The School of Security Studies is dedicated to the understanding of security issues in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Harnessing the depth and breadth of expertise across the War Studies and Defence Studies Departments, and the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies, we are one of the largest multi-disciplinary communities of scholars in the world engaged in the teaching and research of all aspects of conflict, war, security and defence.
Our distinctiveness derives from the long history of King’s as a university dedicated to generating new knowledge and understanding of issues related to war and conflict in the service of society. It also comes from our multi-disciplinary approach in promoting the study of security from different perspectives and methodologies.
The School aims to deliver a world class learning experience for all of our students. Our broad teaching portfolio encompasses undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes, postgraduate research degrees and continuing professional development (CPD) courses for security professionals across the Department of War Studies, Defence Studies Department and King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies. The education portfolio encompasses residential, distance, fully online and blended programmes. The emphasis we place on research-lead teaching means our students directly benefit from their interaction with scholars who are deep specialists in their fields.
Scholars in the School produce world-leading research that creates new empirical knowledge and understanding, develops and employs innovative theory, and has direct and sustained impact on international security debates, policy and practice. The School is home to multiple research centres and groups which are organised under eight broad research themes. With our unparalleled research power we aim to be a global hub for subject innovation, partnering and inter-disciplinarity in the field and beyond.