Global Security with Intelligence Analysis

Buckinghamshire New University

Behind every major decision made by governments, military forces, and global corporations lies a detailed process of intelligence gathering, analysis and reporting. This pathway prepares you to operate within this fascinating field and contribute meaningfully to strategic thinking and decision-making on a global scale. Whether you're intrigued by traditional state-led intelligence or excited by emerging open-source and public-facing data, this course is your launchpad. Ideal for those looking to support government agencies, the Armed Forces, or international organisations, you’ll build the skills to evaluate risks and influence resilience in political, humanitarian, and commercial contexts.

Our curriculum centres on active, workshop-based sessions: you’ll analyse real-world data, debate live case studies and run table top exercises that mirror the pressures of an intelligence-analysis cell. From day one, you’ll practise briefing decision-makers and using structured techniques to turn raw information into actionable insight.

We aim to equip you with a toolkit that employers are looking for from day one. You’ll need to analyse complex risk scenarios, present clear security briefs and make rapid decisions under pressure. With an internship embedded into in your second year, you’ll graduate with both the theoretical grounding and the professional network to hit the ground running. BNU graduates have proven their skills in real settings well before graduation day.

Step into our intelligence, security, and resilience centre, a dedicated space with live open-source intelligence (OSINT) feeds, commercial data subscriptions and secure simulation software. Here you’ll master the tools of the trade, tracking political risk, financial flows, or cyber-threats, in a space that mirrors real world offices.

Your first year brings you together with students from our Aviation and Investigation pathways, giving you a solid grounding in global security theory, structured analytical methods, and cyber-risk fundamentals. This means that at the end of your first year, you will get the opportunity to change your specialisation if you want to.

You’ll start off study the foundations of global security, information security, and analytical techniques. As you move into the second and third years, you’ll focus on specialist intelligence skills, such as strategic intelligence development, financial intelligence gathering, and advanced analytical methods used across public and private sectors. You'll examine how intelligence is used to manage national and international risks, and how political and commercial contexts shape intelligence operations. The course also places strong emphasis on communication and professional confidence, preparing you to brief stakeholders and present intelligence clearly and persuasively. Your studies will culminate in a major research project in your final year, allowing you to explore a topic that reflects your future ambitions.

As a graduate of Global Security with Intelligence Analysis you will be equipped to step straight into roles such as intelligence analyst, policy officer or military or government analyst roles. Recent graduates have gone on to work at GCHQ, commercial cyber-analytics firms, and advise on financial intelligence and corporate risk. Some graduates also choose to progress to postgraduate research at BNU.