Why study this course?
St Leonards Digital Education Scholarship
Scholarship deadline for January entry: Thursday 18 December 2025
Apply for one of six awards of up to £6,000 towards tuition fees.
Focus on policy and practice in a fully online degree unique to St Andrews, where you will study alongside national security and policy professionals from around the world.
Beyond the delivery of expert knowledge on a range of pressing global challenges, this programme develops a practiced-informed pedagogical approach to core issues relating to security and conflict. In addition to deepening your awareness of ground-breaking research in a range of topics, we integrate skills development from the outset in areas such as technical writing, multi-method research, and effective and tailored communication. Blending the delivery of expert knowledge with an applied and active pedagogy, this programme is uniquely tailored to the online learning environment and is an ideal professional development opportunity for those looking to take the next step in their career.
Who is it for?
This programme is designed for students from diverse educational and professional backgrounds with a range of interests. You do not need to hold a previous degree or qualification in conflict, security studies or international relations to study this programme.
You are empowered to select topics that best suit your personal interests, allowing you to develop expertise in areas relevant to your current or future professional practice. The programme's in-built flexibility enables you to learn at your own pace. Modules are designed to work as standalone or alongside others to hone key transferable skills.
Highlights
- Develop your understanding of key issues in conflict and security, including their geopolitical and societal impacts
- Build your own community of practice, working with peers and practitioners from a diverse range of professional backgrounds
- Develop a strong foundational knowledge of conflict and security studies and take specialist modules to tailor the programme to your interests
- Benefit from a dedicated programme team with cutting-edge and complementary research expertise
- Develop your research, analysis, and communication skills, enabling you to write for different audiences, including policymakers and expert audiences
- Hear from practitioners with real-world experience in conflict and security
- January or September start date for entry into the course
Add more value to your degree
Students enrolled in Conflict and Security in Policy and Practice will receive complimentary access to our Mediation Training Theory online short course. This self-paced course will provide you with practical skills and theoretical insights into effectively managing and resolving conflict, which is valuable in a wide range of professional and academic settings.
Teaching
A mix of pre-recorded lectures, peer-to-peer learning, digital resources such as interviews and podcasts, and online forum discussions, alongside optional live training opportunities.
Online support
Regular programme support through web conferencing and direct email contact with dedicated faculty. Full access to the University's library resources, including ebooks, electronic journals and databases. Extensive opportunities for additional training and skills development through our International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute.
Final research project
MSc students complete a portfolio-style individual research project, combining elements of a literature review and reflective writing tasks, with a policy paper or research report.
Assessment
100% coursework with no exams. Opportunities to enhance your transferrable skills through literature reviews, policy briefs, reflective essays and horizon scanning exercises.
Modules
Students complete three compulsory core modules and can choose from a range of optional modules to tailor the programme to topics most relevant to their professional development and personal interests:
- students studying towards an MSc take three core modules, five optional modules and complete a research project
- those studying towards a PGDip will complete the full taught component of the MSc, but will not undertake the final research project
- students studying towards a PGCert take the three core modules and one optional module
Course information may change. Module information and course content, teaching and assessment may change each year and after you have accepted your offer to study at the University of St Andrews. We display the most up-to-date information possible, but this could be from a previous academic year. For the latest module information, see the module catalogue.
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- Researching Conflict and Peace: introduces students to the challenges and opportunities in researching conflict and peace. It seeks to answer a range of important core questions such as: What causes conflict? What form does it take? How has it changed and why? What is peace? What forms does it take? How is peace built and sustained?
- An Applied Introduction to Security: introduces students to international security while emphasising the connection between theory and practice. It enables students to analyse contemporary security issues with conceptual tools and provides cutting-edge empirical knowledge of key dimensions of current security. It bridges security theories and real-world applications by analysing policy responses to empirical issues.
- War & Strategy: introduces students to core approaches and debates in the study of war and strategy. It examines the different disciplines through which these two interlinked topics have been understood. Students will explore notions such as the changing character of war and the practical and policy-based challenges of strategy making.
- The Future of War: building on themes from Introduction to War and Strategy, the module considers how war has been imagined, predicted and planned for across time and space, paying attention to the influence of path dependencies, cultural narratives and previous experience. It examines the myriad ways policy-makers, armed forces and scholars have sought to understand future war.
- Innovation and Effectiveness in Defence Organisations: considers how defence organisations attempt to innovate and pursue effectiveness in response to geostrategic, technological and institutional challenges. Students will explore what helps or hinders innovation in such organisations, paying attention to themes such as leadership, culture, resources and civil-military relations.
- The State, Conflict and Political Order: provides an overview of classic theories of state building, challenges to these theories, and modern iterations of political order outside of the state. It explores the complex relationship between political authority and violence, examining this relationship at different scales, from the state to the street gang and considers the limitations of state-based order in the modern world.
- Trauma and Healing in Conflict-Affected Societies: focuses on trauma and healing as central priorities for societies emerging from periods of conflict and violence and introduces students to the evolution of trauma-focused interventions in relation to transitional justice. The module also explores debates on the medicalisation of trauma and how such approaches have presented opportunities but also limitations for addressing violence.
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Optional modules will cover a range of themes such as:
- Drug Trade Politics and Policies in the Americas
- National Minorities, the State and Conflict
- The Future of War
- Gender, Conflict and Security
- Innovation and Effectiveness in Defence Organisations
- International Interventions
- The State, Conflict and Political Order
- Trauma and Healing in Conflict-Afflicted Societies
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MSc students will complete a portfolio-style individual research project (worth 60 credits) developed in dialogue with their supervisor, combining elements of a literature review and reflective writing tasks, with a policy paper or research report.
What it will lead to
Careers
The programme is ideal for those at the outset of a career in a range of fields relating to security challenges and the impact of conflict. The applied ethos of the programme prepares students to succeed in policy analysis and policy-making-oriented professions.
This programme has also been designed for those who have already made key steps in their careers but are looking to return to higher education to undertake further study or to deepen their expertise in new areas. By honing their research, analysis and presentation skills further, the programme will enable them to make a career change or take the next step.
Support
We are committed to supporting your career aspirations, whatever stage your career is at. Our Careers Centre can help connect you to our extensive global alumni community for advice and mentoring, as well as offering career coaching, bespoke workshops, employer connections, experiences, and application support.
Our International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute can also support you with academic and professional skills development. The University’s Entrepreneurship Centre offers start-up support for those looking to freelance or create their own business.
Elevate your career
Students who graduate from the School of International Relations have gone on to work for leading organisations around the world, including:
- Ministry of Defence
- Reuters
- Royal Navy
- Deloitte
Further your education
Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in a PhD programme at St Andrews.
Learn while you earn
This flexible and fully online programme means you can study alongside your current work commitments and achieve a degree from one of the top-ranked universities in the UK, without moving country.
Why St Andrews?
The School of International Relations is recognised globally for its quality of teaching, stimulating research and renowned academics. We have ranked first in the Guardian University Guide for Politics and International Relations since 2015, and first in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide since 2021.
The School is also renowned for its research and teaching focus on conflict, peace and security, which is the largest of our three research themes. This includes research on a broad range of topics, including human rights, the political economies of peace and violence, post-war reconstruction, terrorism, insurgency and many more.
Within the School, there are a series of research centres dedicated to studying topics relating to conflict and security, such as:
- The Institute for the Study of War and Strategy (ISWS)
- Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS)
- The Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence
Alumni
Wherever you are, you can take St Andrews with you. Online Masters at the University of St Andrews combine all the benefits of studying at one of the world's oldest and best universities, with all the advantages of flexible, personalised learning.
Whether you join us online or in person, when you graduate you become a member of the University's worldwide alumni community. Benefit from access to alumni clubs, the Saint Connect networking and mentoring platform, and careers support.
Entry requirements
- A 2.1 undergraduate Honours degree in any subject from the UK or the equivalent international qualification. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements
- We will also consider applicants who do not have an undergraduate degree. In these circumstances we expect candidates to have at least five years of relevant professional learning.
The Admissions team will holistically assess your application and determine the best route of entry for you. In some cases, this may be onto the PGCert in the first instance, from which students who attain a certain level in their modules will have the opportunity to progress to a full Masters degree.
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). If you have been out of education for some time and cannot provide this, please provide a 2,000 word essay on the following topic: With examples, discuss the most pressing drivers of conflict in contemporary international relations.
- one original signed reference
- academic transcripts and degree certificates
For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.
English language proficiency
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.
Fees and funding
MSc: £18,000
PGDip: £12,000
PGCert: £6,000
Fees for September entry are still to be confirmed.
Before we can begin processing your application, a payment of an application fee of £50 is required. In some instances, you may be eligible for an application fee waiver. Details of this, along with information on our tuition fees, can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.
Scholarships and funding
We are committed to supporting you through your studies, regardless of your financial circumstances. You may be eligible for scholarships, discounts or other support:
Contact us
Start your journey
Legal notices
Admission to the University of St Andrews is governed by our Admissions policy
Information about all programmes from previous years of entry can be found in the course archive.
Curriculum development
As a research intensive institution, the University ensures that its teaching references the research interests of its staff, which may change from time to time. As a result, programmes are regularly reviewed with the aim of enhancing students' learning experience. Our approach to course revision is described online.
Tuition fees
The University will clarify compulsory fees and charges it requires any student to pay at the time of offer. The offer will also clarify conditions for any variation of fees. The University’s approach to fee setting is described online.
Page last updated: 2 December 2025