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University of Silesia in Katowice

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Faculty of Social Sciences
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National and international security, 2nd cycle studies

2nd cycle studies in National and International Security aim to expand students’ knowledge of processes and phenomena related to broadly defined security, in both subjective and objective scope of the issue. Graduates of the programme are able to accurately identify challenges and threats to national and international security, understand their nature, and to correctly select the measures to prevent them at different levels. They also gain knowledge on the fundamental processes and trends in the international environment affecting security of people and their communities, with a particular emphasis on political, military, cultural, ecological, technological, and economic issues.

The curriculum of 2nd cycle studies in National and International Security contains three groups of modules.

The first one is dedicated to general topics, including terminological and theoretical issues in security studies, normative issues, and the most important trends and phenomena in the field. These include, among others, megatrends in contemporary international relations, state repressions against the Church in Poland and USSR (1945‒1989/91), asymmetric threats, monographic lectures, and monographic seminars.

The second group consists of modules dedicated to various subjective dimensions of security (political, military, economic, ecological, legal), including, among others: Political Revolutions, Political Systems of Third World Countries, Ecological Safety, Historical Approach to Armed Conflicts, National Security Management of the Republic of Poland, International Relations of Russia and Post-Soviet Area, Fundamentals of Criminology, Fundamentals of Criminalistics, Arms Race in 20th and 21st Century, Misdemeanours Law, Propaganda and Manipulation as Security Threats.

It is worth emphasising that within the framework of the 2nd cycle studies a great emphasis is placed on educating graduates in cultural safety in its broadest sense, the importance of which has increased immeasurably in recent years. Therefore, subjects have been included that should complement the knowledge and develop students’ analytical skills and social competences in this field. In addition to the Fundamentals of Oriental Studies module, two language modules are particularly significant: Arabic and Chinese. Knowing them is now of crucial importance for understanding the processes and phenomena related to national and international security. It is worth noting that there is a very high demand from uniformed services on the labour market for specialists who have both the knowledge of fundamentals of oriental studies, Arabic and Chinese, and specialised knowledge in the field of national and international security.

The third group consists of modules focused on the practical aspects of national and international security issues, including: Operational Intelligence Activities, Fundamentals of Rescue Operations and Civil Protection, Techniques of Obtaining Information From Open Sources, Diplomatic Protocol and Etiquette in Practice, Fire Services in a National Security System, International Predictions and Simulations, Types of Weapons and Armament.

2nd cycle studies in National and International Security aim to prepare graduates for employment in:

  • broadly defined uniformed services and special services (such as the police, Internal Security Agency, Foreign Intelligence Agency, Border Guard, Military Counterintelligence Service, Military Intelligence Service, and Polish Armed Forces),
  • research centres concerned with broadly defined security (political, military, economic, cultural, information, and information and communication technology);
  • public and non-governmental organisations involved in national and international security;
  • public administration institutions of various levels (local, provincial, state), in units dealing with national security;
  • local and regional governments;
  • political parties;
  • internationally operating companies;
  • mass media, with regards to national and international security;
  • crisis management teams.

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