Course summary

Home of the two-year degree, the University of Buckingham, based in the South East of England, is ranked 6th for Student Satisfaction in the UK (National Student Survey, 2020). We are proudly independent and not-for-profit, and offer courses in Allied Health, Business, Computing, Education, Humanities, Law, Medicine, Psychology and Security and Intelligence. We are one of the few universities in the UK that offer September and January start dates for almost all of our courses. Based in Buckingham on a riverside campus, we are only 20 minutes from Milton Keynes central station and a short drive from Bicester, Aylesbury, Banbury and Northampton. There is free parking on-site and we are within easy reach of London and Oxford. Our award-winning small class tutorials ensure every student is known by name and supported throughout their studies, including by dedicated personal tutors. The MA in Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy degree combines elements from our existing Security and Intelligence MA and our Diplomacy programmes. Like all of our MA programmes, a diplomacy degree aims to help to prepare graduates for careers in foreign and other ministries, international organisations, international journalism and global civil society organisations or for further research. Areas of study include intelligence and international security since 1939; intelligence, tradecraft and machinery; case studies in intelligence success and failure; international law and diplomacy; foreign policy analysis; global diplomacy; security challenges and other global issues. The modules are taught intensively in lectures, seminars and small group tutorials; they assume little prior knowledge but rapidly bring students to an advanced level of understanding. Buckingham is a small academic community and students have personal and frequent access to their instructors. The programme is also suitable for those without a specific career aim in mind but who wish to acquire an advanced understanding of these subjects.