Welcome Message

Dear Friends of RSIS,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the website of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Our website represents our efforts in widening our reach and to share our knowledge with policymakers, security analysts, academics and students.

RSIS was inaugurated on 1 January 2007. We originally started as the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) that was established on 30 July 1996 by President Tony Tan, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. We are an autonomous graduate school in the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore). We teach postgraduate programmes in Asian Studies, International Political Economy, International Relations, and Strategic Studies. We also teach a Double Masters Programme with the University of Warwick, where students spend the first year at Warwick and the second year at RSIS. The School also has a select PhD programme for advanced students. To date, students from 66 countries have passed through the portals of RSIS.

Besides providing a professional graduate education, RSIS conducts research in subjects pertaining to security, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. We organise lectures, conferences and seminars that are aimed at helping policymakers to develop comprehensive approaches to strategic thinking. Our network with universities and think tanks all over the world is extensive, including membership of the Council of Councils established by the US-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Living in a globalised and interconnected world, we believe that the Internet can help us reach out to more people, disseminate information faster, and foster dialogue more effectively. To remain impactful, this website will continue to provide timely commentaries, policy briefs and reports, amongst other publications. Information about forthcoming lectures and seminars will continue to be available. More information on RSIS and its activities are available throughout this website.

Whether you looked us up or found us by chance, I hope you will find the time spent on our website useful and informative.

Ambassador Ong Keng Yong
Executive Deputy Chairman, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
Head, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)