Degree with concentration or no?

A good question was brought up today at my job...is it a limiting factor to get a degree such as a MS or MA with a concentration?

For example, an MS in CJ with an emphasis in Homeland Security. Do you think the emphasis or concentration would be just an "extra" or do you think it would tend to "box in" the degree itself.

Personally I am of the opinion that people like to nicely catalog things and they would tend to pay more attention to the 9 hours or so you spend on the specialization rather than the 18 to 27 hours you spend on the degree itself.

What say the board?

 

I think it is an extra. You can still look at the broad picture and not mention the concentration.

 

There might be just a couple of things to consider. The first is related to how certain the person is about the direction of their career. If you're certain of the direction and can get the concentration in that area then it would seem to be a good thing. Also, in most cases we're talking about what, the difference between a couple of elective courses? It doesn't substantially change the degree. Perhaps it just adds a bit of flavor.
Jack

 

As an aside, Homeland Security is becoming a hot subject. When I recently went through faculty certification for an online program, the faculty specialist said that it was tough getting people qualified to teach Homeland Security, as it was a new subject for most schools.

The ones that ended up getting certified were mostly retired Federal agents, military intelligence, etc. Of course, as the new programs start producing graduates, they'll step into the mix.

 

It's interesting that you mentioned that Bruce, so far the only accredited graduate degree in HS is at APUS.