University of Southern Denmark
MSc in International Security and Law
Odense, Denmark
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 Mar 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 15,000 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* * for EU/EEA and Swiss citizens and applicants holding a Danish residence permit I for non-EU/EEA citizens without a current residence permit deadline is 01.02.2026
** Free for full degree students from the Nordic countries or from the EU/EEA countries and Switzerland
Key Summary
International conflicts and security issues have changed fundamentally over the past decades. To understand them and to manage them requires new skills.
We offer this Master’s program, taught by international researchers within the areas of international politics and international law who have trained and worked at the best universities in Europe, to develop these skills in our graduates.
Contemporary conflicts and security issues are multiple, complex, and volatile. They may last for decades. Signs of progress are often deceptive, and outsiders involved in managing the conflict can experience war, development, and peace enforcement all in one day.
To understand these conflicts and other contemporary security issues, and to help organizations prepare for them, we need experts who are interdisciplinary and trained to understand the complexities of these environments.
That is why you should study International Security and Law
This Master of Social Sciences in International Security and Law will enable you to work with both international security and international law.
Grounded in the world-class research done by the Center for War Studies, the program will provide you with the skills to integrate political, legal, and ethical dimensions in a comprehensive assessment that identifies the drivers of today’s conflict and security issues, and what public and private organizations can do about them.
The program is a two-year, 120 ECTS full-time study program. There are 7 core courses, several electives, and a thesis.
Core courses run in the first two semesters and are offered jointly by the Department of Political Science and the Department of Law.
Courses in the first semester introduce students to the key concepts of the program. Courses of the second and third semesters provide students with practical and analytical skills, using the theoretical knowledge gained in the introductory courses to assess specific conflicts and world developments more broadly.
Overall, this program has two trademarks. The first trademark is bringing together big ideas with concrete cases. In addition to classroom work on case studies, we run two simulation games every year, to put the knowledge you gained in class to the test.
The second trademark is the integrated focus on politics, law, and ethics. While different courses balance the three areas differently, core topics in mandatory courses are always examined from these three perspectives: connecting them to their wider political, legal, and ethical context.
Finally, there are good opportunities for going abroad, starting in the third semester where the students can opt to partake in Erasmus exchanges or go on an internship. We support our students through access to a database compiling hundreds of internship reports of previous MOISL students and our extensive alumni network. In the fourth semester, students can write their thesis abroad and under long-distance supervision by one of the MOISL professors.
With a Master of Social Sciences in International Security and Law you will be primed for a career in organisations that are involved in analysing, managing, and solving conflicts. It can be private or public organisations, and it can be organisations that are purely analytical or more broadly engaged in all dimensions of conflicts.
Graduates in the Masters of International Security and Law have found jobs in a wide variety of sectors, such as:
Government
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Defense, Ministries of Finance, Missions to the United Nations, Embassies, Armed Forces, Maritime Authorities, Local Government, Police
International Organizations
NATO, NATO Defense College, UN Migration Agency, Frontex, European Parliament, European Asylum Support Office, European Union Agencies
NGOs
NGO Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Mercy Corps, European Chamber, Danish Refugee Council, Danish Church Aid, ActionAid Denmark, Transparency International, Plan International, Cooperazione Internazionale
Private Companies
Investment/Insurance/Banking, Business Consulting, Legal Consulting, Brand Management, Filmmaking, Entrepreneurship
Higher Education
PhD student, Assistant Professor, Researcher, University Lecturer