Teaching & modules
Modules
Course structure
Courses are divided into modules. You will take modules totalling 180 credits.
Required modules
You are required to take the following modules:
- Intelligence in Peace & War (45 credits)
- Dissertation (60 credits)
Optional Modules
In addition, you are required to take 75 credits from a range of optional modules offered by the Department of War Studies, which may typically include:
- Past and Present of British Intelligence (15 credits)
- Influence: Covert Action, Active Measures, and Deception (15 credits)
- Diplomacy & Foreign Policy (30 credits)
- Technology, Security and Global Politics (15 credits)
- Armchair Intelligence - Open Sources & Online Investigation (15 credits)
- Homegrown Radicalisation & Counter-Radicalisation in Western Europe & North America (30 credits)
- Political Violence, Counterterrorism and Human Rights (30 credits)
- Cyber Power and Cyber Strategy (15 credits)
Part time students are required to take Intelligence in Peace & War (45 credits) and up to 60 credits of optional modules. In your second year you will write your Dissertation (60 credits) and take optional modules adding up to the remaining credits from the optional module list.
Teaching methods - what to expect
The following table will give you an idea of what a typical academic workload might look like as you progress through your studies:
| Module | Lectures, seminars and feedback | Self-study |
| Per 15-credit module | 20 hours of teaching. Typically, 2 hours per week over one 10- week term. This can be split into lectures and seminars. A 30-credit module will be double this. | 130 hours |
| Dissertation module 60 credits | Up to 12 hours of online guidance, training workshops and personal supervision | 588 hours |
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Please note: Teaching for part-time students in the Department of War Studies is scheduled between the hours of 9 AM and 6 PM Monday-Friday. Individual student timetables are dependent on the modules chosen and vary each year, so we are unable to provide these in advance. Timetables are usually released in mid-September following enrolment.
Assessment
- Coursework
- Written/practical examinations
- Assessed Essays
- Individual or group presentations
- Exams
Your performance will be assessed through a combination of coursework and written/practical examinations. Forms of assessment may typically include assessed essays, individual and group presentations, exercises and/or exams. The dissertation module assessment will be based on a 100% dissertation assignment.
Application closing date guidance
Key Information
Course type:
Master's
Delivery mode:
On campus
Study mode:
Full time / Part time
Duration:
One year full-time, September to September, two years part-time
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2026