Peace and Conflict Studies

Overview

The newly created Master’s Program (and Bachelor’s/Master’s Program) in Peace and Conflict Studies from Rutgers University within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-Newark offers a unique approach to the issues which will shape our future. Based in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, this program prepares students for further scholarship or employment in three areas: the social bases of peace and conflict, the causes of large-scale violence, and nonviolent social conflict and recovery from violence. Students will also have opportunities for research and practical internships associated with the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, and the International Institute for Peace, whose Directors are faculty members of the Master’s Program. The Center and Institute bring scholars, policy makers, peacemakers, projects, and events to our campus, and connect us to researchers, practitioners, and peacebuilding communities around the world.

Program Learning Goals

Our program is unique among Peace and Conflict Studies for its base in Anthropology and Sociology.  (All of our Core Faculty are from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology).  This is reflected in our three distribution areas: Social and Cultural Bases of Conflict and Cooperation; Violent Conflict; and Nonviolent Social Movements and Recovery from Violence.  Students will take courses in each area, and are expected to learn how different trajectories of cooperative or conflictive actions feed into violent or non-violent outcomes.  Core Courses reflect the expertise of existing faculty members. Additionally, a wide range of elective courses will be designated from our multidisciplinary Associate Faculty in Newark and New Brunswick.