The University of St Andrews is Scotland's first university and third oldest in the UK. For almost six centuries, it has proudly upheld the tradition of academic excellence, attracting scholars of international repute and students from all over the world. Through its research centres and institutes, St Andrews has excelled in the fields of international relations and international security, earning a reputation as one of the world's leading academic institutions in the area of terrorism studies. The University of St Andrews was the first in Europe to offer a full course of study in terrorism, through the CSTPV.

The Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) was established in 1994 as a research centre within the University of St Andrews. The centre and its renowned staff regularly contribute to public commissions and projects to assess and evaluate preparedness for terrorist attacks and to identify vulnerabilities likely to be exploited by terrorists. The centre is home to the highly acclaimed quarterly journal Terrorism and Political Violence published by Informa, the Certificate and Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies, plus the MLitt in Terrorism Studies.