Research degrees

Masters by Research / MPhil/ PhD Strategy and Security 

Our research degrees provide opportunities to study with leading academics and practitioners who are specialists in strategy and security. We particularly welcome enquiries from students seeking to undertake research in our key impact areas.

In addition to a supervisor, students will also have access to a professional mentor from our group of prestigious honorary appointments and Advisory Board. Training in research methods is a core component in the early stages of the PhD. We strongly encourage students to give papers at major conferences and help them to publish their work.

Research students participate in the lively seminar series organised by our research groups with past speakers including leading academics from around the world and senior practitioners such as the Director General of MI5. There are also opportunities to teach.

In addition to MPhil/PhD study, we offer a one-year Masters by Research degree, which involves carrying out a research project under the supervision of one of our academic staff.  

Supervision areas 

We offer research supervision on a range of topics. These include:

• Integrated approaches to conflict prevention and management
• The changing character of contemporary conflict including counter-insurgency and cyber security
• Current challenges in the strategic and security world
• International efforts to stabilise failed, failing or fragile states
• Middle East and North African security
• Decision-making and leadership in strategy
• Strategy and security in the contemporary world
• Strategic understanding
• Defence reform and strategy in the context of wider public policy with particular reference to the UK, US, NATO and the Middle East
• Science, technology and security policy
• Strategy in application
• Humanitarian intervention and the laws of armed conflict
• Civil-military relations, strategic culture and security sector governance
• Arms control and non-proliferation including sensitive technology and arms export controls
• US-European security and defence relations and the role and future of NATO
• Domestic security, public resilience and counter-terrorism
• The politics of defence industrial consolidation in Europe and the US
• Ethics of the use of armed force

Visit our staff profiles to find out more about our particular research interests.