The Staff College was inaugurated on 25 November 2010, which also marked the official formation of Defence Academy. The Staff College delivers the Command and Staff Course aimed at late seniority Majors. It is delivered in partnership with New Zealand Massey University who provide the post-graduate academic component of the course. The course is a tri service throughout and truly joint in nature with local police and MINDEF civilians attending as well. The course is very international with approximately half the 30 students attending are from overseas, including regional ASEAN partners such as Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia but also the UK, China, Pakistan, Australia, Oman and New Zealand. The staffs are also international in nature and have an exceptional operational and teaching pedigree. The course is 40 weeks long.
The aim of the CSC is to broaden the professional and academic knowledge and to develop command, analytical and communication skills of mid-level officers in order to prepare them for higher command and staff appointments.
It is structured into 3 terms. Term 1 looks at Command, Leadership and Management with an emphasis on Strategic Management and complex problem solving. Term 2 looks at International Security and the contemporary strategic environment. And Term 3 is given over to Operational Planning. The course is 40 weeks long with a break of 1 week between Term 1 and Term 2 and 2 weeks break between Term 2 and Term 3.
A student can expect two awards on successful completion of the Command and Staff Course. First is a post-graduate academic award of a Masters in International Security from Massey University, with one further module of study for the most able students. The students have an option to receive a postgraduate diploma without further work.
