UWTSD Home - Study With Us - Postgraduate Courses - Peace Studies (MA, PGDip, PGCert)
This programme is amongst the very few master-level offerings in the English-speaking world that direct the studies of global peace at the qualities of peacefulness, social justice, holistic well-being, good governance, and ecological integrity.
Meeting the growing needs for positive conceptions of peace, and for understanding the global nature of building peace in complex and dynamic contexts.
- MA Peace Studies
- PGDip Peace Studies
You can apply directly to the University using the Apply Now button at the top of the page.
Full-time and part-time options are available.
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Tuition Fees 2023/24:
Home: £7,800
Overseas: £15,000
Why choose this course?
This programme aims to appeal to students from diverse sectors and domains, including public, private and non-for-profit sectors, national and trans-national agencies, grassroots, regional and global organisations. If you are a graduate interested in pursuing peace-related higher learning, a researcher wishing to deepen your knowledge about global peace and familiarise yourself with methodological skills for peace research, a practitioner intending to strengthen your own knowledge of positive peace and reflect on and improve your practices, or a leader/policymaker seeking to broaden your understanding of the structural dimensions of peacefulness, this programme is for you.
The interdisciplinary curriculum focuses on innovative theories of peace, with an emphasis on personalised and collaborative learning, you will have the opportunities to explore local, and transnational field-based peacebuilding experiences, and become part of an emergent global network of peace-makers.
What you will learn
The curriculum is interdisciplinary and encourages students to move beyond perceiving peace as mere an absence of violence and conflict. It aims to inspire students to develop an in-depth understand of the principles and values underlying positive peace and identify good questions for inquiries concerning community processes, institutional practices, public policies, and structural conditions that can contribute to more peaceful world.
The programme ensures that the focus of students’ learning is grounded in their personal and professional interests and seeks to facilitate empirical research within multiple disciplines, such as dialogue studies, well-being, historical trauma and collective healing, conflict transformation, spirituality, harmony, ecology, and global citizenship.
The programme intentionally creates a learning community among the students, and embeds key pedagogical approaches involved in positive conceptions of peace, such as dialogue, listening, relational enrichment, and well-being practices, in the process of teaching and learning. It further offers an opportunity for students to advance research skills and capacities that contribute to knowledge about structural peace, social transformation, and community regeneration.
The Global Humanity for Peace (GHfP) Institute administers the MA in Peace Studies. The GHfP Institute is dedicated to positive peace and the core team has many years’ experiences in innovative approaches to peacebuilding in different parts of the world. The GHfP is also designated by the UNESCO Social and Human Sciences Sector to implement the UNESCO Collective Healing Initiative, including introducing intergenerational dialogue, collective healing workshops and a Future Leaders Academy.
Thus, the programme benefits from the GHfP Institute’s research, knowledge, and publications on positive peace, well-being, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, collective healing, community regeneration and good governance.
Throughout the programme, the GHfP Institute will be able to showcase the key work of the Institute of Education and Humanities, the worldwide peacebuilding efforts of its Professors of Practice, and provide opportunities for graduates to critically engage with complex challenges of the 21st Century.
Part I (PG Dip & MA)
- Positive Peace: Theories and Practices (30 credits; compulsory)
- Peace from the Perspectives of Well-Being: Theories and Practices (30 credits; compulsory)
Part II (PG Dip & MA)
- Contesting Social and Historical Narratives (30 credits)
- The Philosophy and Practice of Social Research (30 credits)
Part II (MA)
- Ecology and Spirituality (30 credits)
- Harmony: Theory and Practice (30 credits)
- Empowerment and Leadership (30 credits)
- Culture, Identity and Dialogue (30 credits)
- Dissertation (Peace Studies) (60 credits)
- Essays
- Group projects
- Dissertation
Key Information
- Dr Angus M Slater (Programme Director)
- Scherto Gill
- Dr Ryan Joseph O’Byrne
Applicants are expected to have a good first degree (a first or upper second), although every application is considered on its own merit, so places may be offered to applicants who do not meet these criteria, such as on the basis of professional qualification and/or relevant experience.
Candidates with a lower degree classification or no degree may be admitted at Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma level, with an opportunity to upgrade to Master's level if satisfactory progress is made.
As part of an inclusive approach to learning, we encourage applications from non-traditional entry points or without recognised educational backgrounds but who have equivalent and appropriate experience. In such cases, programme staff may ask for a telephone or online conversation or request a sample of writing to satisfy themselves that each student is able to fulfil their potential on the course.
You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit our Scholarships and Bursaries section.
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about the University or about this course in particular.
