Ambassador Barry Desker
Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)

Since our establishment in 1996, the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), a professional Graduate School of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has experienced robust growth in student numbers and quality. Our enrolment has diversified and we have been successful in attracting top quality students from many areas of work. From a small class of 10 in 1998/99, we now have more than 160 students enrolled in our graduate teaching programmes this academic year. Students from close to 40 different countries have passed through the School since 1998. More than half of our current student body comes from overseas.

At RSIS, we are proud to provide a rigorous professional education with a strong practical emphasis. Our key teaching goal is to prepare our students for a career in a broad range of strategic professions, including the foreign and national security-related ministries, MNCs and local corporations, investment banks, regional and international organisations, NGOs and journalism.

Our students get globally competitive educational opportunities through four graduate programmes; namely, the Masters of Science in Strategic Studies, International Relations, International Political Economy, and Asian Studies. Additionally, there is also the Master of Business Administration in International Studies taught jointly with the Nanyang Business School. We have a small Ph.D. programme. But as a professional school of international affairs, we will be judged by the number of graduates who go into careers dealing with the regional and international environment, not by the number going on to a Ph.D.

RSIS is not only a school of international affairs but also a think tank focusing on policy and academic research. Constituents of RSIS, besides the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), include the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS), the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, and the
Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade and Negotiations (TFCTN).

The School also convenes numerous conferences, workshops, seminars, and colloquia on aspects related to the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific, and their implications for Singapore and other regional countries. One of the highlights of the School’s activities is the annual Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO). Our students are encouraged to participate in all these research and networking activities. We believe that attendance and active participation in our seminars and conferences makes RSIS’ M.Sc. programmes different from other Masters Degree
courses. Here at RSIS, students are at the centre of our teaching programmes and we aim to produce graduates who can make a difference to society.