Peace and Conflict Studies, Minor

Program Code: PEACE_UMNR

Program Description

This minor may be pursued by students in any major. It is designed to help students take a coherent set of courses organized around the study of the sources of international conflict, peace movements, and peace building. The minor requires 18 credits, of which at least nine must be upper division, including six credits at the 400 level. Students will be required to take two prescribed courses, one introductory and one capstone. They also will take three credits of additional courses with an international focus and nine credits from a list of supporting courses, which includes the study of conflict in race relations, family, community, and the development of personal peace as a precursor to peace building. The full requirements with the lists of additional and supporting courses are available in the Peace and Conflict Studies program office. Substitutions for requirements require the permission of the Peace and Conflict Studies minor adviser at Penn State Brandywine.

See this minor list for Brandywine at http://www.brandywine.psu.edu/Academics for additional information.

What is Peace and Conflict Studies?

Peace and Conflict Studies examines how human beings get into and out of violent conflicts. The field sizes up the costs of war, examines the processes and challenges of peace, reflects on the characteristics of human conflicts at all levels. The field is interdisciplinary, drawing together elements of political science, international studies, cultural anthropology, psychology, sociology, economics, military history, war game theory, and studies of literature and expressive culture. Topics include diplomacy, nonviolence, failed states, ethnic struggle, gender mainstreaming, economics of war and peace, and cyber warfare.

You Might Like This Program If...

You want to add a background in international conflict, conflict escalation, peace movements, and peace-building to your four-year degrees. The program is a perfect match for students who plan to work in government, technology, international studies, cybersecurity, and other related fields.

Program Requirements

Requirement Credits
Requirements for the Minor 18

Requirements for the Minor

A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).

Prescribed Courses
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
PLSC 913
PLSC 491Peace and Conflict Studies Seminar3
Additional Courses
Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better
INTU 200 (both cannot be taken for credit)3
or PLSC 14 International Relations Keystone/General Education Course
Supporting Courses and Related Areas
Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better
Select 3 credits from the additional course list in the Peace and Conflict Studies program office3
Select 6 credits from the supporting course list in the Peace and Conflict Studies program office6

Academic Advising

The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.

Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.

READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY

Brandywine

Paul Greene, Ph.D.
Professor of Ethnomusicology and Integrative Arts
Vairo Library, 121
25 Yearsley Mill Road
Media, PA 19063
610-892-1474
pdg4@psu.edu

Paul J. deGategno
Professor
25 Yearsley Mill Road
Media, PA 19063
610-892-1465
pjd15@psu.edu

Career Paths

Careers

The Peace and Conflict Studies Minor helps to prepare students for careers in international law, international commerce, government, diplomacy, development, and cybersecurity.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES WITH A MINOR IN PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

The minor helps to prepare students for graduate studies in law, political science, international studies, and development studies.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Contact

Brandywine

PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES
25 Yearsley Mill Road
Media, PA 19063
610-892-1474, 610-892-1465
pdg4@psu.edu, pjd15@psu.edu

https://www.brandywine.psu.edu/academics/minors/peace-and-conflict-studies