MLitt Strategic Studies

A 2:1 Honours undergraduate degree. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• CV 
• personal statement indicating your knowledge of the programme and how it will benefit you (500 words) 
• sample of your own, single-authored academic written work (2,000 words maximum) 
• two original signed academic references 
• academic transcripts and degree certificates

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

Students who graduate from the MLitt in Strategic Studies go on to work in various professional fields including: 

• law 
• policy research and consultancy 
• NGOs 
• charities 
• international organisations 
• civil service 
• publishing

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Compulsory

• Modern War and Strategy: provides students with essential knowledge of strategy and military history as well as the necessary skills and techniques for independent further study of topics and questions in strategic studies. 
• Strategic Thought: provides students with essential knowledge of strategic thought and the history of strategic thought, as well as an overview of the academic field of Strategic Studies, with particular attention to the interaction between theory and practice, military doctrine and military science, as well as the enduring practical lessons of thinkers such as Machiavelli and Clausewitz. 

Optional

Students choose two from the range of optional modules available. Modules dedicated for Strategic Studies students include: 

• Directed Reading in the History of War and Strategy 
• The Influence of seapower on history 1805-present 
• Carl Von Clausewitz: Life, Work and Reception 
• Emergent Great Powers 
• The Military in Politics 

Modules across the School of International Relations are also available to choose from, depending on availability of spaces, which include: 

• African Political Thought 
• Conflict and Peace in Post-communist Eurasia 
• International Relations of the Modern Middle East 
• International Society and Central Asia 
• Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict 
• Political Order and Violence in the Middle East  
• Politics after the Death of God: Evil and Tragedy in Modern
• Politics 
• Security and Development in East Asia 
• Spaces of Securitization
• State Responses to Terrorism 
• Terrorism and Liberal Democracy
• Terrorism and Theories of Collective Action 
• The Changing Face(s) of Diplomacy: Emotions, Power and
• Persuasion in International Relations 
• Theories of Friendship and Enmity

Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University's position on curriculum development). 

Dissertation

The final element of the MLitt is a 15,000-word dissertation. The dissertation should focus on an area of strategic studies in which you are interested. Each student is supported by a relevant supervisor from the School who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation must be submitted by the end of August. 

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there are exit awards available that allow suitably qualified candidates to receive a postgraduate diploma (PGDip). By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.