This module can be taken as a Short Course for Credit or a Standalone Short Course.

Please go to the 'Upgrade to a professional qualification' section for more information.

To undertake this course you must have successfully completed the Induction module as a pre-requisite.


The aim of the module is to introduce students to the relationship between security and defence against increasingly challenging national, regional and international contexts and the implication this has for questions of policymaking, identification of appropriate actors and capabilities, and the implementation of suitable responses. This module serves as an introduction to topics, issues, debates that will be covered in more depth in subsequent modules in this degree programme.

At a glance

  • Dates
    • 19 - 21 Apr 2023
  • DurationThree days
  • LocationOnline
  • Cost

    Standalone Short Course fee - £1,925

    Short Course for Credit fee - £1,050

What you will learn

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

  • Distinguish between the concepts of defence and security;
  • Compare and contrast the contribution of various actors and capabilities to defence and security;
  • Critically analyse the impact that social/political/legal/economic/technology factors play in the evolving relationship between defence and security at the national, regional and global contexts;
  • Provide conceptually informed evaluations of a number of contemporary priority areas in defence and security

Core content

The indicative syllabus content is as follows:

  • Introduction to the concepts of Defence and Security;
  • Introduction to defence and security capability;
  • Introduction to actors in defence and security;
  • Current and future needs and drivers in the relationship between defence and security;
  • The role of social/political/legal/economic/technology factors at national, regional and international levels;
  • From Policy to Operations – the examination of contemporary priority areas in defence and security (examples could include cyber security/defence, terrorism/counter-terrorism, serious and organised crime, to name a few).

This module will draw heavily from the UK but it will also look at other examples. Students taking this module are invited to bring to the discussion examples from the regions of the world they are interested in.

Upgrade to a professional qualification

When taken as a Short Course for Credit,10 credit points can be put towards either the Defence and Security (Engineering) or (Leadership and Management) or (Technology) MSc.

Find out more about short course credit points.

Speakers

Gemma Collantes Celador (Module Leader)

How to apply

To apply for this course please use the online application form.

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