The Security Studies Program (SSP) is a graduate-level research and educational program providing insightful analysis of national and international security issues. We are based under the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. What began in 1976 as the Defense and Arms Control Studies Program, has today become a renowned program with a
particular focus in four areas:
1) Understanding the vast geo-political shifts now underway in Asia;
2) Controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
3) Designing strategies to deal with fragile states and the volatile politics they often generate;
4) Assessing how U.S. national security policy can best address all these challenges. The expertise and work of our faculty, senior advisors and affiliates help educate and inform the public, media, government decision makers, organizations and the MIT community on issues of national and international interest. In addition to hosting graduate students based under MIT’s Department of Political Science, our program is home to three prestigious fellowships: the Grand Strategy, Security, and Statecraft Fellowship Program; the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship Program; and the Military Fellowship Program. Our graduate students and fellows have gone on to pursue careers in think tanks, government, academia and the private sector.
