Multifaceted Purdue program focuses on strategic defense technologies and engineering

The new program and courses are available in noncredit and degree-seeking pathways. The newest program offering, the noncredit certificate in strategic defense technologies, is now available for learners to take courses individually or to earn the certificate as a whole. A related concentration option is available for professionals admitted into Purdue’s online interdisciplinary Master of Science in Engineering. A graduate certificate is set to launch in spring 2025.

All the options combine history; strategy; and social, military, and data sciences with engineering and technology in a new way. They provide learners with knowledge and competencies needed to analyze, understand, design and execute defense and civilian strategies that involve technologies supporting the strategic interests of the United States.

“Purdue is uniquely qualified to train military and civilian learners interested in strategic defense technologies,” said Sorin Adam Matei, professor and the associate dean of research and graduate education in the College of Liberal Arts. “While our program examines and explores technologies and engineering solutions, it does it from a policy and social sciences perspective, both calibrated to support and expand practical work in national defense and strategic military planning.”

The program was created by the experts grouped around the FORCES research incubator, a Purdue College of Liberal Arts initiative that brings social sciences and humanities expertise to bear on the nation’s strategic defense needs.

Core courses titled Grand Challenges in Defense Engineering; Space Strategy; Strategic Foresight; Technology, War and Strategy; and Data and AI Storytelling are embedded across the program.

To earn the Strategic Defense Technologies certificate, learners complete the Technology, War and Strategy course and two of the other four core courses, but all the courses can be taken individually outside of the certificate program. The courses are self-paced and there are no prerequisites. 

“This allows you to pick up the knowledge that you need when you need it,” Matei said. “We want to provide a just-in-time type of education.”

All students in the strategy and defense engineering concentration of Purdue’s 100% online interdisciplinary engineering master’s degree must take Technology, War and Strategy and either Grand Challenges in Defense Engineering or Space Strategy, and choose two courses from among Data and AI Storytelling, Strategic Foresight, and a course titled Ethical Reasoning in Defense Technology. Master’s students can then draw on an extensive collection of electives to fill out the 30-credit hour program and to customize their educational experience to their interests and needs. Admission to the master’s program requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering or in another STEM field. Purdue’s online engineering master’s programs are ranked No. 3 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

The noncredit certificate and courses, master’s degree, and planned graduate certificate are designed for midcareer military and civilian personnel in the Department of Defense ecosystem, including employees of DOD contractors, staff members for policymakers as well as think tanks and other nongovernmental organizations, and graduate students planning to pursue defense-oriented professions.

The anytime, anywhere online format makes it accessible for working professionals looking to boost their careers. Created by expert Purdue instructional designers, the courses are structured to move learners smoothly through the curriculum as they gain new knowledge and skills.

Faculty who teach on Purdue’s flagship campus, rated as a top 10 public university in the U.S. by QS World University Rankings, along with subject matter experts, developed and teach in the program. The instructors have worked or are working in fields as diverse as diplomacy, learning innovation, nuclear military applications and space policy.

“All our instructors are people with vast practical experience who have an ear to the ground,” Matei said. “Our courses are regularly updated and checked against reality.”

One of the country’s leading educational institutions for defense-related research and teaching, Purdue is committed to helping the United States remain a world leader in defense technologies.

For more information on the interdisciplinary Master of Science in Engineering degree with a concentration in strategy and defense engineering, visit the master’s program website. To learn more about the noncredit certificate in strategic defense technologies, visit the certificate program website.