Safety and Security Management Studies

It’s hard to recall a news story recently that has not involved a safety and security issue. Security specialists from SSMS are the ones who are responsible for the safety of citizens and deal with organisations’ security issues. This doesn’t mean we’re training our students to be the next James Bond. In reality, 007 would have had a dedicated team of security consultants, safety managers, strategic masterminds and risk analysts who, like him, would be two steps ahead of an economic, geopolitical or public crisis.

Public Safety, International Security and Industrial Safety are the three pillars of SSMS. In years two and three, you’ll also be introduced to more contemporary forms of security that affect our society, such as various forms of radicalisation and emerging forms of transnational crime. SSMS offers a specialised theoretical framework with a variety of hands-on group projects and guest lectures given by knowledgeable experts from our extensive network. All this will help you connect the dots of seemingly unrelated issues and recognise patterns in society and organisations that only people with a special set of knowledge and skills can do. This is exactly why organisations such as the NATO, Tesla, Eurocontrol, the OPCW, Friesland Campina and intelligence agencies from around the world, depend on the expert knowledge of our graduates. And why their employability in safety and security management is so high.

During year three, you’ll get the chance to specialise as a safety management professional in three minors. Advanced Criminology focuses on violence, drugs and fraud. How do you reduce youth crime in an Amsterdam neighbourhood like De Bijlmer, for example? Or make sure that innocent bystanders are not injured through Russian mafia activities? In this minor, we also deal with corruption. The first question that might pop into your head is: how do you trace back illegal financial transactions conducted by FIFA? You could be more interested in the new ways intelligence agencies are fighting ‘the war on terror’. If so, the minor Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism might be more your thing. Do you consider yourself more of an agent collecting and analysing data? Well, during the minor of Applied Intelligence you will discover first-hand how important the proper analysis and processing of confidential information and evidence can be in many fields in the public as well as private sector. And how increasingly important digital information on the dark web has become. Of course, as an SSMS student, you’ll also be able to follow THUAS minors at other faculties.