Dr Sarah-Louise Miller

Training

A woman stood on a staircase with international flags in the background.
"I am here at the Defence Academy to teach our course members, but often I find that I learn just as much from them as I hope they can glean from the academic elements of their courses with us."

Dr Sarah-Louise Miller is a historian of war and conflict. Specialising in air and sea power, she is a King’s College London (KCL) academic lecturer based at the Defence Academy.

"I really enjoy and am passionate about making the history of war, conflict and the armed forces accessible to a wide audience."

Dr Miller began her teaching career as a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies at KCL, teaching undergraduate seminars and dissertation workshops. Since September 2023, she has been working full-time in a teaching role for the Defence Studies Department (DSD) at the Defence Academy.

Her role focuses on teaching professional military education to serving military officers and civil servants from more than fifty countries, at the Joint Services Command and Staff College at the Defence Academy. Her teaching responsibilities include giving lectures, classroom teaching, co-teaching with military directing staff and supervising postgraduate dissertations to the Advanced Command and Staff Course, and the Intermediate Officer Development courses for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. She has also worked with the Royal College of Defence Studies while at DSD.

"I am extremely privileged to be able to work so closely with the British armed forces and with military personnel from around the world."

KCL academic staff are at the forefront of innovative professional military education, combining world-leading research with pioneering techniques that respond to the ever-evolving needs of military education. The courses in the Defence Studies Department equip students with the knowledge, intellectual skills, and creativity needed to succeed in a complex and demanding operating environment.

Beyond teaching course members through lectures and interactive seminars Dr Miller supports them outside of the classroom with essay writing guidance and debriefs, and through applied staff work exercises.

"It is wonderful to go beyond the academic bounds of theory and discuss practical application of what we teach here, and to hear about professional experiences and insights from our own military personnel and our international partners."
"I truly believe I have the best job in the world and feel very lucky to be able to meet so many wonderful people every day."