Everyone wants to be a 'strategist' or to 'think strategically', but what does that actually mean? This course introduces students to Strategy - what it is, how to do it, and how to use it in the complex world of the 21st century. The course focuses on strategy as a tool of governments and the military, but is relevant for those with an interest in business and organisational strategy as well.
This course also looks at how strategy is put into practice, through defence organisations. It discusses the challenge of turning ideas into practice, managing armed forces, dealing with limits on resources and organisational capacity, and explores how strategists must work across political, military and social dimensions to implement their proposals.
As strategy is not just a field of study but a skill we use in our work or personal affairs, this course emphasizes active and authentic learning, providing students with the practical skills of a strategist. It uses the Case Method for regular major exercises using real world strategic and defence scenarios, along with problem-based-learning exercises in seminars. All lectures are professionally pre-recorded and provided online for students to review prior to class.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify the central concepts in the field of Strategic Studies and Defence Studies
- Demonstrate knowledge of the key historical thinkers and schools of thought that have shaped strategy
- Develop their own answers in response to the questions identified in the course and/or posit new, original questions in Strategic Studies;
- Identify the evolution of Defence and Strategic Guidance processes in the 20th and 21st century.
- Apply, in written and oral form, strategy and defence concepts and theories to historical and contemporary cases.
Indicative Assessment
- Research Essay (3000 words) (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Case Method Participation - 5 Cases in class (25) [LO 2,3,4,5]
- Case Method Reflective Journal (5 x 300 words) (10) [LO 2,3,4,5]
- Take-home-Exam - Applied Case (25) [LO 1,2,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
This course comprises some 130 hours of activity over 10 weeks, both interactive/seminar based and independent research. The course comprises a maximum of 6k words of assessment or the equivalent. Please note this is a general guide, averaged over the semester and the final hours ultimately depend on the individual's ability in reading and writing.
Prescribed Texts
N/A
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2178 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | In Person | N/A |