The Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies introduced a degree programme in Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and International Relations (BSc in SS&IR) at KDU from the academic year 2020.

Cadets as well as Day Scholars can immensely benefit from this degree programme. Strategic Studies is considered a considerably military-oriented sub-discipline of the broader area of International Relations (IR), and a very useful subject for understanding the dynamics and complexities of world politics. International Relations is a very popular subject in other universities in the country, and those who offer IR as a subject have a better chance of finding employment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international organizations and non-governmental organizations.

International Relations was taught as a subject from the very beginning of the Kotelawala Defence Academy. International Relations is the disciplinary home of several subfields such as Strategic Studies, Security Studies, International Political Economy (IPE), Conflict and Peace Studies and Area Studies.

Under these circumstances, it is the considered opinion of the Faculty of Defence & Strategic Studies that General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, being the premier defence university in the country, should take necessary measures to introduce a Bachelors degree programme in Strategic Studies and International Relations at the undergraduate level.

The knowledge and the resource capabilities of both the civil and military personnel in the faculty will be utilised for teaching purposes.

Learning objectives of the Programme:

1. To prepare students to be able to think creatively and strategically about issues of security and international affairs
2. To lay a foundation for future success, with skills and ability to meet new challenges in their working environments;
3. To create an awareness of the challenges and opportunities faced by Sri Lanka, being an island strategically located in the Indian Ocean;
4. To cater to the demand for skilled young professionals in the fields of national security, foreign relations, and work in Government and non- Governmental organizations in Sri Lanka and abroad.

Learning Outcomes of the Programme

At the end of this programme, students will be in a position to:

1. Develop necessary theoretical and research skills to analyse and comprehend the dynamics of international politics;
2. Work in an environment which addresses issues of national security, foreign relations, development, and peace;
3. Understand the nature of Sri Lanka’s interactions with the outside world;
4. Capitalise upon their unique experience – Officer Cadets and Civilian Day Scholars studying together in the same classrooms for three years – to foster better relations between the civil and military sectors in their professional work in the future.