International Peace and Conflict Resolution
Master’s Degree Requirements
(44–50 credits)
Option 1—Two-Year Full-time Program
First Year (courses held on the Arcadia campus)
Required Courses
- IP 501 Introduction to Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
- IP 511 Introduction to International Law
- IP 502 Research Methods in Conflict Analysis and Peace Science
- IP 561 Graduate Colloquium (non-credit course)
Electives
- IP 535 Economics, the Environment and Development
- IP 582 International Health and Human Rights
- IP 522 Conflict Resolution in Deeply Divided Societies
- IP 534 Post-Conflict Relief and Development
- IP 533 Conflict Transformation
Second Year
Each M.A. candidate has the option of an individually designed program in year two.
- IP 581 Study Abroad and Concentration Courses (9–12 credits)
Areas of concentration include the following:
- Conflict transformation in deeply divided societies
- Environmental management and sustainable development
- International human rights law
- International public health
- Arms control and regional security systems
- Globalization, integration and economic development
- Building cultures of peace and peace education
- Special topics
- IP 583 Internship Experience (9–12 credits)
The professional experience is practical training at the graduate-level with a practitioner organization in the field. It lasts from three to four months and offers candidates substantive experience in their chosen areas of specialization. Candidates prepare a learning contract with their supervisors and the program Director in order to determine their learning goals, resources and means of evaluation. All candidates keep a journal recording their activities and reflecting on what they learn.
- IP 598 Capstone Seminar (2 credits)
Candidates return to campus in March, after their professional experience, to examine together what they have learned and finalize their career plans. Candidates prepare oral and written presentations based on their overseas placements to share with the first-year M.A. candidates and the University community. Throughout their time abroad and particularly during their fieldwork experience, IPCR students remain in touch with each other and with the faculty.
Option 2—Three-Year Part-time Program
The part-time IPCR program is structured as a three-year, part-time track at 3 credit hours per class, incorporating a 6-credits-per-semester load, including two summer abroad sessions during which both the same credit load and study/work abroad requirements are simultaneously fulfilled. The part-time program differs primarily from that of the full-time, not in course requirements or descriptions, but rather in sequence of coursework.
First, students are earning course credits during summer semesters as well as during fall and spring semesters. That is, students work on a less credit-intensive, year-round schedule, allowing them to fit their part-time graduate studies in with potentially full-time jobs.
Second, summer coursework is done abroad in two relatively shorter intensive sessions, as opposed to one continuous six-to-nine-month stretch of time abroad required in the full-time program. The choice to incorporate two "mini" summer abroad sessions into the part-time program is consistent with the anticipated student profile as that of the early-to-mid-career professional who reasonably may not be able to jump out of his or her professional life for a longer period of time.
The first summer study is done in Northern Ireland as a group. The second summer session is designed to fulfill not only the remaining credits for international study, but also the established criteria for graduate-level study within IPCR; that is, the individualized choice of concentration, leading together with the internship experience, to the master’s thesis.
First Year (18–20 credits)
Fall
- IP 501 Introduction to Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (3 credits)
- IP 511 Introduction to International Law (3 credits)
Spring
- IP 534 Post-Conflict Reconstruction (3 credits)
- IP 535 Economics, Development, and the Environment (3 credits)
Field Studies
- IP 581 Field Study: Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland (Optional, held in fall, no credit)
- IP 581 Field Study: Conflict Resolution in Costa Rica (Optional, 3 credits, held in May)
Second Year (18–21 credits)
Fall
- IP 533 Conflict Transformation
- IP 542 International Health and Human Rights (3 credits)
Spring
- Interdisciplinary Elective (3 credits)
- Interdisciplinary Elective (3 credits)
Summer
- IP 583 Internship (6–9 credits)
Third Year (8 credits)
- Interdisciplinary Elective (3 credits)
- Interdisciplinary Elective (3 credits)
- IP 598 Capstone Seminar (2 credits)
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