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Master, Policy Stream: Security and Defense
Virtual Graduate Open House day – 17 October 2026
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Please note
The policy stream "Security and Defence" is taught entirely in French under the title "Sécurité et défense".
Description and objectives of the Security and Defense Policy Stream
The Security and Defence policy stream at the School of Public Affairs produces highly qualified specialists capable of occupying positions of strategic and operational responsibility in the public or private sector. The course equips its students with wide-ranging, up-to-date and practical knowledge of key issues surrounding security and defence in the 21st century.
The stream’s curriculum allows students to acquire a solid theoretical training in subjects related to public affairs (economics, public law, analysis and evaluation of public policies, etc.), a detailed knowledge of the current and future actors and issues of security and defence (bringing together the public and private spheres, security continuum, new threats linked in particular to cybersecurity, etc.), as well as professional skills.
Through the Policy Lab, students in the stream participate in various innovative and professionally-driven training exercises.
They are immersed in new scenarios blending research and action with stakeholders in the public and the private sector:
- A security assessment of an international organization's activities
- A crisis simulation
- A hackathon on cybersecurity-related issues
- A case study
The Security and Defence policy stream can be taken as part of two Masters programmes: the Master in Public Policy or the Master in European Affairs.
Compulsory courses in the Security and Defence stream
- Security and defence law
- Public security and defence finance
- Economics of security and defence
- Digital revolution and cyber security
- Public intelligence policies
- The challenges of counter-terrorism
- Democracies and European jihadism
Elective courses in the Security and Defence stream
There are more than 30 different courses offered, including :
- Crisis communications and sensitive communications in the field of security
- Decision-making in degraded mode: the State facing crises
- The world of intelligence. The reality behind the fantasy
- Ensuring security in Paris and the Paris area: issues, stakeholders, solutions
- Protecting fundamental freedoms and the security issue
- Cybersecurity in practice: attackers, defenders, public policies
- Civil security: the 3rd internal security force
- The challenges of climate security
- What weapons want: the ethics and regulation of war through the prism of armaments
- The rise of European space?
- Defence industry: a strategic power factor for France
- Decoding military operations
The courses are taught by teachers-researchers and practitioners recognized for their expertise in the field of security and defence (spokesperson and adviser to the ministries of the Armed Forces and the Interior, Army general, frigate’s captain of the French Navy, director of the Préfecture de Police de Paris,medical firefighter, director of public affairs for arms manufacturers, director of security for major groups, financial magistrate at the Cour des Comptes, magistrate at the Direction des actions criminelles et des grâces, etc.).
Programme of Security and Defence Policy Stream
Master in Public Policy - Security and Defence policy stream:
- Programme, Semester 1 (FR)
- Programme, Semester 2 (FR)
- Programme, Semester 3 (FR)
- Programme, Semester 4 (FR)
Master in European Affairs - Security and Defence policy stream:
- Programme, Semester 1 (FR)
- Programme, Semester 2 (FR)
- Programme, Semester 3 (FR)
- Programme, Semester 4 (FR)
These 2-year masters are open exclusively to initial training. The second year can be done as an apprenticeship.
Professional opportunities after the Security and Defence Policy Stream
The Security and Defence policy stream prepares its students for careers in both the public and private sector. Graduates wishing to enter the public sector may do so by sitting the competitive civil service recruitment exams for which the School of Public Affairs offers preparatory classes, or else by applying to contracted state positions in France or abroad, particularly at ministries of defence or internal security.
Professional opportunities in the private sector are highly varied. The security departments of large companies are currently being expanded and their needs will continue to grow. Private security companies and security and defence contractors are also seeing a boom, with the demand for managers specifically trained in security and defence issues increasing in parallel. Consulting firms are also important recruiters, especially on cybersecurity issues.
For more information about professional opportunities after the security and defence policy stream, follow this link.
Testimonials
« I have to pay tribute to a programme that combines purely academic learning (history and political philosophy, law and public finance) with constant contact with senior lecturers (Director General of the National Police, former Prime Minister, senior civil servants and company executives). As for the School of Public Affairs, there is a real advantage in rubbing shoulders with those who specialise in cultural, European, health or energy public affairs. This diversity is invaluable. »
Robin Lafosse
Class of 2021, Master in Public Policy, Security and Defense Policy Stream
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« The courses provided within the specialization were decisive, as we had access to a wide range of speakers from diverse backgrounds. I had the opportunity to take classes taught by professionals from the aviation and maritime sectors, consulting, and crisis management, as well as courses taught by political leaders who designed public policies that the administration now implements. »
Mallaury Labarre
Class of 2019, Master in Public Policy, Security and Defense Policy Stream
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« First and foremost, my training at Sciences Po enabled me to acquire a truly open mind: designing and implementing public policy requires taking into account a wide range of issues without being an expert in all of them. Having studied at Sciences Po allows you to quickly realise that something is missing or has been poorly taken into account and, if necessary, to be able to ask an expert. »
Lucas Hassan
Class of 2020, Master in Public Policy, Security and Defense Policy Stream
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« This school also offers a possibility to the students, whatever their policy stream, to choose electives in other specialities of the same school. So, thanks to this system, I was able to take part in a course on health policy and a second one on agricultural policy. I was therefore able to learn about other fields while strengthening my choice for the field of security. »
Fanny Cornet
Class of 2019, Master in Public Policy, Security and Defense Policy Stream
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« The School of Public Affairs has been a great help in my entry into the professional world, thanks to the opportunity offered by the apprenticeship. In addition to a tailored timetable, Sciences Po offers specific, professionalising courses for students in apprenticeship, such as courses in using the Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and accounting management. »
Étienne Lanoes
Class of 2019, Master in Public Policy, Security and Defense Policy Stream in apprenticeship
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« Sciences Po students are highly valued in the job market because of their strong analytical skills and their ability to quickly grasp the complex issues of any given situation. This is invaluable for companies operating in a fast-changing world that demands constant adaptation. »
Benoît Mortgat
Class of 2019, Master in Public Policy, Security and Defense Policy Stream
Read the testimonial in French
Student awards
- Laora Malet, winner of the USAIRE Student Awards 2023 (in French)
- Sabrina Barré, DefInSpace 2022 winner
Events of the Security and Defence Policy Stream
- Masterclass with Bertrand Rondepierre, Director of Artificial Intelligence for Defence (AMIAD) at the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, April 2025 (in French)
- Masterclass with Charles Fourmaux, Director of Environmental Police at the OFB, March 2025 (in French)
- Masterclass with Florian Colas, Director General of Customs and Indirect Taxes, November 2024 (in French)
- Masterclass with Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Staff of the Navy, November 2024 (in French)
- Masterclass with Vincent Strubel, Director General of Anssi, March 2024 (in French)
- Masterclass with General Marc Conruyt, November 2023 (in French)
- Masterclass with the Director General of the Police Nationale, November 2023 (in French)
- Visit to the Judicial Police in Nanterre, June 2023 (in French)
- Masterclass with the commandant des opérations spéciales (COS), March 2023 (in French)
- Masterclass with the Director General of the Gendarmerie Nationale, March 2023 (in French)
- Masterclass with the Préfet de Police de Paris, November 2022 (in French)
- Masterclass with Armée de l'air et de l'Espace, November 2022 (in French)
Academic Advisor of the Security and Defence Policy Stream
Guillaume Farde, Associate Professor at Sciences Po
Guillaume Farde holds a doctorate degree in management sciences. He is the author of several books relating to national defence and internal security issues, including The Continuum of National Security (Le continuum de sécurité nationale), published by Hermann in 2020.
He is also the author of articles on internal security analyzed both from the institutional angle and from the more political angle of violent protests. More recently, Guillaume Farde has been interested in studying the relationship of public opinion to the internal security forces.
Finally, Guillaume Farde is a reservist of the National Gendarmerie, a member of the orientation council of the Ecole des officiers de la Gendarmerie nationale (EOGN) and administrator of the Republican Guard endowment fund.
Contact
- Academic advisor: Benjamin Puybareau
- Academic assistant: Camille Gouiffes