Program Overview

Introduction to the Intelligence and Security Studies MA

The Intelligence and Security Studies MA at Brunel University is a unique program designed to prepare students for a career in the intelligence field. This program stands apart from others by offering a practical course grounded in both social science and historical methods.

Key Features of the Program

• Flexible study modes: The course is offered in either "on-campus" and "distance learning" modes. The on-campus mode can be taken full or part-time, while the distance learning mode is part-time and includes one "residential week" each spring.
• Interdisciplinary Learning: The program blends social science, policy, and history to provide a rounded perspective on intelligence.
• Practical, Hands-On Training: Students engage in immersive simulations, receive certification in industry tools, and participate in the Brunel Analytic Simulated Exercise (BASE), which provides real-world briefing experience before a panel of experts.
• Expert-Led Teaching: Students learn from a dynamic mix of seasoned practitioners and renowned academics, ensuring their education is grounded in both theory and real-world application.

Course Content

The Intelligence and Securities Studies MA is structured around a core of compulsory modules and one optional choice, plus a dissertation in a subject of the student's choice. The course can be studied 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time, starting in September, either on campus or through distance learning.

Compulsory Modules

• Intelligence and Security Studies Dissertation: Students write a fifteen-thousand-word research dissertation on a topic of their choosing, relevant to the study of intelligence.
• Intelligence History: Failure and Success: Examines a range of historical intelligence case studies from around the world to understand the development of the profession and the causes of success and failure.
• Contemporary Threats and Analytical Methodology: Introduces the role of intelligence officers in assessing and countering threats to national security, with a strong focus on skills development.
• Intelligence Concepts, Issues and Institutions: Covers the foundations of intelligence concepts, the processes and systems of national intelligence, and the organizations which perform them.

Optional Modules

• Counterintelligence and Security: Provides an understanding of the counterintelligence and security institutions and processes.
• Intelligence Analysis Foundations, Methods and Applications: Introduces intelligence analysis as a profession, exploring the institutions that produce intelligence analysis and the relationship between intelligence analysts and their customers.

Careers and Future Prospects

Eighty percent of graduates secure highly-skilled jobs in the private and public sector within 18 months of graduation. Many pursue careers in the private intelligence and security sector or in analytical functions for banking, resources, and risk industries. Others find employment in government or use the course to support their promotion or new employment opportunities post-retirement.

Entry Requirements

• A 2:1 (or above) UK Honours degree, or equivalent internationally recognized qualification, with an understanding of the realities of academic intelligence and security study.
• Applicants must submit an up-to-date transcript, 1 academic reference, an up-to-date CV, and a focused personal statement showing interest and understanding of the course.
• Applicants with other qualifications or relevant work-related experience will be considered on an individual basis.
• English language requirements: IELTS 6.5 (min 6 in all areas), Pearson 59 (59 in all subscores), BrunELT 63% (min 58% in all areas), TOEFL 90 (min 20 in all).

Fees and Funding

• 2026/27 entry:
  • UK: £13,280 full-time, £6,640 part-time, £8,090 distance learning.
  • International: £28,350 full-time, £14,175 part-time, £13,845 distance learning.
• Scholarships available include The Vice Chancellor's Postgraduate International Excellence Award, Brunel Graduate Discount, and Postgraduate Academic Excellence Scholarship.

Teaching and Learning

• Modes of study: In-person full-time, in-person part-time, distance learning part-time.
• Assessment includes research essays, oral presentations, written and verbal briefings, and a wargame modeled on a historic crisis scenario.
• The capstone assessment is the Brunel Analytic Simulated Exercise (BASE), where students research and analyze an emerging real-world problem and present their findings to a guest panel of current and former intelligence professionals.

Assessment and Feedback

• Students are assessed on a mixture of individual and group work.
• To complete the MA, students undertake a substantial piece of written research in a topic of their choice under the guidance of a dissertation supervisor.
• Feedback is provided throughout the course to support student learning and development.