Graduates would be qualified for jobs in all levels of government.

But Clement said he wants graduates to stay local, so some parts of the program will focus on the Valley's security needs. The area needs more experts to protect water resources, agriculture and livestock from bioterrorist attacks, Clement said. Concerns are growing, too, about floods, fires and other extreme weather, which are expected to become more severe with climate change and could devastate the Valley's agriculture industry.

"How many counterterrorism specialists could end up in Fresno County? A couple," Clement said. "But what about agriculture and livestock inspectors? ... I don't think that there will be a shortage of those jobs."

The high-speed rail also will create opportunities for jobs developing new security technology. The 800-mile track would run through the heart of the Valley and be a prime target for terrorists, said Rod Diridon Sr., executive director of Mineta Transportation Institute, a transportation security policy center at San Jose State.

"This is a wide-open field," Diridon said. "If we don't pay attention to it, we're damn fools."

Academic freedom

Fresno State's degree program is being developed by CSU's 300-plus member Council for Emergency Management and Homeland Security, which formed in 2008 with a $60,000 state grant to improve teaching and research in those areas. The council includes experts from the California Emergency Management Agency, the Fresno County Department of Public Health and other agencies that have joined CSU to develop a program that will help fill their security needs.

The federal Homeland Security agency also is involved. Stanley Supinski, a director at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security that's based at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and funded by Homeland Security, said he has provided course material for the Fresno State program.

"The field is new, and a lot of people don't know what the curriculum is supposed to be," Supinski said. "But they recognize what the country needs, and for the most part, they want to help."

While government experts often collaborate with faculty, CSU officials say they haven't before been this involved in creating a new program.

"There's always a general concern" when this happens, and faculty should have the final say in how the program is taught, said James Postma, chairman of the CSU Academic Senate.

Some experts caution that too much government input could restrict teachers' freedom.

Teachers need to feel they can be critical of the government and encourage students to question authority, said John Curtis, director of research and public policy at the American Association of University Professors, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization.

Curtis said CSU needs to "create a program that makes students into thinkers and leaders, rather than employees of a certain agency."