Overview
There are six intakes per year. The application deadlines are specified at the bottom of this page.
The need for understanding the global security landscape has never been more urgent.
During the 21st Century, security threats have multiplied exponentially across the world. They range from the traditional, such as strategic competition, nuclear proliferation and global responses to terrorism, to the more contemporary, such as loss of biodiversity, climate change and threats to human security. We’ll also cover global power balances and inequalities between the Global North and the Global South in a post-colonial world. This online Global Security master’s will equip you with the skills to think about these security issues holistically and allow you to find practical solutions to the dilemmas they pose.
Through close engagement with world-class research and teaching conducted by the largest and most diverse collection of security studies scholars on the planet, you’ll expand your conceptual understanding when thinking about security issues and threats. Utilising real-world case studies and scenarios, you’ll build the skills needed to effectively negotiate the often-competing demands of securing people, states and the natural environment in a complex global context.
Key benefits
- Expand your conceptual toolbox for thinking about contrasting and sometimes conflicting perspectives of security and the challenges of providing security sustainably.
- Highly relatable to the world today, you’ll discover security in relation to contemporary issues, such as pandemics, immigration and threats to biodiversity, as well as deterrence and new forms of war.
- Build practical skills using case studies and real-world scenarios, including mock policy papers, podcasts and debates.
- Discover different ways of thinking about security with our foundational modules.
- Undertake a range of optional modules to suit your interests and career ambitions.
Course essentials
This unique Global Security MA is underpinned by the theoretical and conceptual understanding needed to situate and rationalise these security issues and threats. Covering a diverse range of topics, you can expect to learn about strategic competition, nuclear proliferation, global responses to terrorism, climate change and pandemics. You’ll also explore the human impact of security challenges, such as inequalities, human rights and global justice.
You’ll look at security from both an individual and state-level perspective, digging into the threats faced by humanity. As you discuss theoretical concepts, such as realism and critical approaches to security studies, you’ll also build a diverse range of practical skills ready to apply to real-world scenarios.
There are six intake dates for this programme: January, March, May, June, September, and October
Key Information
Course type:
Master's
Delivery mode:
Online
Study mode:
Distance Learning by eLearning
Duration:
MA: Two years | PG Dip: 16 months | PG Cert: Eight months
Credit value:
60/120/180
Application status:
Open
Start date:
Not specified
Administrative bodies
Regulating body
Application closing date guidance
25 November 2025
10 February 2026
14 April 2026
09 June 2026
11 August 2026
06 October 2026