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I’m taking the time to write this response as I was in the position of deciding between taking a chance with the War Studies Department or playing it safe with a number of well regarded IR courses. I searched high and low on both TSR and Quora to try and get some genuine insight into the department and the courses within it to determine whether it was worth committing to. I really struggled to find any accurate information.In the end I took the chance and I’m very glad I did. I’ve enjoyed every second of the course and I would recommend anyone with a serious interest in wider security to apply.I’m going to split the answer into sections to try and highlight the selling points of the department. Apologies for the abundance of likely uninteresting information that is about to come your way, but I remember wanting to know as much about every aspect of the department and course as was possible before making my decision.Opportunity:Study Abroad:I’m writing this whilst on an integrated year abroad at Sciences Po Paris, studying modules ranging from econometrics & data analysis to international law. I’m not going to concentrate on the time in Paris or the institution here, but just included that as I doubt many of the self-proclaimed TSR experts on the department would have imagined that this was even a remote possibility.There is the possibility of studying abroad at a range of partner institutions: Sciences Po, Georgetown, UCLA, Hong Kong University, Sydney etc. The course webpage doesn’t include all of the options, but gives a fairly good idea.Ironically, even whilst studying abroad I couldn’t escape the department. I choose a module in Maritime Security that had a recommended textbook written by a professor in the department and multiple references to KCL’s ‘Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies’. I also took a module in Strategic Studies and within the first lecture the French professor had insisted that we read (Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s) Sir Lawrence Freedman’s book on Strategy and described him as one of the contemporary leaders in the field. Every lecture regarding conflict or security in any of the modules had at least one or two references to members of staff in the department or articles they had written. It took leaving the department to make me realise the influence it yields in the discipline and truly appreciate the course’s lecturers.The year abroad option doesn’t add a year to your degree and saves thousands in tuition fees. It is encouraged by the department and provides an opportunity to experience different cultures or learn a new language.Languages:On the topic of learning new languages, WS students can choose to follow a regional stream. I chose the East Asia Stream which included the opportunity to learn two years worth of Mandarin (or Japanese) alongside the contemporary strategy, security, and foreign policy of regional actors.Outside of the course itself, the Modern Language Centre offers discounted language courses in virtually every language you could ever imagine. The courses are on evenings or weekends and are easy to fit around your degree.Guest Lectures:I cannot stress this point enough. The academics within the department are truly world leaders in what they teach, but the visiting professors are giants in the practical security domain.I have listened to Sir David Omand (ex GCHQ Director), Sir John Sawers (ex Chief of Secret Intelligence Service [MI6]), General David Richards (former Head of the Armed Forces), Julian Thompson (Commander of British Land Forces in the Falklands War), Suzanne Raine (ex Director Counter Terrorism), and Harvard’s Professor Joseph Nye (ex Chair of the US National Intelligence Council). These individuals are a small selection of vast amount of noteworthy affiliations to the department that I managed to squeeze in when not otherwise preoccupied in one of the Strand’s many wonderful boozers.Internships:I cannot speak for everyone that studies this course with regards to internships, but the department’s reputation certainly helped me secure one in Parliament with an MP who had a background in private sector security/cyber-security consulting in my first summer. I’ve also managed to get one for next year at JP Morgan. I would stress though that the Department won’t do these things for you and you have to go looking for these opportunities off your own back.Coursemates have secured internships in: MI5, risk consultancy firms, civil service, finance, consulting, etc. A few of my coursemates chose to pursue Reserve commissions in the military over their summer breaks in preparation for military service after graduation instead.Alumni Events/Networking:I have attended a few networking events and “careers in…” sessions that the department has organised. The most recent was one tailored to largely private sector careers that saw an alumni panel of:Market & Competition Analyst, ThalesHead of Defence, MitieStrategic Relations & Operations Director, SercoDirector (Defence Space), Ministry of DefenceGroup Head of Talent & Resourcing, QinetiQResearch Associate for Defence & Military Analysis, International Institute for Strategic StudiesThat being said, there was another - just weeks before - concentrating on journalism & publishing, with an alumni panel representing:The BBCHodder & StoughtonITVGoogle Arts & CultureThe Guardian, Time Out & NMEThese were two of a multitude of networking/alumni events held in my first year alone and I personally found that the department spoke for itself in individual applications to organisations associated with IR or security.The public sector also shows a great interest in the department, with previous events by alumni in the FCO, MOD, Cabinet Office, Downing Street, etc.Again, there is a common misconception that the only post-graduation pathway is the Armed Forces. Whilst there is undoubtedly a significant attraction to students with those ambitions, I know far more graduates that have gone on to careers in London than within the military.Affiliations:The department works with Cambridge University to host the annual International Security and Intelligence Conference under the Cambridge Security Initiative at Magdalen College.It has strong affiliations to think tanks like the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Chatham House, and RUSI.The department also feeds a quota of apprenticeship positions to the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals that I was lucky enough to get selected for.Reputation:Overview:The department sits in the School of Security Studies alongside the Defence Studies Department, forming the largest community of scholars in the world dedicated to producing world-leading research on all aspects of security and international relations.History:The 58 year-old department is relatively new (for a 200 year old university), but that is only if you take the modern WS department specifically. Prospective students with a wider interest in King’s College will know that it was founded by the then Prime Minister Duke of Wellington (with Royal Charter from King George IV).This was the same Duke of Wellington that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and coincidentally a Department of Military Science existed at King’s from 1848 for 11 years. Military science was then approved as a subject at King’s from 1913. With support of the War Office, the Military Studies Department was established in 1926. It became known as the War Studies Department in 1943 but was discontinued five years later.Following the Second World War, senior members of the University of London started an initiative to revive Military Studies at King’s and in 1953 Sir Michael Howard (Described by the Financial Times as “Britain’s greatest living historian”) was appointed to lectureship in Military Studies. By 1962, Sir Howard reinstated the Department of War Studies that we know today.So, whilst the department’s evolution was far from smooth, it can arguably be dated back to the years of the 1st Duke of Wellington. Regardless, over the centuries that followed, King’s became known for its association with military studies and that remains the speciality in which it dominates the UK landscape.Rankings:Trying to use any official rankings would be fairly futile for the War Studies Department in particular, but the closest you would come is International Relations. King’s is ranked 15th globally for International Relations on the whole (QS 2020), which isn’t exactly a poor position to be in.However, if you were able to find a university ranking for security studies or conflict specialities, King’s would rank much higher. Many of the UK postgraduate intake are Cambridge/Oxford graduates and the department sends a fair few of its own graduates in the other direction every year.Alumni:From the Prime Minister of Jordan to the Force Commander of the UN mission in Liberia, it is apparent that the bulk of notable War Studies alumni occupy the upper realms of the military and wider security domain. WS graduates have gone on to occupy the following positions in the British Armed Forces, to name a few:Deputy Supreme Allied Commander EuropeDirector Special ForcesCommander Land ForcesCommandant General Royal MarinesDeputy Chief of the Defence StaffStanding Joint Force CommanderCommander Allied Rapid Reaction CorpsCommandant of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Officer Academy for the British Army)In terms of wider British political positions, they have been:Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth IIFCO’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central AsiaBritish Ambassadors to Slovenia, Sweden, Georgia, and Ukraine to name a fewGovernor of the Turks and Caicos IslandsParliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign SecretarySenior Advisor Middle East at the Ministry of DefenceShadow Minister for DefenceMembers of ParliamentMembers of the European ParliamentCivil Servants at the: Cabinet Office, FCO, MOD, Parliament, etc.As for international alumni, they have held positions of:Prime Minister of JordanPrime Minister of MoldovaUN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace ProcessSpeaker of Parliament of SingaporeChief of the Malaysian ArmyMilitary Secretary of the Indian ArmyChief of the Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed ForcesPermanent Representative to NATODeputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism at NYPDUS Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military AffairsUS Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and ComplianceIn the private sphere, the department is a big feeder to the industries of cyber security, risk analysis, defence consulting, intelligence, and journalism. Some students go on to more generic consulting work and others transfer to legal professions. The department opens a number of niche doors and provides certain connections, but it certainly doesn’t close any doors to the wider corporate world.Bear in mind that this isn’t the alumni of a university, this is a selection of some of the alumni of a small department. It doesn’t include any academics or professors at the department, who have been/are:Chiefs of MI6, GCHQ, and the Joint Intelligence CommitteePermanent Representatives to the UNNATO spokespersonsChief Scientist of the Senate Foreign Relations CommitteeSecretary of State in the German Federal Ministry of DefenceProfessors at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Sorbonne, Sciences Po, etc.Comparisons:It’s hard to draw comparisons when the department is renowned for such a niche expertise, but Washington DC’s Georgetown university is a natural cousin across the pond. With a similar specialisation in security and foreign policy, King’s WS and Georgetown’s SFS share many professors and exchange undergraduate students.King’s shares a postgraduate dual-degree in international affairs with Sciences Po’s PSIA that sees some students opt for international security concentrations at both universities.Location:The department is located in central London 10 minutes from government in Whitehall, sandwiched on the Strand almost equidistant from Parliament and St Paul’s.The Department’s offices are located on the top (7th) floor of the King’s Building on Strand campus, with these views overlooking the Thames to the Houses of Parliament:In a typical day, I will have lectures and tutorials in Bush House or King’s Building:In between which, I would usually fit in a coffee at Bush House’s rooftop cafe (evidently often frequented by the Queen herself!):Or get stuck into a never ending list of readings at a library fit for Hogwarts:There are a huge variety of sports clubs and associations to get involved with at King’s, but I’m sure these have been covered in depth by other reviews. In terms of department specifics, there is an active War Studies society, International Relations society, Geopolitical Risk Society, Intelligence & International Security Society, Crisis Simulation Society, and Diplomatic Society, to name but a few.Warnings:Please do not just apply to study at the department because of its reputation or as a pathway into postgraduate education at other prestigious universities. If you don’t have an interest in IR or security, you WON'T enjoy the courses the department offers and will likely struggle to keep up with an intense workload that requires self-motivation by the bucket.Also, the administrative staff at King’s in general can be absimal at times and tend to pull down the satisfaction levels of studying at King’s in general. That being said, the WS department apparently has the highest levels of student satisfaction at the uni (you can see why) so they clearly focus their destructive efforts elsewhere!Conclusion:As for overall reputation to the general public: limited, but those who have heard of it generally hold it in fairly high regard as a mysterious department with a solid reputation.For those in the wider security field: One of the best - if not the best - departments in the world. I would say Georgetown is the closest international rival but there is an ominous presence of an IR department at LSE just across the road.To summarise, I have enjoyed every single aspect of the course so far and would recommend it to anyone with similar interests. The department tends to keep itself to itself and doesn’t see the need to advertise far and wide. Those with a deep enough interest in security will have heard of the War Studies Department and those without probably wouldn’t enjoy studying here.I hope this has been useful for any prospective students, as I can completely relate to how challenging it is to gain any in-depth insight into the department or the courses it runs.Update:I have had a few people message me about the course and admissions. If you’re in the same boat feel free to drop me a message on here, social media or even comment below so that others can see in the future!