There are times when it feels like humanity is making great strides in fostering peace, and times when it seems like the whole world has forgotten what the concept means. If you're looking around and wondering why it seems like peace is so elusive, and conflict so very prevalent, peace and conflict studies might be a great option for your degree.

Here's a look at this exciting, constantly relevant field of study and all of the opportunities it offers students.

What are peace and conflict studies?

Peace and conflict studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that includes subjects like cultural studies, criminal justice, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.

A student of peace and conflict studies can expect to analyze and discuss violent and non-violent behavior and understand the first steps to implementing a successful path to peace. Establishing a definition for “peace” and analyzing how to prevent conflict, employing de-escalation tactics, and finding solutions to create systems that enable lasting peace in conflicts are some of the essential skills this academic field offers.

Peace and studies programs usually try to understand and answer questions like:

• What causes conflict?
• What is considered 'violence' and how does violence impact individuals and societies?
• How can conflict be resolved?
• What is peace, and how can it be reestablished after conflict?
• What practices foster peace?
• Is peace a human right, and if so, how can that right be enforced?
• Is long-term peace possible?

The graduate of a peace and conflict studies program will be able to transfer all of these skills and knowledge into several different career options.

Why you should study peace and conflict

The questions posed by peace and conflict studies may sound rather philosophical and, in some ways, very subjective. If you are a student looking for a field of study that will allow you to make a positive difference in the world, you may wonder whether peace and conflict studies are more esoteric than practical.

Here are some reasons why a degree in peace and conflict studies lends itself to both intellectual and hands-on approaches to dealing with universal human issues.

It's always a current topic

While peace and conflict studies emerged as an academic field after World War II, it has been a concern of leaders, philosophers, and most humans for, well, forever. From a historical and archaeological perspective, there is evidence of organized armed conflict between two distinct groups going back to at least the Neolithic period.

After the First and Second World Wars, particularly with the emergence of nuclear warfare and the founding of the United Nations, understanding why conflict between humans develops, how it impacts society, and how to resolve conflict and foster long-term peace became an academic focus. By the early twenty-first century, an estimated 400 universities and institutes offered degrees in peace and conflict studies.

It might seem disheartening that with all these degree programs, the world seems to still turn to conflict as a way to resolve problems between groups and states. However, studies show that the twenty-first century has seen fewer deaths from armed conflicts than previous centuries and that, on average, we experience and witness less violence than our ancestors.

It's unclear whether the formalization of peace and conflict studies as an academic discipline can be fully credited for reducing violent conflicts and ensuring peaceful resolutions. Still, as a multidisciplinary subject, it allows for collective and cooperative approaches to problems and solutions, and ensures that people can make informed decisions, use best practice, and have the necessary tools when working to resolve conflict and establish or maintain peace.

It has many real-world applications

Conflict is everywhere and occurs at all levels - from the global to the interpersonal. Peace and conflict studies explore a broad range of topics, such as conflict theory, the history of nonviolent protest, and human rights, all of which have application across a spectrum of situations and professions. And because both the information and methodologies learned in a peace and conflict studies course are interdisciplinary, graduates can apply them to a variety of career paths.

This course of study also promotes the development of transferable “soft skills,” including critical thinking, self-awareness, and communication. The lessons learned during peace and conflict studies apply to world wars, but they also apply to everything from workplace conflicts to domestic disputes.

In general, students who complete degrees in peace and conflict studies aim to work in government, peacekeeping, or international relations. But you will also find students looking to work in human resources, psychology and counseling, social work, education, and law enforcement.

It's in high demand

Graduates with peace and conflict studies degrees go on to work in a variety of sectors, including corporations with global interests, nonprofit public service groups, and the government. They also hold many different positions, including human rights officers, neighborhood action planners, researchers, analysts, legal officers, program managers, victim mediators, arbitrators, journalists, refugee resettlement program staffers, and more. The field even has applications in business and marketing.

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the ability to communicate across boundaries, employ empathy, and develop mutually beneficial solutions increases in value. Indeed, if you boil peace and conflict studies down to one of its most basic themes - the ability to see things from a different perspective than your own - there is an argument to be made that it's a subject that should be included in almost every degree.

Careers for peace and conflict studies graduates

Here we have highlighted some challenging and fulfilling career sectors that a peace and conflict studies degree prepares you to excel in:

Diplomacy

Many students aspire to diplomatic positions or roles in civil service, and a peace and conflict studies degree could prepare you for the life and work of a diplomat, field officer, or even ambassador.

In most countries, diplomats are appointed by the state to be representatives to other nations or states and to work in furthering their state's international interests. They conduct diplomacy and fulfill diplomatic missions, and also work with other states and international organizations to find solutions to problems and conflicts. Diplomats may also act as advisors to policy-makers or take on the role of negotiator or mediator in international agreements.

Field officers, or foreign service officers, usually work in practical roles within a diplomatic mission, like a foreign embassy or consulate. They might cooperate with local governments and organizations, assist citizens with consular services, or do community outreach to promote their nation and its interests. Field officers may also work in a research capacity, collecting, analyzing, and reporting on information that pertains to their nation's interests.

Ambassadors are high-ranking diplomats who usually serve as the main representation for their nation abroad, and as overseers to all the other diplomats within their host country. Ambassadors are usually temporary or term-based positions, and may be politically-adjacent, both in their function and appointment.

As well as working as representatives of an individual nation to another sovereign nation, diplomats can work in a multinational capacity. Well-known international organizations like the European Union, the United Nations, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could not function without trained diplomats and experts in diplomacy.

Nonprofit and non-government sectors

Nonprofit and non-government organizations (NPOs and NGOs) are the perfect avenue to pursue your career dreams if you are a peace and conflict studies graduate.

NPOs and NGOs are mission-driven. They focus on offering solutions to social, economic, or any other issue that the current state government or for-profit sectors struggle or fail to address. Nonprofits help fill the much-needed gaps in our political, social, and economic systems.

The multidisciplinary nature of a peace and conflict degree, plus the communication and soft skills required to succeed, makes graduates a good fit for service-focused organizations. As well as considering peace and studies graduates for development and communications specialists roles, many NPOs and NGOs look for executive director candidates who have skills in negotiation and conflict resolution.

Law and policy

Law and policy are two of the many disciplines incorporated into the study of peace and conflict. Understanding law - especially international law - is essential to the efficient management of international conflict situations.

Outside of direct peace and conflict diplomacy, the negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills and knowledge acquired during a peace and conflict studies degree are excellent starting points for a career in law or policy-making. You might start with an undergraduate degree in peace and conflict studies and progress into a human rights law degree. Or pursue a career as a policy officer or lawmaker.

Some very relevant - and in-demand - areas of law and policy where a peace and conflict studies background could be very beneficial have to do with immigration, migration, and asylum. Conflict is often a driving force behind the movement of people from one region to another, and governments and organizations need people who understand how conflict drives migration and the legal and ethical responsibilities necessary.

Conflict resolution and mediation

Another law-adjacent career path for peace and conflict studies graduates is in conflict resolution and mediation. Roles in this field may be in-house legal representatives for a company, a specific specialist in a law firm, or an independent consultant brought in by individuals or organizations.

A conflict resolution and mediation specialist can include mediators, arbitrators, and conciliators. They might find themselves negotiating company mergers, facilitating legal settlements, or helping individuals navigate interpersonal conflicts like divorce, child custody, or neighbor disputes.

Human resources

Another career that is perfect for a peace and conflict studies graduate is a career in human resources. A human resource specialist with mediation and conflict resolution skills will be highly sought after, especially in roles related to employment relations, dispute resolution, and retention and termination management.

Human resources professionals will also find that peace and conflict studies include principles that are useful in things like negotiations, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and organizational psychology. While human resources may not present the international opportunities of some other peace and conflict resolution careers, your degree can help you make a positive impact within a company or organization.

Psychology

Psychology is another field where peace and conflict studies have transferable applications. Human psychology is a foundation for understanding what drives conflict between people and groups, and knowing how to resolve conflict and mediate peace can serve psychologists and mental health professionals in a variety of ways.

Whether you aim to be a clinical psychologist, a school or family counselor, or a social worker, understanding what drives people into conflict, how to de-escalate situations, and how to lay the foundations for cooperation and communication will be essential skills.

Trauma psychology is a unique specialty to consider for all peace and conflict studies students. Many job listings for work in countries with the highest level of political, social, and economic upheaval, especially in war-torn areas, are looking for experts in conflict resolution who also have skills and experience in dealing with individual and collective trauma.

Education

If you've ever spent any time around a group of children, you will know that conflict is inevitable. It's understandable too - children are not only developing a sense of self, they're also learning how to communicate, regulate their feelings and emotions, and deal with the complexities of social organization.

While peace and conflict studies may not be a prerequisite for an education degree or a teaching certificate, peace and conflict graduates could find rewarding opportunities in education as school counselors, school leaders, and resource officers. The ability to negotiate and resolve conflict will also serve educators well when it comes to dealing with parents, school boards, and local politicians.

Academia

Peace and conflict studies graduates take what they learn in their studies and try to apply the theories and practices to real-world scenarios. But where do those theories and practices come from? The answer is, in large part, academics - people who study peace and conflict for a living.

If you want to help advance the field of peace and conflict studies, develop new theories or refine best practices, or educate the next generation of peace and conflict graduates, then academia might be the path to choose.

Academics will usually pick an area of peace and conflict studies to specialize in, as well as focusing their studies on specific methodology or discipline, like psychology, history, political science, or law. They then apply their chosen area and discipline to an examination of wars, major conflicts, and other events to try and understand why the events happened, their impact on people, society, and the world, and how they could have been prevented or more expeditiously resolved.

Academics publish their research and findings, and these, in turn, are used to inform policies and laws, develop plans and protocols, and create curricula for peace and conflict studies programs.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a degree that will give you the skills and knowledge to make an impact on the world, a peace and conflict studies degree could be the perfect choice. This interdisciplinary field will allow you to explore a range of subjects and disciplines, work in high-demand, international, and exciting roles, and offer a good amount of transferable skills that can be applied to many different careers.

Historians assert that of the past 3,400 years, only 268 can be classed as 'peaceful.' And while we may live in a period of relative peace compared to previous eras, a glance at the news shows that we certainly have not achieved actual peace. Conflict may be an inescapable part of human existence, and long-term global peace may not be attainable, but peace and conflict studies can help to mitigate the effects and expedite the resolution of conflicts. And isn't that something worth working for?