COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master of Arts degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at Kent State University requires a minimum of 36 credit hours and offers students a multidisciplinary curriculum designed to prepare professional peace practitioners. Core courses provide foundational knowledge in conflict analysis, negotiation, leadership, and qualitative research methods, including PACS 60000 (Foundations of Conflict Analysis and Management), PACS 60001 (Advanced Negotiation), PACS 60009 (Leadership for Peaceful Change), and POL 60010 (Qualitative Research Methods I). Students also complete a major elective, selecting 3–6 credit hours from options such as PACS 50089 (International Experience: Peace and Conflict Studies), PACS 50090 (Study Away: Peace and Conflict Studies), PACS 59091 (Variable Content Seminar), and topic-based courses in identity, social movements, peace psychology, and visual methods.The program culminates with a 3–6 credit requirement, which may be fulfilled through PACS 60099 (Intervention Design and Implementation), PACS 60192 (Internship), or PACS 60199 (Thesis I). Students choose one of two concentrations, each totaling 15 credit hours. The Applied Conflict Transformation concentration focuses on domestic and organizational dynamics, requiring PACS 60002 (Advanced Mediation), PACS 60003 (Community-Based Conflict Transformation), and PACS 60004 (Organizational Conflict and Cooperation), with six additional credits from electives such as peace education, restorative justice, facilitation, public sector conflict, and social justice-focused courses. Students without prior mediation experience complete PACS 58080 as a prerequisite.The Peace, Conflict, and Development concentration emphasizes the intersection of peace, conflict, and development in fragile or insecure states. Required courses include PACS 60005 (Peace, Conflict and Development: Local-Global Dynamics), PACS 60006 (Post-Conflict Peacebuilding), and PACS 60007 (Praxis in Conflict-Sensitive Development), supplemented by six elective credits covering topics such as environmental change and conflict, conflict transformation and reconciliation, global governance, water and society, and politics of development. This concentration prepares students for careers in international conflict prevention, peacebuilding, sustainable development, and global governance roles. The combination of core coursework, concentration requirements, electives, and experiential or research-based culminating experiences ensures graduates are equipped to address complex conflict situations and promote peace in both domestic and international contexts.