Law and Security
New responses to new threats
The Master’s Degree in Law & Security (MLS) aims to provide in-depth knowledge of issues related to Security in many of its different domains: political, geostrategic, military, police, economic, legal, environmental, health, technological, among others; domains which are more than ever interconnected. It embodies an interdisciplinary approach due to the need to confront contemporary and emerging (in)security matters, increasingly demanding transnational, regional, and even global responses.
The focus of this Master’s Degree lies in the growing threats in the area of global and regional security, as well as those of states and citizens – with the unprecedented growth of novel terrorist threats, new forms of organised crime, and ever more violent holistic conflicts, among many other issues of concern. This gives rise to a series of challenges to traditional forms of action by public authorities and civil societies.
Today, surely more than ever, security is inextricably linked to democracy, citizenship, globalisation and development, and has to deal with both old and novel threats given their potential fast recasting the world over. This naturally calls for new academic awareness, which is what our MLS aims to provide and to help develop by bringing such awareness to the fore.
This master’s is taught in English.
Scientific Commission
President: Armando Marques Guedes | Board Members: Felipe Pathé Duarte (taught component) | Laura Iñigo Alvarez (taught component)
GOALS
The general objective is to provide specialised training in matters of Law and of Security, from a multidisciplinary, integrated perspective. There are also specific objectives:
– To understand, from a geostrategic perspective, the challenges that the new international configuration brings to the individual and collective security of states – namely by analysing the design of a regional, international and a legal order designed to face the new challenges to security arising from organised crime, particularly with regard to the use of force;
– To promote in-depth discussions about security as a fundamental right and as a limit to other fundamental rights in the light of national Constitutions and of other normative orders in the international order within which we live, and given a changing international system under ever-increasing stresses – consistently with a focus on the rule of law;
– To systematically examine the internal legal order and the institutional responses, among others, regarding the domains of national, regional, and international security, and the roles filled by the branches of the increasingly complex, varied, and interconnected Armed Forces, the changing roles of extant police forces, and the various intelligence services;
– To understand the role of research and crime in contemporary socio-political and socio-economic domains, as well as in environmental dynamics, which includes a careful assessment of the importance of other communal and more inclusive security systems, such as civil protection, and cybersecurity or private security, in developing a sense of security.
TARGET APPLICANT
The Master’s Degree in Law & Security is for all graduates who want to deepen their knowledge in these two ever broader and more sensitive areas, stressing that security presents itself as an interdisciplinary domain that touches and challenges the boundaries of multiple research fields.
The Master’s may be undertaken by students as a full or part-time endeavour.
TIMETABLE
This course is taught after working hours.
CERTIFICATION
|
Study Cycle |
Degree | A3ES Decision | Number of Years | Publication of the A3ES Decision | DGES Registration Number | Publication in Diário da República |
| Law and Security | Master | accredited | 6 | 21-11-2014 |
R/A-Ef 3197/2011 |
Curricular Plan
1st year – Taught Component
B
B
2nd year – Research
B
Coordinators
LENGTH 4 SEMESTERS
120 ECTS
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH
Applications from students who prove they will be able to complete their bachelor’s degree(licenciatura) by September will be accepted.
APPLICATIONS
1st Phase:
Submission of applications: from 1 to 26 February
Announcement of application results: 30 March
Submission of appeal against results: from 30 March to 05 April
Enrolment: from 06 to 12 April
2nd Phase*:
Submission of applications: from 19 April to 14 May
Announcement of application results: 31 May
Submission of appeal against results: from 30 May to 04 June
Enrolment: from 07 to 11 June
*1st phase remaining places, if any
REQUIREMENTS
Holders of a bachelor’s degree (licenciatura) or legal equivalent.
SELECTION CRITERIA
– Final grade of the degree which the applicant is applying with. Preference is given to degrees in the scientific areas of Law, Security and National Defence and others;
– After applying the previous criterion, in the event of a tie, candidates will be interviewed by a three-member jury, appointed by the Scientific Board.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS (ONLINE):
– Completion of the application form (online);
– Payment of the application fee using the ATM or PayPal reference provided through the submission procedure (51.00€);
– Online submission of the following documents: motivation letter, curriculum vitae (European model), copy of the course(s) certificate(s); copy of the tax number identification card; copy of the Identification Card;
– Applicants conditioned upon the conclusion of the bachelor’s degree must submit an interim academic transcript showing the subjects already completed with their final grades, and the degree, the institution, expected average and the conclusion date. In addition, a statement from the institution of higher education where they are attending the degree should be submitted, proving their academic situation;
– Applicants with foreign qualifications must send an academic transcript or a declaration with the final average of the degree;
– Applicants who do not report the final grade average, expected or completed will be graded with a minimum score of 10 on the 0-20 scale;
– During the application, candidates must submit a request for accreditation of academic qualifications and professional experience obtained before entering the study cycle. For this purpose, the applicant must complete the appropriate form and attach all relevant documentation. When the request for accreditation occurs at the time of the application, the accreditation is not a sufficient condition to be accepted into the study cycle and only can be granted after the admission into the study cycle, in the same study cycle only.
All documents must be presented in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish, and endorsed by the competent authority of the State where the document originates.
Applications omitting the documents requested or where the application fee has not been paid will be rejected.
Applications available through the NOVA School of Law applications portal.
FEES*
– Application fee: 51.00€
– Administrative costs per registration/enrolment (each year): 35.00€
– School insurance (each year): 3.00€
– Annual fee of the curricular phase: 3,900.00€
– Non-curricular phase (dissertation), one year: 1,000.00€
*Tuition fees are subject to approval of the General Council of NOVA University, Lisbon.
*Consult the full documentation regarding fees, emoluments and taxes for the academic year in question.
Tuition fees are annual and due in full upon enrolment in the course. The payment in instalments is allowed for the students’ mere convenience.
In the case of withdrawal from the course, the amounts already paid are not refundable. The remaining tuition fee payments due for the academic year to which the application relates must also be paid.
Only in situations where the applicant does not complete the degree which he/she is applying with (in these cases, the applicant must submit a declaration from the institution of higher education by September 2021), the amounts paid for the tuition fee will be reimbursed (application fee, school insurance and administrative costs are not reimbursed).
The application fee is to be paid by ATM or Paypal. The reference will be given online upon submission of the application form.
MERIT SCHOLARSHIP
– Students whose final average admission to this Master is equal to or higher than 17 points (on a scale 0/20) benefit from a 50% discount on the total amount of the tuition fee, which cannot be combined with other discounts;
– Students whose final average admission to this Master is equal to or higher than 16 points (on a scale 0/20) benefit from a 30% discount on the total amount of the tuition fee, which cannot be combined with other discounts;
– Three merit scholarships will be granted in the non-curricular semester (in either the master’s or specialization area): one corresponding to the total of the tuition fee, which will be awarded to the best grade in the curricular phase, and the other two merit scholarships will be granted to the second and third best classifications, which will receive a reduction of 50% of the tuition fee. To assess the best classifications in the curricular phase, only the classifications obtained in the NOVA School of Law will be taken into account. This scholarship assumes the conclusion of the curricular phase is within the stipulated time limit.
ALUMNI DISCOUNT: Students or ex-students (undergraduate, graduate, master’s and doctoral) with a degree already completed at NOVA School of Law benefit from a 10% discount on the tuition fee, in addition to the financial discount.
FINANCIAL DISCOUNT:
– Students who choose to pay tuition fees in a single initial payment receive a 5% discount on the amount to be paid;
CURRENT PROTOCOL DISCOUNTS: Discount of 25%, which cannot be combined with other discounts, for members of:
– Association of Portuguese Judges and the Trade Union;
– Association of Public Prosecution Service Magistrates.
* Discount on the annual fee is only provided if the degree is completed within the stipulated time limit.
* Discounts are applied on the final payment of the tuition fee.
TUITION FEES, EMOLUMENTS/CHARGES AND TAXES
National and International Students.
Annual fee for the curricular phase: 3,900.00 €
| Instalments | Amount € | Payment deadline |
| 1.st payment | 700,00 € | From 6 to 12 April 2021 |
| 2.nd payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 July 2021 |
| 3.rd payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 September 2021 |
| 4.th payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 October 2021 |
| 5.th payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 November 2021 |
| 6.th payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 January 2022 |
| 7.th payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 February 2022 |
| 8.th payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 March 2022 |
| 9.th payment | 355,56 € | From 1 to 10 April 2022 |
| 10.th payment | 355,52 € | From 1 to 10 May 2022 |
Tuition fees are annual and are due in full upon enrolment in the course.
Students may also choose to pay the annual tuition fee in 4 installments, in which case they should select this option during registration.
Annual fee for the non-curricular phase: 1,000.00 €
| Instalments | Amount € | Payment deadline |
| 1.st payment | 250.00€ | From 1 to 10 September 2021 |
| 2.nd payment | 250.00€ | From 1 to 10 October 2021 |
| 3.rd payment | 250.00€ | From 1 to 10 November 2021 |
| 4.th payment | 250.00€ | From 1 to 10 January 2022 |
If the student does not deliver the dissertation within the time limit, they can register for another year paying the corresponding amount of 500.00€.
Emoluments/Charges and Taxes
The charges presented in the table below are currently applicable. The publication of the national table of fees and charges of academic acts and services of public university education and polytechnic higher education is still awaited, and consequently may change at any time.
| Designation | Amount € | Payment Deadline |
| Administrative costs per enrolment/registration | 35.00€ | Upon registration/enrolment |
| School Insurance | 3.00€ | Upon registration/enrolment |
| Registration Certificate | 6.00€ | At time of the request |
| Conclusion Certificate | 50.00€ | At time of the request |
| Improvement grade exam | 15.00€ | At time of the request |
Payments must be made by ATM or PayPal using the references available in the Restricted Area. Failure to make tuition fee payments within the indicated periods may incur an increased charge in the amount to be paid, or the suspension of registration and enrolment, as well as annulment of all acts performed in the academic year to which the non-compliance relates.
Testimonials
Maria João Carapêto
PhD Student and Researcher, NOVA School of Law
“The Master in Law and Security, in a multidisciplinary approach, provides a high-quality study of the problems of threats to the rule of law and current security dilemmas. The degree in Master in Law and Security prepared me to respond to the challenges and constant change of this complex society in which we live.”
Lino Santos
Head at National Cybersecurity Centre (CNCS), PhD Student NOVA School of Law
It was by chance and with deep regard that led me to participate in the Master’s in Law and Security. I had the pleasure of completing the first cycle of the post-graduate course, and later, of concluding the first cycle of this Master’s in Law and Security (MLS).
As an engineer by training, and working in the cybersecurity area, the MLS has offered me new perspectives on issues that demand a multidisciplinary approach. It has also provided me with new personal and professional opportunities.
With its eclectic and prestigious Faculty members, and very practical and up-to-date views on different topics and the attendant issues they raise, I personally came to see the MLS as a privileged space for interdisciplinary dialogue, as well as for the training of professionals in areas that go far beyond Security and Defense.
Given all of the above, I can only recommend this MLS.