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International Strategy and Security

An interdisciplinary approach to global security and strategy

A Unique Maritime Perspective on Security

The Department of International Strategy and Security at Cal Maritime offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Strategy and Security.

Our Major and Minors

Diverse Career Pathways

ISS students will be prepared for policy-relevant careers across a variety of domains, including government and public service, politics and policy, trade and economics, and the maritime field.

Career Opportunities and Learning Objectives

Solve for Real-World Issues

Our Model United Nations and Cybersecurity Policy teams exemplify "learning by doing" by applying what students learn in the classroom to real-world issues that affect us all.

Model United Nations

International Study

Each year, ISS students have the opportunity to take part in a Cal Maritime-led International Experience to expose them to new cultures and understandings beyond the borders of the United States.

Learn more about International Study

The School of Letters and Sciences

The mission of the School of Letters and Sciences is to play a formative role in every cadet's baccalaureate degree. As the intellectual foundation of the university, programs encourage intellectual, professional and ethical growth.

Learn more about the School of Letters and Sciences

ISS Updates:

As of 2024, our department name has been officially changed from Global Studies and Maritime Affairs to International Strategy and Security to encompass strategy and security in all forms. Entering students will receive a degree in International Strategy and Security.

Our program draws on political science, international relations, strategic studies, and regional area studies to offer students an interdisciplinary major that will prepare them for a wide variety of opportunities related to security in all forms (including U.S. national security, international security, human security, environmental security, and energy security) alongside a unique maritime perspective.

We are proud of our Cybersecurity Policy Team for making the semifinals (top 18 teams) at the Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Challenge Washington DC site.

Congratulations to our Model United Nations team for three Honorable Mention awards at UC-Berkeley's Spring 2023 BayMUN conference.

Congratulations to Cadet Aurora Thomas for winning 2nd prize in the 2023 Connecticut Maritime Association's Student Research Competition with the paper "Maritime Cybersecurity: AIS Manipulation Motivations in IUU Fishing."

Your journey starts here.

Learn more about Cal Maritime's International Strategy and Security program. Email us at admission@csum.edu.

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News

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Withdrawal from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac)

This is to inform the campus community about my decision to end Cal Maritime’s affiliation as a member institution with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac). I have made this decision in response to NAIA’s recent adoption of its Transgender Participation Policy, which is in direct conflict with California state law, California State University (CSU) policy, and our university values. As of June 30, 2025, Cal Maritime will no longer be a member institution of the NAIA and the Cal Pac. ...