| Qualification | Start dates | Entry requirements | Full- or Part-time | Assessment | |
| Master of Arts (MA) | January April September | First or Second class Honours degree or relevant experience | Level of English required | Full-time (1 year) | Written assessment and dissertation |
Course Outline
This programme aims to deliver a deep understanding of the contemporary security and intelligence environment in western democracies, with a focus on the UK. Security and Intelligence Studies are an important new field in political science but there is also widespread recognition that a good knowledge of how security and intelligence agencies operate; of the environment in which they operate; and of how their products are, and should be, used has become a key component of good and successful governance. Emphasis is placed on relating academic and historical analyses to contemporary problems and policy questions especially in the UK but also to western states in general, using a unique degree of practitioner-led expertise.
With regard to intelligence-led policy and practice, emphasis is placed on the very skills that the intelligence community itself has been urged to develop in the wake of the Butler Review on Intelligence on WMD. This specifically recommended the development of a greater degree of ‘professionalisation’ in intelligence analysis skills, including critical thinking and analysis (developed in part through an element of exercising and collaborative working on challenge problems), and a greater ability to evaluate and assess disparate sources of sometimes conflicting information. This programme is aimed at everyone who is interested in intelligence and security issues, whatever their career plans, but also at those who may be aspiring to work in the field of security and intelligence. It can also assist the career development of those already employed within that field.
About BUCSIS
BUCSIS was established in 2008 as a world-class centre for research into the key Security and Intelligence issues facing the UK and the world in the 21st century. The Centre is headed by a leading academic in the field, Professor Anthony Glees, and is supported by a research and teaching team led by Dr Julian Richards, a Security Studies specialist with a long experience of working in the UK government on defence and security policy issues. More information about BUCSIS.
