UT Austin’s LBJ School Launches a Master of National Security Degree

(This article reports on news from June 2025.)

In June 2025 the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin announced a new graduate degree, the Master of National Security (MNS), with its first cohort to start in fall 2026 and applications opening September 1, 2025. Retired four-star Admiral William H. McRaven, who commanded the special operations forces that captured Saddam Hussein and killed Osama bin Laden, contributed to the curriculum and teaches in the program as a professor of national security (UT News, June 10, 2025).

What UT Austin announced

Who it is for: students from any background, including recent bachelor’s graduates, mid-career professionals, active-duty military members and veterans.
Focus: emerging technologies, data-driven decision-making and new policy approaches, with hands-on crisis simulations, policy exercises and interdisciplinary research. UT named intelligence analysis, cyber operations, crisis response, emerging technology policy and special operations as career focus areas.
Austin’s defense ecosystem: the announcement pointed to the Army Applications Lab, Army Futures Command, Air Force and Navy research centers and the Defense Innovation Unit in Austin, and to the Army’s plan to create a Transformation and Training Command in the city by merging Army Futures Command with the Training and Doctrine Command.
Research centers: students can draw on two centers affiliated with the LBJ School: the Clements Center for National Security, which brings diplomatic and military history into strategic leadership training, and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, known for interdisciplinary work on global security.
Careers: UT listed the CIA, FBI, Department of Defense and the military, the State Department, national laboratories, technology firms, think tanks and international organizations as possible employers.

McRaven said: “Now is the perfect time to pursue a master’s degree in national security.”

National security MS program simulation

Curriculum structure

According to the LBJ School’s program page, the MNS combines six core courses (18 credits), a 12-credit concentration, a 3-credit internship (waived for students with seven or more years of experience or active-duty service), and 6 credits of area or regional studies plus 6 additional credits. Students must show foreign language proficiency equivalent to four semesters of college-level study, either through coursework or a placement test. Students can also study at the LBJ Washington Center in Washington, D.C. (LBJ School, Master of National Security).

The seven concentrations are:

Intelligence
Diplomacy and National Security
Technology and National Security
Space and Counterspace Policy
Insurgency, Terrorism, and Proxy Warfare
Transnational Crime
Regional Security

Dual degrees are offered with UT’s Asian Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies programs and the MBA (about three academic years) and the JD (about four years).

About the LBJ School

The LBJ School is UT Austin’s graduate school of public policy. In the U.S. News graduate rankings in our database, UT Austin ranks 14th in public affairs (2026), with international policy 15th and public policy analysis 16th. UT Austin ranks 34th among national universities in the 2027 U.S. News list (see our U.S. college rankings). UT said its annual research spending exceeded $1 billion in the year before the announcement.

What international students should know

Federal national security jobs are for U.S. citizens. The CIA requires U.S. citizenship (dual citizens are eligible) and a security clearance with a polygraph (CIA Requirements); the FBI requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance (FBI Jobs, Eligibility). Most defense and intelligence roles have similar rules, so international graduates would mainly look at think tanks, international organizations, private-sector risk and technology policy work, or careers in their home country.
Check eligibility and funding directly. The program page does not say whether international students are admitted or eligible for any program-specific funding, or whether the degree carries a STEM designation for OPT. Ask the LBJ School’s Office of Student Affairs and Admissions ([email protected]) before applying.
Alternatives: the LBJ School’s other master’s programs in public affairs and global policy, or international relations and security studies programs at other universities, may be a better fit for students who do not plan to work for the U.S. government.

Latest developments

The first MNS class arrived in August 2026. In June 2026 the LBJ School profiled one incoming member of the inaugural cohort, a former Clements Center undergraduate fellow who plans to go on to law school and a career in national security law, and said students would learn from Admirals William McRaven and Joseph Maguire (LBJ School, June 15, 2026).

References

#The University of Texas at Austin #Master's Program