In 2007 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested an evaluation of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security‘s (CHDS) master of arts degree in security studies (namely, Homeland Security and Defense), offered at the Naval Postgraduate School‘s (NPS) School of International Graduate Studies (SIGS). This masters degree program was instituted in 2003 as a response to the threats posed by the 9/11 attacks and is funded by DHS. CHDS (Center) was created through an interagency agreement between the United State Department of Justice‘s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). CHDS‘s goal was to establish an evidence-based homeland security leadership development curriculum to help state, local, and federal leaders defeat terrorism by preparing participants to understand and develop strategies to strengthen the United States capacity to deter, effectively respond and defeat terrorist attacks, and to build the necessary interagency and civil-military cooperation.