles and responsibilities support the overall Department of
   Homeland Security mission and objectives.
4. Workforce Overview.
   Distinguish facts germane to the organization to include total number
   of employees, training, critical or unique skills, and additional facts
   that provide a substantive overview of the workforce.
5. Leadership. Construct
   an overview of the existing leadership to include how their background
   and skills support their existing appointment or fail to support their
   existing appointment.
6. Organizational Highlights.
   Assess some organizational highlights that show how the organizational
   strategies and initiatives are effective or ineffective at carrying out
   their existing mission.
7. Challenges.
   Distinguish and describe organizational challenges, to include legal and
   operational, that mire their responsibilities and what the organization
   is performing to overcome those obstacles in the future.
8. Intelligence and Armed Forces Application.
   Assess how the organization interacts with the intelligence community
   and Armed Forces to supplement, strengthen, or perform their daily
   responsibilities.