DepartmentNational and International Security

On 23 September 2003 by Resolution of the Academic Council of New Bulgarian University, the Center for the Study of Risk and Security was established as a practical educational and research unit within the structure of the university.

Its institutionalization marks the beginning of training NBU students in the professional field 9.1. National Security. Instruction in the Master’s Degree Program “National and International Security” commenced in the same year. Since 2011 instruction in the Master’s Degree Programs “National and International Security”, “Cybersecurity” and “Crime and Terrorism Counteraction” has been delivered at the Department.

The Department of National and International Security was established nine years later by Resolution of the Academic Council of NBU. It is a successor of the activity and traditions of the Center for the Study of Risk and Security. Since the establishment of the Department there has been a steady trend of increasing the number of students in its Bachelor’s Degree Programs and Master’s Degree programs as well as in the Programs for Continuing Education.

The programs at the Department of National and International Security provide continuity of education of students at all three degree levels: Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree and Doctoral Degree. They are well known in Bulgaria and in the other European countries. The Department delivers instruction to Bulgarian and foreign students in full-time and distance form of learning in the following programs:

Bachelor’s Degree Programs:

• “Civil and Corporate Security” - Specializations: “Protection of Public Order”, “Security and Protection Services in the Private Sector”, “Information and Documentary Security”
• “Regional and Municipal Security” - Specializations: “Regional Security and Combating Crime”, “Management of Risk in Regional Crises and Conflicts”

Master’s Degree Programs:

• “National and International Security” - Specializations: “Homeland Security”, “International Security”, “Diplomacy and Security”
• “Crime and Terrorism Counteraction” - Specializations: “Management of Crime and Terrorism Counteraction”, “Psychology of criminal behavior”
• “Cybersecurity” (https://sites.google.com/site/kibersigurnost)

Doctoral Degree Program:

• “Security Strategies and Policies”

In 2007 all Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs at the Department received their first accreditation by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency with the highest rating for a maximum period of six years. In 2014 the programs in the professional field 9.1. National Security once again received one of the highest ratings for a maximum period of six years.

The lecturers at the Department of National and International Security possess an extensive portfolio of knowledge and practical skills acquired as a result from their long-lasting experience as academics and from holding responsible positions in the government. The efforts and achievements of the lecturers and the students contribute to the establishment of the Department as an authoritative and productive academic and research setting on the issues of security.

The monthly seminars of the “Languages of Security” series are carried out at the Department on a regular basis. Within the seminars the students have the opportunity to experience the practical character of the academic programs they study in. Representatives of institutions of the state and local government and administration, research institutes, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, well-known members of society are frequent guests at the seminars where they share their experience with students and discuss current problems and issues dealing with topics from various aspects of security.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs of the Department of National and International Security conduct specialized internships at government institutions (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers, etc.), universities and research institutes ("G. S. Rakovski" National Defence College, Ministry of the Interior Academy, the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and non-governmental and private organizations (National Association of Industrial Security Companies, etc.). The students at the Department are provided with the opportunity for student mobility under the Erasmus program.

By the initiative of the Department of National and International Security, contracts for educational cooperation have been signed with high schools and the "St. George" Vocational College for Protection and Security, the College of Economics and Administration, the “Euclid 2004” College. Graduates of the first two colleges continue their education in the Master’s and Bachelor’s Degree Programs at the Department under preferential conditions.

The Department of National and International Security organizes continuing education in the following fields: initial training in the protection of classified information, improving the qualifications of heads of organizational units for the protection of classified information, “Documentary Security of Classified Information”, as well as in the spheres of “Security of Automated Information Systems and Networks" and “Forensic and Accounting Expert Reports”.

The Department of National and International Security develops active scientific and research activity and participates in international and national research and applied projects. Partners of the Department in the educational, scientific and research activity are National Defence University, Poland; University of Montpellier , France; Albanian Diplomatic Academy; Univerzitet u Nish, Filozofski Fakultet; Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management, Novi Sad; the Faculty of Security at University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Macedonia; the Faculty of Security, Criminology and Financial Control at MIT University, Skopje. Since 2009, the Department carries out annual scientific conferences “Security Strategies and Policies”. Prominent Bulgarian and foreign security professionals, lecturers and post-graduate students from various universities and research institutes participate in these conferences. The materials from the events are published in collections.

Among the initiatives of the Department are the periodically organized round tables and discussions on the issues of national and international security.

Department Chair:
Prof. Todor Kolarov, D.Sc
Building 2, Room 202
Tel.: 02/8110 642; ext. 22022
е-mail: tkolarov@nbu.bg

Secretary:
Ivilina Vasileva
Building 2, Room 202
tel.: 02/8110 272
е-mail: i.vasileva@nbu.bg