Why study this course?
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 web conferencing and direct email contact with dedicated faculty, full access to the University library's 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 tasks, with a policy paper or research report.
Assessment
Assessment on this course is through 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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- An Applied Introduction to Security: Introduces students to international security while emphasising the connection between theory and practice; presents essential theoretical approaches, highlighting how various perspectives offer different methods for practising security.
- An Introduction to National Minorities, The State and Conflict: Offers an overview of the origins of population engineering policies and tracks states' efforts to restore, maintain, build or transform their national identities.
- Coercion Short of Force: An Introduction to Sanctions in International Security: explores the use of sanctions as tools available to States sitting 'between war and words'
- Counterterrorism and Human Rights: Explores fundamental tension between human rights and counterterrorism through the analysis of a range of state counterterrorism practices.
- Drug Trade Politics and Policy in the Americas: Examines the politics, economics, and culture of the drug trade in the Americas.
- Extremism and Radicalisation
- Gender, Conflict and Security: introduces students to feminist approaches to conflict and security. The module will address violence in armed conflict, international interventions, peace and security, and transitional justice. It will also introduce students to feminist methodologies.
- Imagining the Future of War: The module explores how future war has been imagined, predicted, and planned for by policy-makers and armed forces across time and space. It considers future war as a site of cultural production, anxiety, and civil-military contestation.
- Introduction to War and Strategy: Introduces students to key definitions, debates, and paradigms in the study of war and strategy.
- Researching Conflict and Peace: Introduces students to researching conflict and peace; introduces students to a series of diverse and ongoing debates on conflict and peace, reflecting on different styles of scholarship and a range of methodologies.
- State Terror: Historical Context and Current Iterations: Provides an overview of state terror over the past century, while also considering earlier episodes that may qualify as such, even before the emergence of the modern state.
- The History of Terrorism: Provides an overview of different forms of terrorism over the past 150 years, with a particular focus on the period following the Second World War.
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MSc students complete a portfolio-style individual research project, combining elements of a literature review and reflective 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 of standard requirements for entry. Some academic Schools may require applicants to achieve higher grades than the standard to be competitive. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University takes a holistic view of every application.
If your qualification does not appear in the list, it may not meet the typical requirements for entry to this programme. You may need a higher-level qualification to be competitive, for example, a Masters degree.
English language requirements
Some applicants may need to provide an English language test score to evidence their English language ability. Find out who needs to provide evidence of English language ability. Details of acceptable tests and scores are provided below.
Test scores are only normally accepted if obtained within two years of the programme start date.
Application requirements
- CV that includes a history of your education and employment to date
- 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 that confirm your current or final marks. If your transcripts are not in English, please provide certified translations. Do not send original documents as they cannot be returned.
Fees and funding
£1,500 per 15 credits, with an estimated total fee of £18,000
Students who intend to apply for funding support with one of the student loan companies (SLCs) must complete the MSc in three years and the PGDip in two years. For more details of the available postgraduate loans, visit the webpage.
Scholarships and funding
Scholarships, bursaries and discounts can be awarded based on financial need, academic achievements, and even on where you live. Unlike a student loan, you don't have to pay the money back.
To support you through your studies, St Andrews offers a number of scholarships and collaborates in funding schemes that can support you financially. You may be eligible for the:
- Conflict and Security in Policy and Practice MSc Scholarship
- Snowdon Trust Masters Scholarship
- GREAT Scholarship
- Graduate discount (15% off tuition fees)
Current and former members of the UK armed forces may be eligible for funding from ELCAS, the Ministry of Defence Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme.
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: 11 August 2026