Program Overview

The Master of Arts degree in Peace and Conflict Studies is designed for students interested in gaining the knowledge and practical skills necessary to become a professional peace practitioner, one who is equipped to promote peaceful change and social justice whether in the local community, across the country or at the international level.

Students have the opportunity to learn at the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State’s ‘living memorial’ to the four students killed on May 4, 1970, and one of the oldest and most well-known institutions for the study of peace and conflict. Students work with faculty who are leading experts in their field and with students from all over the world — all of whom are dedicated to building peaceful local communities, societies and states in a time of increasing incivility, rancor and conflict.

In the program, students examine the causes and consequences of violence; develop methods for preventing, resolving and transforming conflicts; and critically analyze the values and institutions of peace. Students study relevant academic and policy literature and develop an advanced understanding of the field. Above all, however, they embark on a multidisciplinary program with a strong focus on experiential learning, the development of advanced skills relevant to the field (e.g., mediation, conflict analysis, project management), training in leadership and career planning for future employment, whether as a peace practitioner or researcher.

Through the school's partnership with the Center for Conflict Management at the University of Rwanda, students have the opportunity to undertake a study abroad course in Africa to examine both how the country has responded to the challenges of post-genocide reconstruction, and how it is addressing contemporary environmental challenges.

The Peace and Conflict Studies comprises concentration:

The Peace, Conflict and Development concentration explores the intersection between peace, conflict and development in fragile or insecure states and societies around the world. Students examine policy and practice in the fields of international conflict prevention, international peacekeeping, post-conflict peace-building, sustainable development and good governance. Students specialize in a wide range of electives, including on issues such as environmental change and conflict, reconciliation after conflict and the global governance of military technologies. This concentration is designed to appeal to those students wishing to obtain work in fields and organizations dealing with the local and international dimensions of peace, conflict and development in the global south, including governments, international organizations, international development and humanitarian-relief non-governmental organizations (NGO).

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Analyze and apply key theories, concepts and policies relevant to the field of peace and conflict studies, in general and in their specific concentrations.
• Synthesize the interplay of conflict sources at different levels of analyses (from interpersonal to structural) with the dynamics relevant to all conflict situations.
• Analyze and apply appropriate intervention practices for successful conflict resolution or transformation at relevant levels of conflict.
• Describe and evaluate the key role that leadership plays in conflict intervention and crisis management.
• Integrate and apply learning from across the program to real-world situations.
• Apply knowledge about the field to develop personally tailored career plans.