Gain an immersive introduction to contemporary security challenges at the intersection of history, geopolitics, and emerging technologies with the Security and Society Summer School. Based in Warsaw, Poland, with a study tour to Berlin, the program places students in a region where historical memory, geopolitical pressure, and technological change directly shape security policy.

You’ll attend courses taught by experts and conduct applied research to understand key issues including NATO and EU security frameworks, the war in Ukraine, terrorism and radicalization, migration, energy security, cyber conflict, disinformation, and global power shifts. Across these topics, you’ll explore how AI and digital technologies are reshaping modern security environments, from information warfare and cyber operations to intelligence analysis and hybrid threats.

A core component of the program is a research internship with the Terrorism Research Center, where students develop an original research paper under expert mentorship.

This program is designed for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and young professionals.

Program Details

This program is structured for 4 weeks in Warsaw, Poland (with a study trip to Berlin, Germany) plus two weeks of remote work to complete the research internship. The academic course “Central Europe and Security Issues” runs over the 4 weeks in Warsaw with an intensive schedule of lectures. During this time initial discussions and topic development for the research internship take place.

Central Europe and Security Issues

This course offers a broad overview of contemporary security challenges facing Central Europe, NATO, and the European Union. It focuses on the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the interconnected nature of conflicts in Europe and beyond, including the Middle East.

Students examine terrorism and counterterrorism, private military companies, contemporary warfare, international law, and peacebuilding. The course also explores hybrid threats, cybersecurity, disinformation, energy security, and the increasing role of artificial intelligence in shaping modern security environments. 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)

This 4-week period culminates with a presentation of your proposed research project.

Research Internship

The applied research internship at the Terrorism Research Center complements the academic coursework by allowing students to develop an original research project aligned with current security challenges covered in class. Topics are selected from a list proposed by mentors and reflect contemporary issues such as hybrid threats and technological change.

Students work closely with advisors and peers during dedicated research weeks to complete their papers. Selected projects are considered for publication in Security and Society in the Information Age. 2 ECTS (1 US semester credit)

Note that the final two weeks of your program, dedicated to this research internship only, are remote. You may choose to stay in Warsaw (accommodation is not included) or you may return home or travel. There will be online meetings with advisors during this period, timed to align with Europe or US time zones. Your final paper is due firmly the Friday ending this two-week period.

2026 Syllabus/Cultural Program and Travel Itinerary

Summer School Syllabus*
Summer School Faculty

*Due to the very “current” nature of this program, course topics are updated in the weeks prior to the start date.

Partner University: Civitas University was founded in Warsaw, Poland, in 1997 under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Founded at a time when Poland was still working to rebuild itself after the Communist era, Civitas University was intended to be a new, forward-looking, modern institution to help create the next generation of Polish leaders. Close ties are kept with the academy today, as well as with a range of respected international partners, and many current and former diplomats and politicians lecture regularly at Civitas.

Housed in Warsaw’s historic Stalinist skyscraper, Civitas University is focused on modern issues of global importance such as security, demographics, social welfare, information security and new media. The university is active in supporting democratic institutions and nurturing multicultural societies.

Transcripts and Credit Transfer:Program transcripts are issued by Civitas University and reflect ECTS credits that are generally transferable to your home institution. Always seek pre-approval before embarking on any study abroad program to ensure credit transferability.

Graduate Students:While not specifically designated on the transcript, this program is considered by Civitas University to be both Graduate and Upper Division Undergraduate level due to the specificity of the topic and the research. 

  • Transcripts for optional extentions: for those on either of the add-ons listed below, your transcript for the full program will be issued by our School of Record (Stetson University) and will reflect: for language extention: REES 390: Security Issues and Central Europe (4 credits) and Russian language course numbers based on your level (6 credits); OR for Crossroads extention: REES 390: Geopolitics and Security in the Caucasus (4 credits).

For more on transcripts, credit transfer, and other academic issues, click here.

Housing:Summer school housing is provided in a nearby hotel, twin rooms, with breakfast (substantial). Single room upgrade cost is $1100. Housing is not provided during the online internship (final two weeks of program). For these last two weeks the majority of participants either return home or continue with other study/travel plans in the region. Some, especially those with family in or near Warsaw, stay on independently.

Warsaw, Poland is an exceptional vantage point from which to study the complex political, security, and societal challenges shaping Europe and the wider world. Poland has been partitioned and dominated by foreign powers multiple times, and it suffered some of the worst atrocities of the Second World War and the Holocaust. This historical experience has left Poland highly conscious of its national security and regional position. Following the fall of communism, Poland moved quickly to join both the European Union and NATO, and has since played an increasingly active role in regional and transatlantic security initiatives.

Poland has strengthened ties with neighboring states, particularly Ukraine and the Baltic countries, and is an active participant in the Three Seas Initiative, the Bucharest Nine (focused on NATO’s eastern flank), and the historically important Visegrád Group. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has been one of Kyiv’s most dedicated supporters, welcoming hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a critical hub for diplomatic, humanitarian, and security cooperation.

Today, Warsaw is a dynamic, multi-Slavic city where Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian are commonly heard on the streets. The city combines a vibrant student culture—with cafés, nightlife, and green spaces—with easy access to archives, policy institutions, and international organizations. Centrally located and well connected to its European Union neighbors, Warsaw also serves as an excellent base for further academic exploration of Europe.

Extend your time abroad with our Russian as a Second Language (RSL) 6-week session in Tbilisi, Georgia. Open to all levels of Russian. This option already includes a $1400 discount.

We generally recommend that if you do the language extension that you consider opting out of the internship at the Terrorism Research Center, as otherwise the two-week overlap period is extremely intensive. If you feel strongly that you are able to do both, contact us.

For those looking to broaden even further their study of security issues, we invite you to consider continuing your summer by joining the Crossroads: Geopolitics and Security in the Caucasus

program immediately after the in-country summer school session ends. For those enrolling in both programs a $1200 discount is applied to the latter program. Contact us if you are interested in this option.

Budget Breakdown: Summer budget breakdown 

Scholarships and Grants:

  • Federal aid can help pay for your program if your university pre-approves credit transfer and agrees to manage payment. Check with SRAS and your university for details.
  • All Scholarships and Grants that we know of that can be applied to our programs are listed on our site.
  • SRAS Program Grants are stackable! 
  • SRAS Ambassadors can write while abroad or educate students at home after their return – and earn stipends!
  • SRAS Online Research Internshipsaward partial scholarships for study abroad.

  1. Complete our application (press the “Apply Now” button to create your SRAS account — you will be able to return to the application later).
  2. Alert your home university (if you are currently a student).
    Some universities have deadlines for study abroad that are much earlier than SRAS deadlines -— so involve your home university’s study abroad office in the process as early as possible! They can help ensure that all goes smoothly with credit transfer and financial aid, and perhaps point you to additional funding sources.
  3. See our Planning Guide for more important information about academics, health and safety, and more.

If you are still unsure this is the right program for you, please join an SRAS Info Session or schedule an SRAS advising session to discuss how we can help fulfill your goals and needs!