Admissions

It is an easy, no hassles three-step process:
1.    Contact an Admissions Coordinator who will interview you over the phone and complete your paperwork
2.    Review, sign and return the completed forms.
3.    Get your answer from the Enrollment Committee in less than a week, in most cases

Application Instructions
All prospective students must file an application with Henley-Putnam University. Applicants must contact an Admissions Coordinator by telephone, who will assist in completing the application, or initiate contact from this institution's web site by selecting Request Information. Prospects interested in certificate programs should contact the certificate program coordinator or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Due to the unique nature of the course contents the University requires applicants to go through a background check and/or screening process.

Admission Requirements
Admission to the University is based on evidence of a student's ability to benefit from its educational program.  Such evidence may include any or all of the following: student's academic record in other institutions, professional experience, motivation and educational objectives.

Admissions receives and processes all applications and evaluates them, for completeness.  The Chair of the Enrollment Committee formally holds the authority to admit or deny any candidate’s application.  Applicants will be notified in writing or via email of the status of their application.

Note: Degree students must take a communication skills assessment and a Hartman Value Profile after the first quarter.

Bachelor’s Degree Program
Qualified bachelor’s degree applicants will have completed high school or its equivalent and have an Associates of Art or Associates of Science degree. Alternatively, an applicant must have completed sufficient units of transferable college level credit with a GPA of 2.0/4.0 or above from institutions accredited by agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Of that credit, the student must have completed 45 quarter units or 30 semester units in general education coursework which must include:

(1) English, 8 quarter units/6 semester units
(2) Mathematics, 4 quarter units/3 semester units
(3) Arts & Humanities, 4 quarter units/3 semester units
(4) Social Science, 4 quarter units/3 semester units (including languages)
(5) Natural Science, 5 quarter units/ 4 semester units (life science, physical science and laboratory work)

Admissions evaluates an applicant for the Bachelor’s Degree Programs on multiple criteria upon the receipt of the following:

a. Completed application
b. If an associate degree is not earned, course work with a minimum grade point of 2.0 will be accepted for evaluation. Foreign transcripts, not in English, must be submitted together with certified English translations.
c. Background check and/or Letter of Good Standing.

Master’s Degree Program
Master’s Degree applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Admissions evaluates an applicant for the Master's Degree Programs on multiple criteria upon the receipt of the following:

a. Completed application
b. Background check and/or Letter of Good Standing (active military or law enforcement only).

Doctoral Degree Program
Applicants to this program must have a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree and the equivalent of 30 graduate-level semester hours in Strategic Security or a related field from an appropriately accredited University. Students enrolled in a Henley-Putnam University master’s degree may apply to the DSS program after successful completion of 45 quarter units of their masters’ course work. The Enrollment Committee evaluates an applicant for the Doctoral Program on multiple criteria upon the receipt of the following:

a. Completed application.
b. Background check and/or Letter of Good Standing for new students (active military or law enforcement only).
c. Documentation of 5 years experience in the field of Strategic Security.
d. Official transcripts documenting completion of a masters degree or a bachelor’s degree and 30 graduate-level semester hours in Strategic Security or related field.
e. Successful completion of the written qualifying assessment.
f. Foreign transcripts, not in English, must be submitted together with certified English translations. For Foreign Transcript evaluation procedures, contact the Admissions Department.

Effective November 1, 2009 all applicants to the doctoral program must submit evidence of a passing score on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test.

For Henley-Putnam students enrolled in a master’s program, this assessment is administered after they have completed no less than 45 units, and prior to beginning their Final Research Project (FRP) courses. If the student passes, there are two options available at this point:

Option One:
  • Student completes their FRP courses
  • Student receives MS degree
  • Student completes the DSS program

Option Two:
  • Student foregoes completing the FRP and their master’s degree
  • Student begins their DSS degree
  • Upon completion of the DSS degree, any student who desires to may complete their master’s FRP courses and receive their master’s degree.

LANGUAGE SKILLS
Graduates of the Doctorate in Strategic Security must demonstrate competence in at least one “defense language.” The languages currently recognized as such are, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Farsi, French, Indonesian, German, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, and Turkish. Students may petition to use a language not on this list, provided the student can show a need for it in their dissertation or project work. These exceptions must be ratified by the Dean of the Doctoral Program.

Students must show proof of acceptable competency by taking the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) or the civilian equivalent, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) test. This system represents some of the best and most current thinking in language testing and is structured not only to measure a student’s ability to use a language, but it is scaled to account for relative levels of difficulty between languages. It also tests cultural knowledge associated with that language. The DLPT test uses a scale of 0 to 5 and measures speaking ability. A score of 2 is the minimum acceptable score needed to satisfy the language requirement. Anyone who received a 2 or higher on this test will be considered to have met this requirement if the test was passed within the last 2 years.

The ACTFL equivalent test uses a different rating score. For these exams the passing level is “Advanced Low”. The tests are administered at the student’s expense, and can be arranged by completing the application materials and submitting them directly to ACTFL. These materials can be found in the Doctorate Student Lounge in Moodle.

EXAMS
Students who are accepted into the doctoral program must take two formal evaluations by a doctoral committee. The first will be at the completion of their coursework, but prior to beginning work on their dissertation or project. The second will be an oral defense of the dissertation or project.

Certificate Programs

Entry Level Certificate; Certificate in Security Management and Certificate in Intelligence Collection

Qualified Entry Level Certificate Program applicants as well as Certificate in Security Management and Certificate in Intelligence Collection applicants will have completed high school or its equivalent and be at least 18 years old.

The Enrollment Committee evaluates an applicant on multiple criteria upon the receipt of the following:
  1. Completed application
  2. Proof of high school graduation or equivalent
  3. Background check and/or Letter of Good Standing

Mid Level Certificate

Qualified Mid Level Certificate applicants will have successfully completed our Entry Level Certificate program or have a bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

The Enrollment Committee evaluates an applicant for the Mid Level Certificate Programs on multiple criteria upon the receipt of the following:
  1. Completed application
  2. Completion of Entry Level Certificate Program or bachelor’s degree
  3. Background check and/or Letter of Good Standing

Senior Level Certificate

Qualified Senior Level Certificate applicants will have successfully completed our Entry Level and Mid Level Certificate programs or have a bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. If the applicant has not taken at least the Mid Level Certificate, they must demonstrate at least one year of related experience in a specific area of relevant study.

The Enrollment Committee evaluates an applicant for the Senior Level Certificate Programs on multiple criteria upon the receipt of the following:
  1. Completed application
  2. Completion of Mid Level Certificate Program or bachelor’s degree and one year of related work experience
  3. Background check and/or Letter of Good Standing

Certificate in Strategic Intelligence and Certificate in Intelligence and Terrorism Profiling

These two certificates are more exclusive and can only be taken by individuals who have demonstrated sufficient experience and understanding in these fields against the following criteria:
  1. A Masters Degree and at least one year of associated experience
  2. A Bachelor’s Degree and at least two years of associated experience
  3. An AA, or AAS Degree and at least three years of associated experience
  4. No degree and at least five years of associated experience

International Students
Foreign transcripts, not in English, must be submitted together with certified English translations.

Student applicants whose native language is not English and who have not earned a degree from an appropriately accredited institution where English is the principal language of instruction must receive a minimum score of 650 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Further, all international students must be sponsored by or submit references from their local governments.

The University will waive the TOEFL requirement for students who meet any of the following criteria:

a. The medium of instruction at school or at the undergraduate level was English.
b. The cumulative GPA in all English courses is 3.0 or better at the Undergraduate level.
c. The score in the English on standardized tests such as GRE, GMAT is in the 50th percentile.

Background Check
Due to the unique nature of the course contents, Henley-Putnam University requires applicants to go through a background check and/or screening process prior to acceptance.

Transfer Credit
All degree-seeking applicants must submit official college records.  Previous academic work will be evaluated for possible credits to be applied to the degree programs at the University.  Allowable transfer credits are formally identified and documented.  The official transfer credit evaluation is recorded and then filed with the student’s academic file.  An official transcript must be received before final transfer work can be accepted and recorded.  Course descriptions may also need to be provided if Admissions does not have a current catalog.  The University will maintain a written record of the previous education and training of all students, that record will clearly indicate that credit has been granted.  The student and other agencies such as the VA will be notified accordingly.

Degree requirements are determined by combining the transfer credits allowed and the required academic work to be successfully completed at the University.  Students can request a copy of the transfer evaluation.

Bachelor’s Degree candidate transfer evaluation will be based on higher education work completed where grades of C (GPA 2.0/4.0) or better were earned for Bachelor’s Degree applicants.

1. Transfer Credit Limits
a. A maximum of three-fourths of the credits required for a Bachelor's Degree may be awarded for transfer credit and experiential or equivalent credit including challenge/test out credits. Experiential learning is only used for credits once a student is enrolled. For no students, however, may the credit given for experiential or equivalent learning including challenge/test out credits exceed one-fourth of the credits required for a degree.
b. A maximum of one half of the credits required for a master's degree may be given through transfer credit or a combination of transfer credit and challenge/test credits. For no student, however, may the credit given for challenge/test out credits exceed one-fourth of the credits required for the degree.
c. A maximum of 15% of the credits required for the doctoral degree may be given through transfer credit from courses relevant to the degree.
d. Once a student has matriculated at the University, all further transfer credits must have prior approval of the Chief Academic Officer.

2. Basis for Institutional Transfer Credit
a. Transfer credits (if earned within the United States) may be accepted from institutions accredited by agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.  
b. International students from government recognized institutions or institutions listed in the International Handbook of Universities must submit original or certified transcripts, translated into English, showing courses completed, grades obtained, and length of program.  A syllabus or course description in English covering each course being considered for transfer credit should be submitted with the transcript to Admissions.  
c. Transcripts and syllabi documentation are evaluated for the minimum GPA 2.0/4.0 grade equivalency for the Bachelor's program and 3.0/4.0 for the Master's program requirement and subject matter content to determine if transfer credits are accepted.

3. Evaluation process
a. During the transfer credit evaluation process, academic work from other colleges and universities is compared to the University’s courses within the appropriate degree program, and transfer credits are awarded on the basis of similar syllabi.  College and University courses completed elsewhere may be considered for transfer credits as electives even though the courses are not offered at the University. All transcripts received become University property and will not be copied or released to other institutions.  Transcripts received from applicants who do not enroll within two years of their application date, or who send transcripts, but do not subsequently enroll, will thereafter be destroyed unless the applicant maintains communication with this institution that indicates the applicant’s continuing plan to enroll.

Transferability of Credits
Program work taken at the University is an emerging technology and not automatically transferable to another institution.  No representation is made whatsoever concerning the transferability of the University’s credits to any other institution.  Acceptance of credits is controlled by the receiving institution.

Awarding Credits for Experiential Learning
Henley-Putnam University may award credit based on American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations for military training and other occupational experience as it applies to the degree program.  Experiential learning is only used for credits once a student is enrolled.  It will not be considered prior to or as part of the admissions process. No experiential learning credit will be accepted for the Master's or Doctorate degree programs.  Contact the Registrar for more information.

Challenge Examinations
The University accepts the recommendations of the American Council on Education College Credit Recommendation Service as listed in The Guide to Educational Credit by Examination. These include Advanced Placement Examinations, College Level Examination Program General Examinations (CLEP), and DANTES Subject Standardized Tests.  Contact the Admissions Department for more information. In some cases, students with experience in a particular area may have the option of challenging a particular course by taking a written and verbal exam. Students must have completed one quarter of course work to be eligible for challenge exams.  Students must have completed one quarter of course work to be eligible for challenge exams.  Contact the Registrar for more information.  In some cases, students with experience in a particular area may have the option of challenging a particular course by taking a written and verbal exam.  These are not available for all Henley-Putnam courses.  Students must have completed one quarter of course work to be eligible for challenge exams. No challenge exams are available for the Doctoral Program.  Contact the Registrar for more information.

Student Enrollment Agreement
The student is required to sign the Enrollment Agreement form upon acceptance to the University and is to retain a copy in his/her files.  The enrollee is not considered officially a registered student until the University has processed the signed Enrollment Agreement and all admissions documentation has been submitted and accepted.

Continuous Enrollment
Enrollment is continuous with new classes starting on the first day of each month. New students in the doctoral program typically start quarterly.