• Transportation Security Administration: These DHS employees are responsible for securing air travel by screening passengers and their parcels, and handling situations that may arise as a result.
• US Customs and Border Protection: While ensuring fair international trade across US borders, this department also facilitates legitimate immigration and travel and guards against illegal border activities.
• Office of Intelligence and Analysis: This group collects and analyzes information related to homeland security and potential threats and communicates this information to state and local governments as needed.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency: FEMA's priority is helping Americans to prepare for and respond to major disasters.
• US Coast Guard: This branch of the military falls under the Department of Homeland Security as they work to protect US maritime borders, as well as mitigate accidents at sea.

• High School Diploma or GED: 4 years to complete
• Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete
• Master's Degree: 2 years to complete
• Law Degree: 3 years to complete
• Doctorate Degree: 3-5 years to complete

Some positions are available in homeland security that require only a high school diploma or a GED for employment. These positions, on the whole, are among the lowest-paid in the DHS, but are more secure and offer more potential for growth than many other opportunities for people with that education level. Most homeland security positions require a bachelor's or master's degree as a minimum requirement. These degrees will qualify candidates for basic positions in most departments of the DHS like the Office of Policy or Immigration. However, in order to achieve advanced careers in homeland security, most applicants will find that previous experience in homeland security is required rather than a higher degree.

As such, it is often more important to pursue practical experience over an advanced degree in a particular field for these jobs. Many of the required clearances and exams needed for higher level positions are offered as part of the promotion process within the DHS, so lower level employees with experience have better chances at these jobs than outside graduates with advanced degrees.

Generally, for homeland security positions, special certification is not required. However, due to the highly sensitive nature of the work conducted by the DHS, most positions require strict levels of security clearance, especially as one moves higher in the ranks. Most promotions involve some kind of exam that applicants must pass for consideration, as well as background checks and highly involved screening processes.

Most degree programs in homeland security are professional masters programs that require students to have already completed years of work in the field before enrolling. As such, the classes are focused on expanding an already-developed understanding of the job and the field of homeland security. Some of the classes that master's students can expect to find in a homeland security program include the following:

• The Unconventional Threat to Homeland Security: Although Hollywood and other sources tend to portray the terrorist as a Muslim with a bomb vest, terrorist threats can come from all walks of life and from the most unexpected places. Through an examination of past threats, this course covers some of the less-traditional threats that face the United States.
• Research and Writing for Homeland Security: This course would look a how to be an effective researcher and writer in the field of homeland security. Like most analyst jobs, homeland security officers are required to spend a large amount of time researching and writing about threats. This course prepares students for that part of the job.
• Technology for Homeland Security: As advances have been made in the field of terrorism, so to have advances been made in the field of anti-terrorism. This course examines some of the technological tools at the disposal of homeland security officers and the best practices for using them.
• Critical Infrastructure: Vulnerability Analysis and Protection: Part of the job of any homeland security officer is predicting threats before they can become manifested. This course would examine some critical infrastructure elements within the United States to know where likely terrorist attacks might strike.
• A Homeland Security Capstone Course: It is very common for master's programs in homeland security to have a capstone course. The topic of this course would vary, but it generally focuses on applying the knowledge gained in the classroom to practical scenarios that might be encountered in the workforce. 

Generally, homeland security degrees do not require on-site participation in the program. Sometimes capstone projects may requires students to be on campus for their final completion, but all coursework can be completed entirely online.

Homeland security is closely related to many other degrees in the generally field of defense and security studies. The most closely related degree is criminal justice. A criminal justice degree is broader, looking at the general enforcement of laws and security within the United States. Some schools even classify homeland security as a branch of criminal justice. Some degree programs in public administration also offer concentrations in criminal justice or defense planning. These degrees are closely related in the type of work that graduates generally go in to, since both prepare students for work as managers or supervisors in the field of criminal justice and homeland security. 

Other students may get a degree in security studies or disaster relief. Often, police officers and other security officers will have degrees in security studies, crisis management, or disaster relief and the work of police officers is closely related to that of homeland security officers.