Overview

The MA Advanced Practice in Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution is offered by the internationally recognised Department of Peace Studies and International Development, drawing on over 40 years of experience as a leading centre of peace research and education.

The programme will develop your understanding of the causes and dynamics of social conflict, with a strong focus on case-study analysis. It will allow you to develop informed judgements about when and how to engage constructively with conflict, recognising the strengths and limitations of different approaches to intervention. And you will consider critical questions surrounding and problematising efforts to build peace in different contexts, and in the light of contemporary trends, including converging environmental, economic and political developments.

Placement

You can choose to include an internship as part of your course, in which case you will study over 15 months rather than a year. To do this, you should initially register for the one-year programme and then transfer to the 15 month programme when you have secured a placement, any time up until the middle of Semester 2.

The internship / placement further enhances the development of professional experience and practical skills during your Masters programme, integrating practitioner community engagement with your academic studies.

Learning and assessment

We use a range of innovative approaches to teaching, learning and assessment to enable you to actively engage with the key concepts and syllabus, and to develop not only your academic knowledge and understanding but also your skills and experience for the worlds of policy, practice and employment.

There are opportunities to take specialist pathways, including thematic specialisms, and to specialise in selected regions (e.g. Africa, Middle East), with opportunities for selected study visits. This includes the high profile Africa Study Visit to an African country recovering from conflict (which can be taken as an assessed element of the programme) or other further voluntary study visits to Northern Ireland, Hiroshima or to major locations of International Organisations, such as The Hague, Brussels and London.

You'll also have opportunities to participate in an extended ‘crisis response game’ or the international ‘Model United Nations’ simulation game.

Career prospects

There is an increasing demand for professional education relating to careers in peace and humanitarian work internationally. You’ll develop the skills required by employers in this area, such as conflict analysis, leadership and decision-making, making you highly employable as a graduate.

The programme is also designed to meet the needs and expectations of early/mid-career professionals looking to take the next step in t