The National Security and Foreign Affairs (NSFA) major offers students expertise and understanding of the broad range of threats to national and global security in the 21st century and equips them with the necessary knowledge and skills that would allow them to successfully pursue careers in diplomacy and national security. The National Security and Foreign Affairs (NSFA) major analyzes the role of diplomacy in the management of world affairs and examines in-depth U.S. grand strategy and foreign policy; the current and future global geopolitical environment that affect the U.S. and its interests; the ends, ways, and means that impact the use of military force; the informational issues that contribute to the holistic implementation of strategy, and counterterrorism and homeland security. It is designed to connect theory to practice thereby providing a hands-on, practical approach to the field that would equip students with the tools to analyze threats that challenge U.S. security both at home and abroad.

The minor in National Security and Foreign Affairs (NSFA) analyzes the role of diplomacy in the management of world affairs and provides a hands-on, practical approach to security analysis that would equip students with the tools to analyze threats that challenge US security both at home and abroad. The program seeks to supplement the knowledge and skills that students have acquired through their major field of study with expertise and understanding of the broad range of threats to national and global security in the 21st century, as well as to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills that would allow them to successfully pursue careers in diplomacy and national security.

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

The Strategic Intelligence Organization (SIO) at Virginia Tech is an organization dedicated to providing students with the ability to gain real world skills pertaining to careers with the Intelligence Community (IC). The SIO educates and trains students in basic skills necessary to analyze information culled for a final product. The organization familiarizes and allows hands on experience for its members towards the intelligence process in order to familiarize them with each step and its importance to the cycle.

Through collaborations with IC members, the organization allows the undergraduate students to network with professionals in their intended field. It is the hope of the SIO that organizations within the Federal Government and the private sector will partner with the SIO to become both mentors and collaborators for the SIO members, but also to influence and receive open source products the organization produces. The connection between the SIO and the professional world will allow the students to become better acquainted with professionalism for intelligence work.

For professional organizations, the SIO provides a connection with students to create a working relationship which provides the IC with graduates that have a working knowledge of the IC, its language, and the systems in which the intelligence personnel work.

The work the SIO is doing is all at the UNCLASSIFIED level, no security clearances are required nor expected of our members. All products are Open Source. The organization is very willing to work with professionals and would like to create seminars of interest and relevance to their organizations.