Safety and Security Management Studies

Lectures, seminars, study visits, self-study, group activities and project work

SSMS is the first full-time bachelor programme in Europe to be taught in English. The strong sense of international community in the SSMS classroom will help you understand how different nations deal with safety and security - and where there is room for change.

Guest lectures 

Guest lectures are given by seasoned practitioners with many years of experience in the intelligence community, NATO militaries, or national and international security and law enforcement organisations. And yes, their names and résumés can sometimes be as secretive as the work they do.

Excursions

During excursions in year two and three you’ll visit military bases and explore advanced prison systems, where you’ll see how the safety and security measures you learned about in year one are applied.

Professional tools

We’ll also teach you how to employ important professional practices, concepts and tools like the Roper methodology, the analysis of competing hypotheses (ACH), and the Gemba Walk for industrial sites.

Shape your degree

During year three, you’ll get the chance to specialise as a safety and security management professional in three minors. Choosing a minor gives you the opportunity to broaden your horizons, deepen your skills and fulfil your ambitions. As well as taking minors in the SSMS degree programme, you can follow THUAS minors at other faculties and even other institutions.

Intelligence Collection & Analysis

The minor Intelligence Collection & Analysis reflects the growing demand for intelligence analysts in foreign policy, law enforcement, military affairs, corporate security, and the natural resources and energy market. Students are familiarized with basic techniques of intelligence gathering, such as HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT, GEOINT, and MASINT. They learn about (corporate) espionage and surveillance, counterintelligence and technologies used for the collection of information. In weekly exercises students practice the analysis of aerial and satellite imagery, use structured analytic techniques (SATs), conduct personnel security screenings, or observe and analyse counterintelligence interview techniques. Exercises are often conducted in cooperation with experienced professionals.

Health, safety and environmental (HSE) management 

The Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Management minor prepares students to manage HSE challenges across industries such as chemical production, aviation, construction, healthcare, and logistics. It starts with HSE risk analysis and roles like HSE Manager, Officer, and Safety Advisor. Key topics include Psychological, Social, and Organizational Safety, Fire Safety, Dangerous Goods Safety, Environmental Management, HSE Plans, and Training, with some units meeting VCA certification requirements. 

The program combines theory and real-world applications through guest lectures on incident investigations, digital HSE management, and environmental due diligence, as well as site visits to companies like DFDS, Total Lubricants, and Renewi. Students conclude by developing an HSE plan, delivering training, and earning a VCA certification, equipping them to provide effective HSE guidance in professional environments. 

Crime, Safety & Security

After completion of the minor ‘Crime, Safety & Security’ students acquire a more sophisticated understanding of major contemporary debates in criminology with reference to transnational organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, crimmigration, cybercrime, corporate crime, safety crimes, environmental crime, plural policing, restorative and criminal justice and learn how to apply relevant criminological issues to policy questions. Throughout, use is made of international evidence/comparisons, and the case studies are chosen so as to give a feel for the diversity of approaches in the field of criminology and criminal justice. Each week of the minor completes with one of the following practical exercises: crime script analysis, social network analysis, situational crime prevention, cybercrime awareness simulation, multi-agency policing exercise in relation to domestic violence, mock trial. The minor is delivered in collaboration with guest speakers from Cybersecurity & SMEs Research Center (HHS), Netherlands Helsinki Committee, Rotterdam Detention Centre, CEPOL and EUROPOL.

Human Security 

Human security is a concept that was first developed by the United Nations in the early 1990s. It can be applied in any context or sector, and hence this minor caters all students with an interest in alternative approaches to safety and security challenges. Human Security underlines the importance of the right of every person to live in peace (freedom from fear), meet their basic needs (freedom from want) and have their basic human rights fulfilled (freedom from indignity). In this minor, we will look at how human security was conceptualized and how it further developed as a framework and policy making tool that complements and strengthens other areas, such as the international human rights framework, development and conventional state-centric security strategies. During the final weeks of the minor will help students explore some potential career avenues with a HEAT (hostile environment awareness) training, a course in risk management for humanitarian workers and visits to civil society organizations (CSOs). 

Terrorism & Counterterrorism

The minor Terrorism & Counterterrorism bridges the gap between practitioners and academia by integrating theoretical approaches to the topic with practical elements. Such practice-oriented components of the course include exercises in counterterrorist decision-making, introductions to weapons and tactics, and exposure to experienced practitioners in fields like military force protection, police counter-terrorism, or CBRN counter-proliferation. Students learn how to categorize terrorist groups and their organizational structures, learn about models of radicalization and de-radicalisation, and examine military doctrines like counterinsurgency. Students also study phenomena such as lone wolf attacks, the terror-crime nexus, or ISIS and their recruitment of foreign fighters.

Is there anything I cannot be after I graduate?

As an SSMS graduate you’ll be highly employable in a range of exciting positions in various sectors, be it commercial, military or international government. Whatever career path you choose, it will be likely that you’ll be on the frontline dealing with people’s lives. In any case, you’ll be well qualified to identify risk situations and recommend, implement and evaluate feasible safety and security interventions. You could become a safety and security expert in the field of urban development and management, conflict mediation, or climb the career ladder at a police and security organisation, or within an international airport or insurance company. The opportunities are endless.