Undergraduate Military and Strategic Studies Programme

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Programme Chair
Dr. Ali Ghanbarpour-Dizboni
Programme web page
Military and Strategic Studies

General Information

This multidisciplinary programme is unique in North America at the undergraduate level. The Military and Strategic Studies (MSS) programme offers students an opportunity to acquire a sound grounding in military history, strategic thought, and international relations, as well as in Canadian government, Politics and Economics, English, Culture, and Communication or French, Literature, and Culture studies, and Military Psychology and Leadership. It leads to a B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies or B.A. Military and Strategic Studies. The MSS programme provides a solid basis for graduate studies and a professional career.

Students are encouraged to take at least one MSS course in their second language. Students with the requisite language profile are free to take all or a combination of courses in either official language while earning their degrees.

In addition to their course work, students enrolled in the MSS programme are encouraged to participate in the various extracurricular activities of the programme, including field trips to Ottawa, Washington, New York, USMA, USNA, and NATO HQ and several Model UN and NATO simulations at leading North American universities.

Patterns of Study

To earn a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) or Bachelor of Arts in Military and Strategic Studies students can pursue one of two patterns of study:

  1. B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies or B.A. Military and Stratigic Studies, or;
  2. B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies or B.A. Military and Stratigic Studies, with a Minor in: Business Administration; Economics; English, Culture, and Communication; French, Literature, and Culture; or Psychology.

Physical Conditioning and Second Language Courses

Important: The physical conditioning courses and the second language courses are part of the four-pillar degree and apply to all RMC degree programmes except the 30-credit general degree programmes.
LCF: Based on the result of a placement test, students will be registered in LCF courses at the 100, 200, 300, or 400-level. Students will automatically be exempt from applicable lower level LCF courses once placed in the appropriate course. Students who attain a Second Official Language (SOL) proficiency level of at least BBB or higher on the Public Service Commission (PSC) Second Language Evaluation (SLE) will be exempt from LCF courses at RMC.
  • ATE101: Foundations of Fitness, Health and Sports (UPTNCM & non-ROTP take ATE102)
  • ATE301: Unarmed Combatives, Military Skills and Individual Sports (UPTNCM & non-ROTP take ATE302)
  • LCF100 : Compétence de base – partie I
  • LCF200 : Compétence de base – partie II
  • LCF301 : Compétence intermédiaire – partie I
  • LCF302 : Compétence intermédiaire – partie II
  • LCF400 : Compétence intermédiaire - partie III
Note: The PSC SLE is the only SOL certification-testing instrument currently accredited and used by the CAF to assess the SOL proficiency level. (DAOD 5039-8, Canadian Armed Forces Second Official Language Certification Testing)
 

B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies

Important: To earn a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) a student must meet the requirements of Academic Regulation 3.1.

A 40-credit degree programme including the core courses for arts programmes and 21 credits, comprised of the following:

Mandatory Courses

The following 15 credits:

Note: Students will choose one of "HIE206: What is History? Methods of Historical Inquiry" or "POE220: Research and Method" based on the subject (Political Science or History) of their theses (or research projects) MSE424 and MSE426.
  • HIE203: Introduction to Canadian Military History (1 credit)
  • HIE206: What is History? Methods of Historical Inquiry or POE220: Research and method (1 credit)
  • HIE270: Introduction to Military History (2 credits)
  • HIE362: Peacekeeping and Peacemaking or POE410 International Conflict Management (1 credit)
  • HIE470: Strategy and Strategists (2 credits)
  • POE116: Introduction to International Relations (1 credit)
  • POE218: International Relations Theory (1 credit)
  • POE317: Introduction to Contemporary Strategic Studies (1 credit)
  • POE414: Contemporary International Issues and Events (1 credit)
  • POE415: Contemporary International Conflict (1 credit)
  • PSE312: Military Psychology and Combat (1 credit)
  • MSE424: Thesis or MSE426: Research Project in Military Strategic Studies (2 credits)

And one credit from the six optional mandatory courses:

Note: These six courses cannot be counted twice. They are also listed among the Military and Strategic Studies optional courses. Students can choose them as optional courses. When taking one of these courses it will not count simultaneously as both a mandatory course and an optional course.
  • HIE332: War in Classical Age (1 credit)
  • HIE334: Historical Evolution of Operational Art (1 credit)
  • HIE340: History of the First World War (1 credit)
  • HIE342: History of the Second World War (1 credit)
  • HIE366: Europe, Napoleon and the World War of 1789 to 1815 (1 credit)
  • HIE377: Cold War (1 credit)
Optional Courses

five credits as listed:

  • 2 credits, at the 400-level (approved by the professor in charge of the Military and Strategic Studies programme), from the list of MSS optional courses and;
  • 3 credits, of your choice, from the list of MSS optional courses

MSE424 / MSE426: Special research on an approved subject, under the direction of a designated supervisor, resulting in the submission of a "MSE424: Thesis" or "MSE426: Research Project in Military Strategic Studies". Students will be provided with guidance on topics and methods before submitting a research proposal for approval. Theses must follow Royal Military College of Canada thesis guidelines and will be evaluated by at least one subject expert in addition to the Chair and supervisor. An oral defence will normally be arranged for a thesis.
(Important: Those transferring from "MSE424: Thesis" to "MSE426: Research Project in Military Strategic Studies" must do so no later than the add-course deadline of the winter term).

B.A. Military and Strategic Studies

A 40-credit degree programme including the core courses for arts programmes and 17 credits, comprised of the following:

Mandatory courses

The following 14 credits:

  • HIE203: Introduction to Canadian Military History (1 credit)
  • HIE206: What is History? Methods of Historical Inquiry or POE220: Research and method (1 credit)
  • HIE270: Introduction to Military History (2 credits)
  • HIE362: Peacemaking and Peacemaking or POE410 International Conflict Management (1 credit)
  • HIE470: Strategy and Strategists (2 credits)
  • POE116: Introduction to International Relations (1 credit)
  • POE218: International Relations Theory (1 credit)
  • POE317: Introduction to Contemporary Strategic Studies (1 credit)
  • POE414: Contemporary International Issues and Events (1 credit)
  • POE415: Contemporary International Conflict (1 credit)
  • PSE312: Military Psychology and Combat (1 credit)

And one credit from the six optional mandatory courses:

Note: These six courses cannot be counted twice. They are also listed among the Military and Strategic Studies optional courses. Students can choose them as optional courses. When taking one of these courses it will not count simultaneously as both a mandatory course and an optional course.
  • HIE332: War in Classical Age (1 credit)
  • HIE334: Historical Evolution of Operational Art (1 credit)
  • HIE340: History of the First World War (1 credit)
  • HIE342: History of the Second World War (1 credit)
  • HIE366: Europe, Napoleon and the World War of 1789 to 1815 (1 credit)
  • HIE377: Cold War (1 credit)

Optional Courses

3 credits as listed:

  • 1 credit, at the 400-level (approved by the professor in charge of the Military and Strategic Studies programme), from the list of MSS optional courses and;
  • 2 credits, of your choice, from the list of MSS optional courses

Note: Students enrolled in Military and Strategic Studies may not complete a Double Major with History or Political Science.

 

Programme Outline Tables

The following tables are examples of a typical outline, by year, of a B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies programme of study or a B.A. Military and Strategic Studies programme of study that would cover the required courses.

Important: Students who started their 40-credit programme prior to Academic Year 2024-2025 will follow the old mathematics requirement MAE103, MAE106 and, MAE113. Students starting their 40-credit programme in Academic Year 2024-2025 and thereafter will follow the new mathematics requirement MAE107, MAE108 and, MAE109.

B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies

Semester Fall
year 1		 Winter
year 1		 Fall
year 2		 Winter
year 2
Courses
Semester total 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits
Semester Fall
year 3		 Winter
year 3		 Fall
year 4		 Winter
year 4
Courses
Semester total 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits
 

B.A. Military and Strategic Studies

Semester Fall
year 1		 Winter
year 1		 Fall
year 2		 Winter
year 2
Courses
Semester total 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits
Semester Fall
year 3		 Winter
year 3		 Fall
year 4		 Winter
year 4
Courses
Semester total 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits 5 credits
 
 

Minor in Military and Strategic Studies

Note: There is no Minor in Military and Strategic Studies.

  • Minors in Business Administration; Economics; English, Culture, and Communication; French, Literature, and Culture; or Psychology; may be earned together with a B.A. (Honours) Military and Strategic Studies or a B.A. Military and Strategic Studies.
  • Students pursuing one or more of these minors will complete 8 credits in the minor.
 

Military and Strategic Studies optional courses

You must choose the optional courses for the Military and Strategic Studies programme from the following list:

  • BAE344: Operations Management
  • CCE204: Military Chemistry
  • ECE424: Economics of Defence
  • ECE428: Economics of National Security
  • ENE331: World Literature 1
  • ENE333: World Literature II
  • ENE363: American Literature: The American Dream: Race, Gender, War
  • ENE375: Literature and Spirituality
  • ENE413: Literature, Culture & Ecology
  • ENE415: Literature, Culture & Evolution
  • ENE423: Literary Theory II: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
  • ENE450: The News Media and the Military
  • ENE451: War Literature I
  • ENE453: War Literature II
  • ENE471: Topics in English Literature II
  • ENE484: Postcolonial Literature
  • FRF324 : La littérature francophone subsaharienne des In dépendances à aujourd'hui
  • FRF326 : La littérature francophone du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient, de la colonisation à nos jours
  • FRF332 : La guerre expression narration et représentation
  • FRF379 : L’Art oratoire
  • FRF383 : Les Moralistes français du XVIIe siècle
  • FRF404 : L’imaginaire de la Route de la Soie de Marco Polo à aujourd’hui
  • FRF427 : Fanatisme, tolérance et religion
  • FRF428 : L’essai au XXIe siècle : crise, terreur, paranoïa et sécurité intérieure
  • FRF429 : Combat, trauma et dépendances
  • FRF434 : Témoigner
  • FRF440 : Vie et mort des grands héros de l'Antiquité
  • FRF479 : Discours et pouvoir
  • FLF431 : la représentation de la guerre en littérature
  • FLF432 : La représentation des conflits au théâtre
  • FLF433 : La guerre : médias et témoignages
  • HIE320: A Social and Cultural History of the Atomic Age
  • HIE322: Conflict in the Middle East, 1914- Present
  • HIE328: Selected Issues in Military History
  • HIE332: War in Classical Age
  • HIE334: Historical Evolution of Operational Art
  • HIE336: The American Civil War
  • HIE338: North American Colonial Warfare, 1608-1815
  • HIE340: History of the First World War
  • HIE342: History of the Second World War
  • HIE346: The History of Canadian Forces Operations
  • HIE348: Fascism, Nazism and Communism, 1917-1945
  • HIF354 : Histoire du monde arabe et musulman
  • HIF364 : Napoléon et son temps
  • HIE366: Europe Napoleon and the World War of 1789 to 1815
  • HIE374: From World War to World War: International History 1914-1945
  • HIE375: Limited War during the Cold War, 1945-1991
  • HIE377: The Cold War
  • HIF383: Histoire de la France, de la guerre franco-prussienne à la présidence de Charles De Gaulle
  • HIE390: European Imperialism - The Early Stages in Renaissance Europe
  • HIE392: European Imperialism - Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
  • HIE398: Naval Power and Strategy in the 20th Century
  • HIE405: History of the Relations between Canada and the United States
  • HIE406: Canadian External Relations
  • HIE410: Canada and War
  • HIE416: The United States as an Emerging World Power 1750-1919
  • HIE418: The United States as a World Power, 1919 to the Present
  • HIE422: Naval History. The Age of Sail
  • HIE423: Naval History: The Age of Steam
  • HIF435: Façonner un continent : les guerres en Amérique du Nord (1754-1815)
  • HIF437: Le Québec et la guerre depuis 1867
  • HIE440: Public History
  • HIE446: The Third Reich at War 1939-1945
  • HIE449: History of intelligence since 1870
  • HIE451: War and the Environment
  • HIE452: War, Peace, and Civil Society in Modern History
  • HIE456: Issues in Women, War and Society
  • HIE461: Air Warfare in World Conflict, 1903-1945
  • HIE463: Air Warfare in Cold War and Small Wars, 1945-2010
  • HIE474: Military Technology: Men, Machines and War
  • HIE475: Technology, Society and Warfare
  • HIE476: Guerrilla and Revolutionary War
  • HIE477: An Introduction to the History of Terrorism
  • HIF479: La guerre d'Algérie
  • HIF492: Crimes et criminels de guerre: Droit pénal international
  • MAE234: Introduction to Cryptography
  • MAE236: Introduction to Game Theory
  • PHE280: Physics of Armaments
  • POE214: Comparative Politics
  • POE218: International Relations Theory
  • POE319: Terrorism: History and Strategy
  • POE324: International Organizations
  • POE410: International Conflict Management
  • POE412: Contemporary American Foreign and Defence Policy
  • POE413: Nuclear Weapons & International Relations
  • POE416: Canadian Foreign and Security Policy
  • POE423: Politics in Africa
  • POE424:Politics in the Middle East
  • POE425: Regional Comparative Politics
  • POE432: Civil Military Relations
  • POE435: Terrorism and Political Violence
  • POE437: Contemporary Regimes: States and Nations
  • POE441: Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation
  • POE453: Topics in International Relations
  • POE486: Air and Space Law
  • POE488: The Law of Armed Conflict
  • PSE324: Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • PSE328: Group Dynamics
  • PSE332: Introduction to Interviewing and Counselling
  • PSE346: Persuasion and Influence
  • PSE380: Psychology and Philosophy of Religious Conflicts
  • PSE454: Advanced Leadership
  • PSE462: Human Factors in Applied Military Science
  • PSE482: Peace and Conflict Psychology
  • PSE484: The Psychology of Gender in the Military
  • SOE320: Sociology of the Armed Forces
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