As the United States confronts increasingly complex threats from China, foreign influence, artificial intelligence and geopolitical flashpoints around the world, one Seton Hall University program is giving graduate students hands-on experience tackling real national security challenges before they enter the workforce at a rate its founder proves the program’s importance.
The National Security Graduate Fellowship at Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations pairs students with government agencies seeking research and analysis on pressing foreign policy and national security issues and has an 80% placement rate, with graduates going on to work at the NSA, CIA, Secret Service, military and defense contracting companies, according to founder Mohamad Mirghahari.
"My goal for my students is they’re ready day one if they get hired," Mirghahari told Fox News Digital.
Mirghahari, a Seton Hall graduate and national security expert who spent 14 years in key Department of Defense leadership roles supporting counterterrorism initiatives around the globe, later served as a presidential appointee and senior advisor to the Transportation Security Administration’s chief of staff and remains a special advisor to the Defense Department.
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"Our program is unlike any other in the nation because our graduate students are actually tackling real-world national security challenges and issues from government agencies," Mirghahari explained. "As we know, most government agencies have a lot of things going on and they don't have enough resources, but what our graduate students are able to do is support those government agencies, answering and doing research for real-world requirements in the national security field."
Mirghahari says the program is also unique due to the practitioners from "across the United States government" that serve as guest lecturers and professors giving students a necessary insight into experiences in the field, particularly given the changing landscape and variety of threats facing the nation compared to ten or twenty years ago.
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"Part of what makes our program so unique is that we address the real-world issues of today," Mirghahari said. "History is very important, and you learn from history, but we also want to be the classes that can support the government in real time. We have done projects on China, India and Pakistan , as well as the South China Sea."
The fellowship’s work has included projects for the State Department on how the U. S. could re-engage with the Taliban if the group returned to power in Afghanistan. Mirghahari said the research remained relevant for years, with the papers later recirculated within the government.
"That’s part of what we do, provide that real-time research," he said.
The program also focuses on emerging national security challenges involving artificial intelligence, data and foreign influence. Mirghahari said younger students often bring valuable technological expertise and perspectives that government agencies may not have previously considered.
"Artificial intelligence, data and all these different things impacting our national security play a major role in our work," he said.
On the artificial intelligence front, which has changed how the United States deals with cyber threats along with how it conducts cyber operations, Mirghahari says it has become a "force multiplier" for his students.
"We examine foreign influence, including how data is mined and distributed, and we use tools such as artificial intelligence, graph theory and other analytical methods to examine large datasets," he said. "We’re giving students an awareness of these technologies and how they can be used across the government.
Mirghahari added, "Our students can sift through large amounts of information and extract what is relevant to support their research. That process is extremely time-consuming, so we’re helping government clients bring the information together in one place and examine it more thoroughly."
Mirghahari told Fox News Digital he believes students would need to work for five years in a national security position to be able to learn the on the job skills they learn at the Seton Hall program and explained that now, perhaps more than ever, hitting the ground running is critically important.
"Some of the feedback we’ve received from agencies is, ‘Your students are well-equipped. They’re better than some of the people who have been here for five to 10 years,’" Mirghahari said.