Barry Desker
Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Thank
you for considering the graduate degree programme
of
the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
(RSIS). 11
years ago, we began as the Institute of Defence
and Strategic
Studies (IDSS), Nanyang Technological University
(NTU),
Singapore. We were inaugurated on 30 July 1996
by Dr Tony
Tan Keng Yam, then Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for
Defence with Ambassador S R Nathan as our founding
Director.
Since
our establishment, we have experienced robust
growth in
student numbers and quality. Our enrolment
has diversified and
we have been successful in attracting top quality
students from
many areas of work. On 1 January 2007, the
Institute was
inaugurated as the S. Rajaratnam School of
International Studies
(RSIS). The new School has taken over the teaching
components of the Institute while the Institute
will continue to
focus on policy and academic research.
Our
mission is to:
a. Provide
a rigorous professional graduate education
with a
strong practical emphasis.
b. Conduct
policy-relevant research in defence, national
security, international relations, strategic
studies and
diplomacy.
c. Build
a global network of like-minded professional
schools.
Constituents
of RSIS, besides IDSS, include the International
Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research
(ICPVTR),
the Centre of Excellence for National Security
(CENS), the
Consortium of Non-Traditional Security Studies
in Asia (NTSAsia)
and the Centre for the Advanced Study of Regionalism
and Multilateralism.
Research
Through
its Working Paper Series, RSIS Commentaries
and other
publications, the School seeks to share its research
findings
with the strategic studies and defence policy
communities. The
School’s researchers are also encouraged
to publish their
writings in refereed journals. The focus of research
is on issues
relating to the security and stability of the
Asia-Pacific and their
implications for Singapore and other countries
in the region.
The School has also established the S. Rajaratnam
Professorship
in Strategic Studies (named after Singapore’s
first Foreign
Minister), to bring distinguished scholars to
participate in the
work of the School. Previous holders of the Chair
include
Professors Stephen Walt (Harvard University),
Jack Snyder
(Columbia University), Wang Jisi (Chinese Academy
of Social
Sciences), Alastair Iain Johnston (Harvard University),
John
Mearsheimer (University of Chicago), C. Raja
Mohan (Jawaharlal
Nehru University), Professor Rosemary Foot (St.
Antony’s
College, Oxford University) and Professor Richard
K. Betts
(Columbia University). A Visiting Research Fellow
Programme
also enables overseas scholars to carry out related
research in
the School.
Networking
The School
convenes workshops, seminars and colloquia
on
aspects of international relations and security
development that
are of contemporary and historical significance.
Highlights of
the School’s activities include a regular
Colloquium on Strategic
Trends in the 21st Century, the annual Asia Pacific
Programme
for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO), the annual
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security
Officers (APPSNO), and
the biennial Asia Pacific Security Conference.
RSIS staff
participate in Track II security dialogues and
scholarly
conferences in the Asia-Pacific. RSIS has contacts
and
collaborations with many international think
tanks and research
institutes throughout Asia, Europe and the United
States. The
School has also participated in research projects
funded by the
Ford Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
It also
serves as the Secretariat for the Council for
Security Cooperation
in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP), Singapore. Through
these activities,
the School aims to develop and nurture a network
of researchers
whose collaborative efforts will yield new insights
into security
issues of interest to Singapore and the region.
Teaching
The School
provides a rigorous professional graduate education
with a strong practical emphasis. Students with
RSIS get globally
competitive educational opportunities through
five graduate
programmes, namely, the Master of Science in
Strategic Studies,
the Master of Science in International Relations,
the Master of
Science in International Political Economy, the
Master of Science
in Asian Studies as well as the Master of Business
Administration
in International Studies taught with the Nanyang
Business
School. These programmes are conducted full-time
and parttime
by an international faculty from July each year.
The School
also has a Doctoral programme for research in
these fields of
study. In addition to these graduate programmes,
the School
teaches various modules in courses conducted
by the SAFTI
Military Institute, SAF Warrant Officers’ School,
Home Team
Academy, Civil Defence Academy, and the Defence
and Home
Affairs Ministries.
The popularity
of the Master of Science programmes in the
School has grown strongly since the inception
of the very first
MSc (Strategic Studies) programme in Academic
Year 1998/ 99.
From a small class of 10, all Singaporeans,
all fully sponsored
students in 1998/99, 152 students are enrolled
in the Masters
programmes in the current Academic Year. Moreover,
students
from 36 different countries have passed through,
or are currently
enrolled in the programmes. The MSc programmes
include a
growing number of self-funded students who
clearly recognize
the market value of a degree from the School.
RSIS has
welcomed capable students from a wide range
of academic
and professional backgrounds. It is therefore
my pleasure to
invite students to take part in the exciting
learning experience
that studying in any of the Masters programmes
offers. You will
find that your time in the School will be a
challenging and very
rewarding experience.
