Certificate in Indo-Pacific Security
A six-week applied professional program examining the forces shaping security, deterrence and strategic competition across the Indo-Pacific — now integrating the Geopolitical Risk Fundamentals and Indo-Pacific Geopolitical Risk Analysis curriculum in a single expanded program, delivered four times a year.
Security developments are visible. Their strategic meaning is harder to see.
Military exercises, maritime confrontations, alliance initiatives, economic restrictions and diplomatic signals occur continuously. The professional challenge is to determine what these developments reveal about power, objectives, leverage, deterrence and the changing regional order.
Where is power concentrated?
Identify the actors, capabilities, geography and dependencies that shape the strategic environment.
What are actors trying to achieve?
Examine interests, objectives, constraints, signalling, coercion and likely behaviour.
Is the strategic balance changing?
Evaluate deterrence, force posture, alliances, grey-zone pressure and cumulative changes to the security environment.
What is the strategic effect?
Connect events to regional stability, escalation, strategic choice and plausible policy consequences.
Structured for working professionals
| Duration | 6 consecutive weeks |
|---|---|
| Cohorts | Four cohorts a year — October, January, April and July |
| Delivery | Live online with regional participation |
| Lead facilitator | Dr Hugh S. Tuckfield, Executive Director and Founder, Indo-Pacific Studies Center |
| Learning model | Faculty instruction, contemporary cases, strategic frameworks, guided discussion and applied exercises |
| Assessment | Short lesson checks, applied exercises and a final strategic assessment |
| Completion standard | 75% overall standard; online lesson checks may be repeated |
| Credential | IPSC Certificate in Indo-Pacific Security |
| Entry requirement | No prior security or strategic-studies qualification required |
Six modules across the Indo-Pacific security system
Each module combines strategic concepts with current or realistic Indo-Pacific cases, guided analysis and an applied exercise. The expanded program integrates the analytical method from IPSC’s geopolitical-risk curriculum — escalation frameworks, warning indicators and structured assessment are applied throughout. The emphasis is on interpreting strategic behaviour rather than simply describing events.
The Indo-Pacific Strategic Order
Examine the distribution of power across the Indo-Pacific and the strategic roles of China, the United States, India, Japan, Australia, ASEAN and Pacific states. Analyse geography, regional institutions, competing concepts of order and the difference between structural change and temporary political movement.
Military Power, Deterrence and Escalation
Examine conventional and nuclear deterrence, deterrence by denial and punishment, extended deterrence, force posture, readiness, mobilisation and strategic signalling. Assess the distinction between possessing military capability and being able credibly to use it to influence another actor.
Alliances, Partnerships and Regional Security Architecture
Examine the US alliance network, AUKUS, the Quad, bilateral and trilateral partnerships, ASEAN-led institutions and emerging security cooperation across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Assess burden sharing, interoperability, access, logistics, political commitments and credibility.
Maritime Security, Chokepoints and Grey-Zone Competition
Analyse the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, East China Sea and critical maritime corridors connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Examine coast-guard operations, maritime militia, coercive presence, lawfare, blockades, quarantines, salami slicing, chokepoints and sea lines of communication.
Economic, Technology and Infrastructure Security
Examine economic coercion, critical minerals, semiconductor competition, export controls, supply chains, cyber infrastructure, artificial intelligence, space systems, telecommunications and submarine cables. Consider how economic integration can simultaneously create prosperity, dependence and coercive leverage.
Crisis Statecraft and Regional Security Futures
Integrate the course through strategic signalling, coercive diplomacy, reassurance, crisis management, escalation control and policy choice. Examine how governments define objectives, select instruments, anticipate counter-moves and respond when desired outcomes exceed available power.
Grounded in the security environment as it changes
Teaching draws on IPSC Strategic Intelligence Unit monitoring and research-centre analysis. Participants apply course concepts to contemporary Indo-Pacific strategic problems, rather than relying only on retrospective case studies.
Cross-Strait Security
PLA activity, coercive signalling, blockade and quarantine concepts, deterrence and changing strategic baselines.
Chinese Military Power
Force modernisation, operational activity, readiness, power projection and the strategic effects of growing capability.
Deterrence and Denial
Force posture, credibility, alliance commitments, escalation control and regional deterrence architectures.
Grey-Zone Competition
Maritime coercion, coast-guard activity, cumulative pressure, salami slicing and activity below the threshold of armed conflict.
Chokepoints & Corridors
Maritime routes, ports, logistics, energy flows, submarine cables and strategic geographic leverage.
Economic & Technology Security
Critical minerals, semiconductors, supply chains, export controls, infrastructure and strategic dependencies.
What participants said after the previous IPSC cohort
Selected public reflections from participants who completed IPSC’s Certificate in Geopolitical Risk Fundamentals — the curriculum now integrated into this expanded program.
The programme has given me a strong reference for understanding the political and economic forces shaping events, and understanding key actors and context for geopolitical developments.
Throughout the course, we learned to differentiate events from drivers, detect relevant signals and indicators across domains, identify the varying interests, constraints and capabilities of diverse actors, and compress this data into a precise risk brief.
This programme allowed me to explore how we can move from understanding a geopolitical environment to a structured assessment of its consequences for organisations and decision-making.
This course helped strengthen my ability to identify key signals, assess actors and interests, anticipate escalation pathways, evaluate potential scenarios, and translate geopolitical developments into actionable strategic insights and decision-relevant recommendations.
It was a great six weeks. My biggest takeaways have poised me to analyse data with a specific framework and place scrutiny on set parameters to get the best answers for a client or principal.
It has been a pleasure to learn through the Geopolitical Risk Fundamentals course. I look forward to working with IPSC again in the future and learning more.
Professionals who need to understand the Indo-Pacific security environment
No previous security-studies qualification is required. The program is suitable for participants who need a more structured understanding of regional security, strategic competition and state behaviour.
Policy & Diplomacy
Officials, advisers and diplomats interpreting strategic developments and their policy implications.
Defence & National Security
Defence and security professionals seeking wider regional strategic context for their work.
Researchers & Advisers
Analysts, researchers and consultants developing an Indo-Pacific security specialisation.
Business, Media & International Affairs
Professionals whose work requires informed interpretation of regional security and strategic competition.
The IPSC flagship program — delivered four times a year
The Certificate in Indo-Pacific Security is now the flagship of IPSC professional education, integrating the Geopolitical Risk Fundamentals and Indo-Pacific Geopolitical Risk Analysis curriculum into a single expanded program. Cohorts run in October, January, April and July.
US$295 · Founding Cohort fee
The first cohort of the expanded program. Founding Cohort tuition applies to October 2026 only — early registration US$255 until 20 September.
US$595 · Early Commitment
Standard tuition applies from January 2027: US$595 Early Commitment by 15 November, US$695 by 18 December, US$795 thereafter. IPSC Alumni US$545. A limited number of partial scholarships are awarded each cohort — applications for January close 1 November 2026.
Founding Cohort begins Thursday, 15 October 2026
The program runs across six consecutive Thursdays. Regional live-session arrangements support participation across the Indo-Pacific and other major time zones.
| Session 1 | Thursday, 15 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Session 2 | Thursday, 22 October 2026 |
| Session 3 | Thursday, 29 October 2026 |
| Session 4 | Thursday, 5 November 2026 |
| Session 5 | Thursday, 12 November 2026 |
| Session 6 | Thursday, 19 November 2026 |
| Next cohort | The January 2027 cohort begins Thursday, 14 January 2027. |
| Live session times | Regional session times are confirmed with cohort enrolment information. |
Before you enrol
Do I need previous Indo-Pacific or security experience?
No. The program establishes the principal concepts from the beginning while remaining suitable for professionals who already work with Indo-Pacific security or international affairs.
Is this an academic or practical program?
It is an applied professional program. Strategic concepts are introduced through concise teaching and then applied to contemporary Indo-Pacific cases, structured exercises and guided discussion.
What happened to Geopolitical Risk Fundamentals and Indo-Pacific Geopolitical Risk Analysis?
Their curriculum has been integrated into this expanded Certificate in Indo-Pacific Security, which is now the IPSC flagship program, delivered four times a year. Escalation frameworks, warning indicators and structured risk assessment from the geopolitical-risk curriculum are applied throughout the modules. Existing registrants have been contacted directly with transfer arrangements.
Why is the October cohort priced differently from January?
October 2026 is the Founding Cohort of the expanded program and carries one-time founding tuition of US$295. Standard tuition applies from the January 2027 cohort: US$595 Early Commitment, US$695 Priority, US$795 Final Rate.
Are scholarships available?
A limited number of partial scholarships are awarded each cohort by application. Applications for the January 2027 cohort close 1 November 2026; unsuccessful applicants may enrol at the standard registration tiers.
What happens if I cannot attend one live session?
Course materials and session arrangements support participants who occasionally cannot attend a live session. Participants remain responsible for completing required learning and assessment tasks for certificate completion.
What is required to receive the certificate?
Participants complete the required learning materials, lesson checks and applied exercises and achieve an overall completion standard of 75%.
Can organisations enrol several participants?
Yes. Government agencies, universities, businesses and other institutions may contact IPSC regarding group participation, institutional invoicing or tailored cohort arrangements.
Certificate in Indo-Pacific Security
October 2026 is the Founding Cohort of the expanded program. The Founding Cohort fee is US$295 — October only; standard tuition from January 2027 is US$595. Early registration is available at US$255 until 11.59 pm AEST on Sunday, 20 September 2026, or until the early-registration allocation is filled.
What recent participants said
Selected public reflections from participants in the previous cohort of IPSC’s geopolitical-risk program — the curriculum now integrated into this expanded flagship.
Complete your enrolment details
Complete the short enrolment form immediately below this section. After submission, you will continue to the secure payment page for the enrolment option you selected.