国防研究部（DSD）的研究反映了我们工作人员和研究生的不同兴趣。它涵盖了军事，海军，外交和帝国历史，国际关系，国防和区域安全政策研究，战略研究以及冲突伦理。这些广泛的主题通过它们与当代安全和国防问题的关系和相关性而结合在一起。的确，DSD的独特位置，即位于国防学院的学术部门，极大地影响了其研究。作为英国安全和国防教育的核心，它不仅可以借鉴英国军官的经验和知识，还可以借鉴来自众多盟国的军官的经验和知识。因此，该部的研究不仅可以在英国而且可以在全球范围内从国防思想和政策制定中受益并影响国防思想和政策制定。
The Defence Studies Department’s unique position as an academic department based at the UK’s Defence Academy in Oxfordshire heavily influences its research. Sitting at the heart of security and defence education in the United Kingdom, it can draw on the experiences and knowledge of not only UK military officers and civil servants, but officers from a wide range of allied nations. The Department’s research is therefore able to benefit from and influence defence thinking and policymaking not just in the UK, but across the world. Research in the Department is reflective of the diverse interests of our staff members and postgraduate community. It covers military, naval, diplomatic and imperial history, international relations, defence and regional security studies, strategic studies, and the ethics of conflict. This wide range of topics is united by their relation and relevance to contemporary security and defence issues. Researchers from the Department have played an important role in past UK security and defence reviews and continue to influence future reviews. Staff members are regularly consulted by national and international media on contemporary and past events, and they are actively engaged in public engagement with the heritage sector. Research projects in the Department have been supported by a variety of funding bodies, including the Leverhulme Trust, the British Academy, the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the MacArthur Foundation, the British Council, the European Commission, the US Army War College, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the US Department of Defense.