A conversation with Dr Sally Burt
Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the programme.
The International Security and Policy MA programme has the great strength of bringing together expertise from across institutions and disciplines to provide you with expert thinking and teaching from across the globe and a broad interdisciplinary academic community. Completing this master's will situate you well for future involvement and employment in the international security community and profession.
The UNSW delivers two modules on the programme. The first, developed by HASS, is the Asia-Pacific Security module. You will learn about security issues that are particularly pertinent to the Indo-Pacific region and some of the challenges that regional states and powers face.
You will also take the Systems Thinking and Modelling module through UNSW’s School of Systems and Computing. On that module, you’ll learn about complex problems and methods that can be used to address them and work towards solutions for them.
The world is facing many complex challenges and problems relating to international security, and this master's will help you learn to think differently about the world and how you approach it.
What should students know about the programme?
As the course is online and across time zones and academic calendars, it is worth considering how to manage your time and study patterns for the programme.
You will, though, benefit from access to cohorts of students from across the globe that will help bring together different perspectives and understandings of the world and international security issues.
The unique offering of this master's is the experts you will be taught by and have access to, who come from different institutions; that means that they bring the strengths of these institutions together for your learning experience.
What are the benefits of studying this programme as part of the Security & Defence PLuS?
The Security and Defence PLuS Alliance brings together the three institutions from the AUKUS partners that share a commitment to security matters. They are each recognised in their domestic communities, and globally, as institutions of the highest calibre that are connected to and integrated with the Defence and Security communities within each of their countries.
If you are looking to complete a master's that will be relevant, recognised and engaged with the security community, you could not make a better choice for your postgraduate study than to do it through the S&D PLuS Alliance.
How does the programme help students with their current or future career goals?
This master's is designed to bring together the unique combination of teaching that provides the skills and capabilities necessary to be a success in the field of international security and policy.
From a UNSW perspective, we will provide an understanding of the Asia-Pacific region from an institution located in that region. That means students benefit from the perspectives that can’t be gained from other institutions in other parts of the world. This gives students completing this master's an edge over their counterparts without access to this kind of expertise.
Understanding the complex and huge challenges of international security and policy in today’s world and being able to bring skills you will learn in systems thinking to help solve some of those challenges will be a valuable capability for any future career in international security and policy.
What should students considering online study be aware of?
Studying online can be isolating, but not if it is done right. There will be plenty of opportunities for engagement with other students from within the S&D PLuS cohort, but also those undertaking the modules from different programmes.
You will need to be prepared to engage and embrace those opportunities, but the rewards include making contacts and meeting colleagues from across the globe.
There is also much greater flexibility and accessibility with online learning. It does require a level of organisation and independence beyond that of postgraduate study in a face-to-face environment, but graduating with these enhanced skills is another benefit of this programme.
Online teaching has come such a long way from when I first began teaching that way in the early 2000s. It is now a much more exciting and interesting means of study with so many opportunities to engage and benefit from peer-to-peer learning in the online environment, as well as providing access to instructors you would not be able to access any other way.
What are you most looking forward to in teaching this programme?
I am most looking forward to interacting with a new set of students and helping them succeed in this programme.
I always welcome different student perspectives from as broad a range of backgrounds and experiences as possible, as I think this enhances the learning opportunities for all involved.
This S&D PLuS master's supercharges the bringing together of these different students, so it is really exciting.