Security Studies Certificate
Basic information: The Security Studies Certificate can be earned by any student enrolled in
the International Relations and European Studies Master’s Program (IRES) at Metropolitan
University Prague (MUP), provided that s/he meets all of the regular criteria for awarding the
Mgr. academic title. Further, the student must meet the criteria specified below in order to be
eligible for the Certificate award. The Certificate can be earned only by students who
commence their studies in the 2010-2011 academic year or later. Students shall apply for the
Security Studies Certificate by completing a relevant form, which must be submitted to the
Student Services office for verification at the latest on the day of the student’s Final State Exam.
The form may be submitted only in case the student met all the criteria to be awarded the
Certificate as mentioned below. The review of the student’s successful compliance with the
requirements for earning the Certificate is solely the authority of the Head of the Center for
Security Studies. It is possible to appeal against the decision of the Head of the Center for
Security Studies to award or not to award the Certificate by submitting a written application to
the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs. The decision of the Vice-Rector is final and further appeals
are not possible.
Criteria for awarding the Security Studies Certificate:
1. Student must pass at least two compulsory courses explicitly dealing with security topics in
the IRES Masters Program with grade A/1; other compulsory IRES courses dealing with
security topics have to be passed with grade B/2 or better. Current compulsory IRES courses
dealing with security topics (total of 4)
 Semester II International Security
 Semester III External Security of the EU
 Semester III European Union: Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice
 Semester IV Conflict Resolution in International Relations
Compulsory courses relevant for the Certificate award will be specified at the beginning of
each semester in the official IRES schedule.
2. Student must successfully pass a total of at least 3 free choice courses dealing with security
topics offered within:
 IRES Master’s Program. Current free choice IRES courses dealing with security topics
(total of 3):
-Semester III International Security Organizations
-Semester III Varieties of Terrorism: Theories and Impacts
-Semester IV Asian – Pacific Security
-Cyber Security
Additional/new courses will be added in the coming academic years. Eligible free choice
courses will be specified at the beginning of each semester in the official schedules for IRES.
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Courses not marked as eligible in the official schedules will not be considered for the purpose
of the Certificate award.
3. Student must write his/her Master’s Dissertation on a topic explicitly dealing with security
studies and defend this dissertation with a grade B/2 or better. Assessment of the relevance of
the dissertation topic is solely the authority of the Head of the Center for Security Studies.
4. In addition, student must meet at least one of the following criteria by the date of the Final
State Exam:
a) Be actively involved in one of the centers and/or journals associated with IRES and
MVES departments (currently, i.e. Center for Security Studies, Center for MiddleEastern Studies and the Central European Journal of International and Security
Studies) for the period of at least two semesters. The Head of the Center and/or journal
has to confirm in writing the student’s active participation.
b) Hold a membership for at least six months in a grant research team whose grant was
approved within the MUP Internal Grant System before the date of the student’s Final
State Exam. The official decision on approving the grant of the research team where
the student is listed as a member shall serve as a proof.
c) Present the findings of his/her research on a security-related topic at a student or
expert conference before the Final State Exams. Students must present the official
conference program with their name listed as a proof of their presentation.
d) Publish a research article on a security-related topic in a refereed journal. The article
must be - at minimum - accepted for publication at the date of the Final State Exam. A
letter from the journal editor confirming the acceptance of the article or a copy of the
published article must be presented as a proof.
e) Other worthy activity demonstrating a sustained interest in the field of security studies
(e.g. summer schools, security related courses taken during Erasmus exchange
programmes etc.). The activity has to be consulted and recognized as relevant by the
Head of the Center of Security Studies, who has the sole discretion to accept or reject
it.
The Certificate shall be awarded upon successful completion of the Master’s Study
Programme together with the Master’s Diploma.
Prepared by: doc. Mgr. Oldřich Bureš, M.A., Ph.D.
Head of the Center for Security Studies
December 18, 2014
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