Masters in Terrorism and Political Violence

Full time students must complete four taught modules of the programme in 9 months with the MLitt dissertation taking a further 3 months.  The programme starts in September and is delivered via mixed mode teaching. This innovative method of teaching allows flexibility for students and access to a wider range of teaching facilities.

Distance-Learning students will complete the programme between two and five years of study. Students must complete a series of modules on different topics focused on terrorism and political violence and an MLitt dissertation to receive the MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence. Modules are delivered via Online Learning, allowing students to balance their studies with other aspects of their lives. The MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence is delivered through the Moodle eLearning platform, where materials for study are made available, along with pre-recorded lectures. Additional support includes regular web conferencing, direct email contact with tutors, podcasts of interviews with area experts and access to most course materials, including electronic journals, through the University’s e-learning platform.

You can now apply for the CSSS for our residential MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence.

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (with funding from FCDO) and UK universities, to support scholarships for students from least developed and lower middle income Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK. The Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are offered on an annual basis for postgraduate Masters study only. 

The scheme includes tuition fees, inward and homeward airfares, monthly stipend, arrival allowance, thesis grant and a study travel grant.

Find out more here

The programme will seek to develop in its students:

• a critical understanding of the concept of terrorism and political violence within the context of a multidisciplinary approach to security studies
• knowledge and understanding of the principal social and psychological factors that influence the emergence, development, and abandonment of terrorism as a method of waging conflict
• an understanding and critical evaluation of the political context to contemporary terrorism
• a capacity to critically assess terrorist incidents around the world, examine selected approaches to counter-terrorism, and the development of new responses
• skills of literature search, the use of open source material, and an introduction to basic and principal elements of intelligence analysis
• skills in research design and analysis using qualitative and quantitative techniques

The MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence is postgraduate in character. That means that as well as dealing with complex conceptual issues, students are expected to engage in individual reading and research outside and beyond the course material, using the library and other resources available. The dissertation element of the programme undertaken for the MLitt is “a substantial paper that is typically based on original research and that gives evidence of the candidate’s mastery both of her own subject and of scholarly method.” The dissertation will show that the writer knows the subject, the key facts and different points of view in it and also advances a point of view resulting from original research.

In contrast the Short Course in Terrorism and International Security is a highly structured and largely self contained introductory set of modules, which whilst it does address complex conceptual issues, does not require the level of analysis and understanding, nor the degree of independent work, expected in a post graduate programme.

Although CSTPV does not offer a PhD programme it may be possible for you to apply to undertake a research degree with a supervisor from CSTPV. 

Full information on a PhD in International Relations can be found here.