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 recently revamped website represents a major milestone in our efforts to widen our reach and to share our knowledge with policymakers, security analysts, academics and students.  We have incorporated improvements in navigation, accessibility, search, and a host of other innovations in web design.

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 (NTU). We teach postgraduate programmes in Strategic Studies, International Relations, International Political Economy and Asian 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 small but select PhD programme for advanced students. To date, students from more than 60 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 U.S.-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)