1. Home
  2. Faculty & Departments > Academic Departments > National Security Affairs Department

National Security Affairs Department

The National Security Affairs (NSA) department at U.S. Naval War College (NWC) is one of the nation's largest and most vibrant graduate teaching departments in the interdisciplinary field of national and international security studies. We provide professional education to mid- and senior-career students who are military and civilian national security professionals from the United States and more than 60 partner countries.

Chair, National Security Affairs Department

(401) 841-3540
841-3540

Graduate-Level Security Studies

The NSA department is one of three core departments at NWC and offers two courses that lead to the master's degree: national security decision making (NSDM) for senior-ranking students and theater security decision making (TSDM) for mid-ranking students. These eight-credit hour courses provide a broad interdisciplinary foundation in contemporary security studies including international relations, regional studies, foreign policy analysis and decision making.

National Security Decision Making Course

National Security Decision Making (NSDM) is designed to engage senior-rank students in the current and future complexities of a rapidly evolving national and international security environment. The course offers a broad interdisciplinary curriculum in contemporary security studies that encompasses a diverse spectrum of global and regional issues and perspectives, but with particular emphasis on U.S. decision making challenges and processes at the national strategic level.

NSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

Click to Open
National Security Affairs SLC Syllabus Cover

The NSDM course integrates concepts drawn from a number of disciplines including international relations, area studies, foreign policy analysis, leadership studies, and cognate fields. The course is designed to broaden strategic perspective while fostering critical thinking and analytic skills that will have lasting professional relevance long into the future.

More on NSDMNSDM Syllabus

Theater Security Decision Making Course

Theater Security Decision Making (TSDM) is designed to engage intermediate-rank students in the complexities of today's national and international security environment with a strong emphasis on regional security issues. The course offers a broad interdisciplinary curriculum in contemporary security studies that encompasses a diverse spectrum of regional and global issues and perspectives, but with particular emphasis on U.S. decision making challenges and processes at the theater-strategic level of the geographic combatant commands.

TSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

Click to Open
National Security Affairs ILC Syllabus Cover

The TSDM course integrates concepts drawn from a number of disciplines including area studies, comparative politics, international relations, foreign policy analysis, decision making, management studies, and cognitive fields. The course is designed to develop strategic perspective while fostering critical thinking and analytical skills that that will have lasting professional relevance long into the future.

More on TSDMTSDM Syllabus

Our Faculty

The department is first and foremost a teaching department where scholars and national security practitioners follow a curriculum that combines academic rigor with policy relevance. To further this, faculty participate in scholarly, policy and professional activities to ensure students have a learning experience that meets the needs of the Navy and the intent of the Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) system.

Visit Faculty

Here are recent selections of NSA faculty contributions to the broader national and international security discourse.

Faculty Books

Click to Open

Faculty Articles

Click to Open

Select Conferences (Organized and Chaired since 2016)

Click to Open

Select Keynote Addresses and Testimony (Since 2017)

Click to Open

Student Publications

Click to Open

Featured Faculty

Faculty Directory
Derek S Reveron Profile Picture

Derek S. Reveron

Chair | National Security Affairs

Derek S. Reveron is chair of the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval War College and is a faculty affiliate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School. He specializes in strategy development, non-state security challenges and U.S. defense policy. Co-written with a computer scientist, his current book project examines security in the information age. As a serving officer in the Navy Reserve, he has commanded units in support of U.S. European Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

Publications by this Professor
Linda Stuart Specht faculty profile

Linda Stuart Specht

Professor | National Security Affairs

Ms. Linda Stuart Specht is the State Department’s senior faculty advisor at the U.S. Naval War College. A U.S. foreign service officer for over 30 years, Ms. Specht was the foreign policy advisor to Commander, U.S. Strategic Command from 2018-2020. She was U.S. consul in Adana, Turkey from 2015-2018. Prior to that, Ms. Specht was director for Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions Policy, deputy director for Pakistan Affairs and deputy director for Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the State Department. She was embedded with U.S. and coalition forces during two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan. Ms. Specht had earlier tours in Cameroon, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Suriname.

Publications by this Professor

Featured Articles

All Featured Articles