Small States Security
How can small states ensure their security and resilience in the face of limited resources, geopolitical tensions and an increasingly diverse range of threats? This programme invites you to explore less conventional security issues: how algorithms determine what information we see, why alarming messages affect us, how the brain reacts to threats, and how propaganda exploits this. During your studies, you will learn to analyse data and open-source information, develop future scenarios, assess risks and test solutions through simulations. This is an opportunity for those who wish not only to follow world events, but also to understand their causes and help organisations prepare for what may happen in the future.
Programme plan
Programme plan
In the first semester, you will analyse the architecture of global power and the strategic dilemmas faced by small states; you will familiarise yourself with classical and critical theories in security studies; and you will acquire core competencies in social science research methods. The second semester focuses on contemporary transformations in security and analytical tools. Students examine forms of sub-conventional confrontation, transformations in technological power, and cognitive security, and learn to apply methods of strategic foresight, scenario modelling and artificial intelligence-assisted modelling. The third semester is devoted to independent research and the preparation of the Master’s thesis.
Admission requirements
Admission Requirements
Undergraduate diploma (or higher)
N. B. for non-EU/EFTA applicants: The gap since your completed Bachelor degree should not exceed five years.
If your qualification and motivation match the programme, you will receive an invitation for an interview with the Admissions Committee.
The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English / Lithuanian.
Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.
Translation is considered to be official when it is bound together with the certified true copy of the original document and is confirmed by the translator’s signature. Documents issued in English, Lithuanian must be certified true copies and do not require translation.
It is required that you send verified copies of the entry qualification documents directly to the university by postal mail. Important! Never send original documents by post!
Language Requirements
English
The following language certificates are accepted for study programmes taught in English: IELTS Academic 6.5+, TOEFL iBT 81+, Cambridge English Exam 176+, Pearson PTE Academic 59+, LanguageCert IESOL B2, Duolingo English Test 120+, Password Skills Plus 6.5+ or another language proficiency certificate equivalent to B2 CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
If your first language is English and/or if you have a university degree in English, you will be exempt from providing an English language test score.
Admission steps
1
Learning outcomes
- You will be able to critically analyse the contemporary security environment, the position of small states and their strategic choices.
- You will be able to analyse new and unconventional threats, as well as the impact of technology, cyberspace and artificial intelligence on security.
- You will be familiar with the main areas of research on the security of small states and will apply them when assessing security policy and possible responses.
- You will be able to conduct academic and applied research independently, apply quantitative, qualitative and advanced methods of security analysis, critically evaluate information, and draw evidence-based conclusions and recommendations.
- You will be able to conduct academic and applied research independently, apply quantitative, qualitative and advanced methods of security analysis, critically evaluate information, and draw evidence-based conclusions and recommendations.
Financing
- 4 690 EUR
Career prospects
What's next?
Chat with VU students
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