Institutional direction
NDU-R serves the educational needs of Rwanda Defence Force senior officers, sister national security professionals, senior national public servants, and allied military officers — professionalising Rwanda's defence and security institutions through degree-granting education and research, independent from the University of Rwanda.
To be a world-class institution that provides cutting-edge defence and security education, research and training to produce leaders and professionals capable of responding to evolving security challenges.
To educate and develop national defence and security professionals, senior government officials involved in national defence and security, and international partners, with a view to enhancing their strategic thinking through high-quality education, training and research.
Our mandate
The founding framework gives NDU-R a broad role across academic programmes, professional training, research, innovation, knowledge exchange, and national problem-solving.
Develop and deliver specialised programmes that strengthen defence, security, public service, and professional leadership.
Carry out and promote research in defence and security affairs, and turn knowledge into useful policy and practice.
Prepare defence and security professionals, senior officials, and international partners for complex responsibilities.
Advance innovation, strategic thinking, interagency understanding, and solutions to national challenges.
Governance
NDU-R operates through governance and management bodies that connect institutional oversight, executive leadership, academic standards, and university-wide coordination.
The President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Rwanda Defence Force serves as Chancellor.
Provides institutional oversight within the governance structure established for the university.
Leads the university's executive administration and implementation of its mandate.
Guides academic matters, standards, programmes, research, and the integrity of university awards.
Coordinates university-wide management and the work of constituent organs.
Organizational structure
The organizational structure brings together university leadership, academic affairs, research, strategic planning, administration, finance, digitalization, institutional support, and constituent institutions.
Staffing totals shown for each organizational category are retained as displayed in the institutional structure.
Institutional governance
Institutional leadership
Governance body · no staffing count shown
Organizational positions
Constituent institutions
NDU-R brings together specialised institutions serving strategic education, health sciences, science and technology, defence, and security studies.
National Defence College - Rwanda
Defence College of Health Sciences
Defence Institute of Science and Technology
Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies
Founding framework
