A conversation with Dr Ozge Soylemez
Tell us a bit about the programme.
This is a unique programme, delivered in partnership with the University of New South Wales and Arizona State University, with each institution contributing two of the modules.
It's fully online and part-time, which means students can pursue a master's degree without stepping back from their careers or crossing a time zone.
What should students know about this programme?
First, the programme is entirely online, and there are no in-person requirements. It's designed to work across time zones and around professional and personal commitments, with three annual intakes (September, January, and May) to give you flexibility in when you start.
Second, because this is a collaborative degree, it's important to understand how it works institutionally. King's College London is the degree-awarding body, but modules delivered by our partner universities, Arizona State University and the University of New South Wales, are taught and assessed under those institutions' academic regulations.
What are the benefits of studying this programme as part of the Security & Defence PLuS?
You'll be learning within one of the world's largest and most intellectually diverse communities of security studies scholars, which means your education is grounded in cutting-edge research.
What makes this programme distinctive, though, is the depth of engagement you get across three institutional cultures. King's College London, Arizona State University, and the University of New South Wales each bring a different regional and strategic perspective, Anglo-European, American, and Indo-Pacific, and studying across all three gives you a breadth of analytical vantage points that no single institution could offer.
How does the programme help students with their current or future career goals?
The programme is designed to build the kind of thinking that matters in high-stakes environments: the ability to analyse complex problems, connect academic frameworks to real-world challenges, and translate insight into sound policy.
You'll work across security studies, policy analysis, systems thinking, and leadership, disciplines that rarely appear together in the same degree.
Crucially, the learning doesn't stay theoretical. Real-world case studies, simulations, and collaborative projects mean you're practising the skills employers actually need, not just reading about them.
Whether you're already working in security, policy, defence, or international affairs, or looking to move into those fields, the programme is built to accelerate your development.
What should students considering online study be aware of?
Lectures are delivered asynchronously and structured in shorter segments designed for active engagement. Live webinars create space for real-time discussion and direct interaction with staff and fellow students.
Throughout the programme, you'll also take part in structured activities such as reflective exercises, discussion forums, quizzes, and worksheets that are there to keep your learning self-directed and engaged. Students who thrive the most are those who bring intellectual curiosity and a willingness to contribute.
What are you most looking forward to in teaching this programme?
One of the things I find most rewarding about teaching in this field is the range of backgrounds and experiences that students bring, such as different countries, careers, and perspectives on what security actually means in practice.
I'm looking forward to those conversations and to seeing how students' thinking develops over the course of the programme.