Program Overview

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Leadership Studies with reference to Security & Development, option of joint PhD with University of Pretoria

Key information

Award: PhD Study mode: Full time, Part time Campus: Strand Campus Duration: 3-4 years f/t or 6-7 years p/t

Overview

Leadership plays a significant role in both development and security processes and outcomes. The Leadership Studies with reference to Security & Development PhD offers the opportunity to delve into the interaction between the leadership and security-development nexus, with a focus on developing countries.

This programme, through the African Leadership Centre, provides the academic space, support and training to interrogate leadership, security and development, particularly at the conceptual level. Students can draw on academic expertise in a range of disciplines, and supervision may be provided from within the African Leadership Centre or jointly with other faculty within King's.

Graduates are well-suited for academic employment, in addition to private sector consulting organisations, NGOs and government employment in the UK, Africa and internationally.

Course Detail

The Leadership Studies with reference to Security & Development is delivered through the African Leadership Centre (ALC). Below is a snapshot of our research and partnerships:

Recent publications

• Security Sector Transformation in Africa
• Mugabe and the Politics of Security in Zimbabwe
• Women, Peace and Security: Translating Policy into Practice
• Deep History and International Security: Social Conditions and Competition, Militancy and Violence in West Africa
• The Development Planning Era and Developmental Statehood: The Pursuit of Structural Transformation in Nigeria
• Islamic Radicalization and Political Violence in Nigeria
• The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission: Problems and Prospects
• Security in Post-Civil War Democratic Transitions in Africa
• Natural Resource Management and Human Security in Africa
• BRICS and African International Organisations

Current research areas and topics:

• Leadership and peacebuilding: conceptual relationships and the role of outliers
• The political economy of peacebuilding in Africa
• Reframing narratives of peace and statebuilding in Africa: The role of political settlements [case studies: Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Sierra Leone]
• China’s Role in African Development: transforming development lessons into development catalysts
• The practice of leadership: analysing practitioners’ reflections on peacebuilding – action research project with leading peacemakers in African conflicts
• Leadership and security in Nigeria
• Resilience innovation: studying resilience to violence and insecurity in Africa

Partner organisations:

• The ALC has a longstanding partnership with the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
• The institute has partnered with the Social Science Research Council of New York, University of Pretoria South Africa and the University of Yaounde, Cameroon.
• The ALC also has long-term collaborations with:
  • African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town
  • African Security Sector Network (ASSN)
  • African Women's Development Fund
  • African Union
  • Carnegie Corporation of New York
  • Centre for Policy Research and Dialogue in Ethiopia
  • Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS)
  • East African Community (EAC)
  • Geneva Centre for Security Policy
  • International Institute for Strategic Studies
  • International Peace Institute, New York
  • Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
  • Open Society Institute, New York
  • Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA)
  • Southern African Development Community (SADC)
  • United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations

How to apply

1. Application Procedure

The heart of your application is your research proposal. This proposal should be a document of no more than 4-5 pages. Applicants should also submit a personal statement outlining their reasons for pursuing further research.

We encourage you to contact the African Leadership Centre with a draft research proposal before submitting a complete application through the online system. Find out more about our research interests and ensure your research topic falls within one of these areas.

2. Joint PhD: application advice

Applicants for the Joint PhD programme must contact the relevant departments at both universities before submitting an application in order to discuss the suitability of their topic for the joint programme and to locate potential supervisors. Applications should initially be submitted to the proposed home institution only (i.e. where the student will start and finish their programme). Students should note that acceptance into the programme may take slightly longer than for single-institution PhDs because of the additional steps involved.

Applicants who choose King’s as their home institution should apply through the online system, selecting the appropriate joint PhD option from the drop-down list. In addition to the standard supporting documentation, applicants should submit a Travel Plan form indicating how they intend to divide their time between the two partner institutions. Students must spend a specified amount of time in each institution, details of which can be found in the ‘Notes’ section of the Travel Plan form.

Fees or Funding

UK Tuition Fees 2023/24

• Full time tuition fees: £6,540 per year
• Part time tuition fees: £3,270 per year

International Tuition Fees 2023/24

• Full time tuition fees: £24,360 per year
• Part time tuition fees: £12,180 per year

UK Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees: £6,936 per year
• Part time tuition fees: £3,468 per year

International Tuition Fees 2024/25

• Full time tuition fees: £26,070 per year
• Part time tuition fees: £13,035 per year

For those undertaking the joint PhD with Pretoria option, if selected your home institution at King's College London, the above full-time fee arrangements remain the same throughout the course of the programme. Please note that the part-time option is not available for the joint PhD, it is a full-time only programme.

Study environment

Base campus

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Postgraduate training

Our scholars have access to the following:

• Regular seminar events
• Regular methodology seminars
• Opportunities to audit relevant MA modules at the ALC and across King's
• Opportunities to take dedicated doctoral training courses run by the KISS-DTC

Entry requirements

UK requirements

A master's degree (or international equivalent) is usually required. In exceptional circumstances only a bachelor's degree with 1st class or high 2:1 honours (or international equivalent) is accepted.

Equivalent International qualifications

• Select a country to view the equivalent qualifications.

English language requirements

English language band: B

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

Research groups

Urbanisation, Rural Development and Social Transformations research group

A research group examining urban-rural development and its effect on the developing world.

Knowledge Production in Lusophone and Francophone Countries: exploring the epistemic terrain of peace and Security in Burundi, Cameroon, Mozambique and Senegal

A research group examining knowledge production in Lusophone and Francophone countries.

Global (Anti)corruption Studies research group

A research group examining corruption and anticorruption in the Global South.

Cities, Climate and Capital in the Greater Indian Ocean World

A research group examining cities, climate, and capital in the Greater Indian Ocean world.

Authoritarianism and populism research group

Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.

Indo-Pacific research group

Examining the geo-political strategy of the Indo-Pacific and its relationship with other states.