Intelligence History with Bletchley Park Studies

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Mindful of the huge contribution a study of Bletchleys activities makes to British intelligence history, the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham (BUCSIS) is launching this new MA programme. It is the twin of the highly successful MA in Security and Intelligence Studies (MA/SIS) set up in September 2008. BUCSIS currently has some thirty students on its books at MA, MPhil and DPhil levels, more than half coming from the USA, the Middle East, South Asia, Europe East and West, and Africa.

This programme has been designed for those interested in intelligence history and the history of the British intelligence model.

The new MA (MA/IHBPS) offers students a particular and specific insight into British intelligence history, linking the work of Bletchley Park and its code-breakers to the development of wireless and electronic interception and to a broader concern with the British intelligence model. Uniquely, the course takes an objective and balanced view of electronic intelligence during the Second World War, comparing and contrasting Allied and Axis organisations, their successes and failures. The Programme also studies the combination of electronic intelligence with such related activities and deception techniques, psychological warfare, espionage, human intelligence, and electronic warfare.

Half the learning on this MA will be physically based at Bletchley Park; it will exploit to the full not just the material resources held there but also the people who worked for it who include some figures with direct experience of this period of British intelligence history. Students will write a dissertation on a subject related to Bletchley Park or a broader intelligence history topic.

The aims of the programme are to:

* provide a particular and specific insight into British intelligence history, linking the work of Bletchley Park and its code-breakers to the development of wireless and electronic interception and to a broader concern with the British intelligence model.
* highlight the importance of Bletchley Park for the history of intelligence in the Second World War, and its outcomes and explaining how Bletchley Parks successes lead to further advances in intelligence-led activity.
* show that Bletchley Park is an historical resource of major international significance.
* provide depth and nuance of study to stimulate individual research into Bletchley Parks legacy.
* exploit wherever possible the testimony of those who worked at Bletchley Park.
* exploit the resources that Bletchley Park offers, in particular an examination of its machinery and its archival resources.
* relate the past use of interception to current intelligence-led security concerns with interception and surveillance.

The programme will be directed by Professor Anthony Glees and Dr Julian Richards. Noted intelligence history specialist Dr Phil Judkins (formerly of Cranfield University) is the Bletchley Park Convenor of the programme. Dr Judkins is a widely acknowledged expert on the history of interception and electronic surveillance and electronic warfare. He will be joined by Dr Mark Baldwin, a well-known lecturer on WW2 codebreaking and the Enigma machine.

Alongside former staff at Bletchley Park and the academic team at the University of Buckingham, the programme will call on acknowledged academic historians to give special lectures and presentations. It is privileged to have the support of Sir Arthur Bonsall, a former Director of GCHQ. Ms Judie Hodsdon, a former member of the directorate at GCHQ, and a Trustee of Bletchley Park, has also agreed to become a formal Friend of the programme.

Course Options

* Intelligence and International Security since 1939
* An introduction to the work of Bletchley Park
* Making Intelligence into Power (Military, Naval and Air operations and intelligence)
* Intelligence and Technology (Spies, Bombes, Deception, Psyops, Electronics, Robotics, Colossus)
* An Analytical Simulation Exercise
* Case Studies in Intelligence Success and Failure: from interception to electronic surveillance
* A 10,000 word dissertation on a Bletchley Park or Bletchly Park-related subject

First or Second class honours degree or relevant experience English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 60 (Grade C) TOEFL paper-based test score : 570 TOEFL iBT® test: 90 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

Bursaries and scholarships can be a great way of financing your studies, and enabling you to achieve your potential. If you win a scholarship, you receive a discount on your fees and, most important, a scholarship on your CV will make you stand out to future employers.

How many bursaries and scholarships are available?
A number of scholarships and bursaries are awarded annually by the University which vary from partial fee to full-fee awards. These are thanks to the donations received from supporters of the University, including the Audrey Osborn Trust, The Headley Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Brunner Family Trust, RM & D Gregory, Eranda Foundation and John Desborough Memorial Bequest.

Applications are now closed for July and September 2012 applicants. We will be considering January and April 2013 applicants from Monday 17 September, the deadline for submission will be Friday 2 November.

The following Scholarships have specific entry criteria and / or deadlines:

* Sir Ray Tindle Scholarships
* The Paul E H Davis Awards Deadline for applications: 31 October 2012 for Exhibitions & flexible for Research Scholarship.

Entry requirements & procedure
It is the Universitys policy to ensure that bursaries and scholarships are awarded to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to benefit from a University education. In the case of some scholarships, at the request of the donor, academic merit will also be taken into consideration.

All awards are subject to your meeting the Universitys academic entry requirements and abiding by the rules and regulations. To be eligible to apply for a scholarship you will need to have been offered a place to study at Buckingham. In the case of UCAS applications, if you are made an award you will need to select Buckingham as your firm acceptance choice.

Please note: these awards are made to new students only, current students are not eligible to apply.