200 Years of Research and Education
From the outset, British professional officer training has included academic study. This has evolved as the context in which Army officers has evolved. Many great scholars have helped develop future leaders - including John Narrien, Michael Faraday, John Adair, Richard Holmes, John Keegan and Christopher Duffy – a legacy that continues today
Research underpinning Professional Military Education
Fundamental to ensuring future leaders attending Sandhurst get the very best professional military education is the underpinning research conducted by members of LSW.
Staff regularly publish academic monographs and peer-reviewed journal articles as well as contributing papers at conferences and workshops held at RMAS, think tanks and universities.
Qualifications and AHEP Offer
All officer courses run at Sandhurst receive accreditation that converts into nationally and internationally recognised qualifications. Those officers joining the Regular Army can now pursue higher education qualifications paid for by the Army.
Working in partnership with the University of Reading and Henley Business School the academic courses taught by LSW now form a third of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Leadership and Strategic Studies.
In-class and on-exercise
Of fundamental importance to the development of officers is their ability to apply their understanding and analysis with good judgement in the most challenging of circumstances.
LSW staff join cadets on field exercises and run class exercises - such as Exercised Normandy Scholar - to provide more realistic environments where knowledge and ideas can be tested and developed.
Read more about Exercise Normandy ScholarAt Sandhurst and beyond
LSW staff also contribute to development courses later in an officer’s career. Several times a year staff work with Officer Tutors from the ETS in delivering Military Analysis courses that are designed to unpack in depth defence policy and the art of war. Many staff also support regimental and formation battlefield studies.
Operational and Wider Insights
LSW staff frequently contribute to the work of other government departments, defence doctrine, higher formation exercises and international defence engagement.
In recent years individuals have been seconded as mentors to the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.
These experiences provide staff with unique insights that help to give their teaching at Sandhurst both edge and currency.
Sandhurst Library
Integral to both learning and research is the Sandhurst Library. The operational military history collection alongside the extensive biography and leadership sections are regarded as amongst best in Europe.
Together with an increasing variety of online resources to meet the intellectual demands of AHEP the library actively enables research to underpin professional military education.
Defence and International Affairs Department (DIA)
DIA provides insights into the strategic, international and legal context in officers will operate and enabling them to make better judgements and choices.
Exercise COMPLEX TERRAIN challenges cadets to look under the surface of contemporary conflicts and to assess the part played by armed forces in cross-governmental and multi-agency responses to complex crises.
DIA also develops deeper understanding of the context and practice of international humanitarian law – the law of armed conflict.