Department of War Studies, KCL

The Department of War Studies stands on the sixth floor of the Grade I listed King’s Building on the Strand Campus of King’s College London. It belongs to the School of Security Studies within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy. The department’s graduates include senior government officials, military leaders, diplomats, journalists and entrepreneurs. Among them are former Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, UN Special Representative Nickolay Mladenov and Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Tom de Bruijn. The department also hosts the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Its faculty draws heavily on the Euro-Atlantic intelligence, defence and diplomatic communities. The department has played a leading role in analysing the Ukraine conflict since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. In the first year alone, its staff contributed expertise to more than twenty-six thousand articles and broadcasts. These included pieces for The Financial Times, The Washington Post, the BBC and Channel 4. The department received high commendation for its ‘Ukraine Explained’ essay series, which gathered over forty contributions. In 2023 the London Defence Conference, launched by the department, hosted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Visitors to the department find a Grade I listed building overlooking the Thames. Inside, the sixth floor houses lecture rooms, seminar spaces and research offices. The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives holds original documents from military figures and institutions. The department offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in War Studies. Its three-year bachelor’s degree remains unique in the United Kingdom. The Strand location places it close to government offices, theatres and the riverfront.