Overview

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The MA Program in Peace and Conflict Management Studies is a rigorous, one-year program of study that introduces an interdisciplinary approach to peace and conflict management. The program addresses intergroup conflicts at different levels, ranging from local community conflicts to international conflicts, and presents a variety of approaches to dealing with such conflicts including formal and informal ones. While special attention is given to the Middle East, conflicts and peace processes in different parts of the world are also discussed. In addition to the great variety of courses within fields such as political science, international relations, psychology, sociology, social work, history and Middle East studies, the program offers a practicum (field internship) at NGOs working in areas related to peace and conflict management and a wide range of exciting and enriching extra-curricular activities. These activities include field trips to regions that are dealing with conflicts throughout Israel; thoughtful simulations of decision-making, negotiations and conflict management; and guest lectures by experts from academia and the field.

The program is based in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Haifa. The master’s degree is awarded by the Faculty of Social Sciences.

As a deeply divided society and a country in protracted conflict with other countries in the region, Israel is a unique environment for a program whose goal is to enable students to understand how conflicts unfold from a grassroots level and move up through the halls of government to the international community. Israel supplies excellent field study opportunities that allow students to see how attempts to manage conflicts and promote coexistence, mutual understanding, and peace processes actually develop and take root. Israel is a real-time hands-on working laboratory for advanced international and Israeli students, offering encounters with ongoing conflicts as well as successful and failed efforts to achieve peace.

The main objectives of the program are to:

1. Provide students with an invaluable opportunity to learn about discord around the world, especially the specific conflicts within Israeli society and the Middle East;
   
2. Endow students with theoretical knowledge and practical tools to deal with ethno-national conflicts and peace-building;
   
3. Provide students with field experience that will build skills, knowledge and unique perspectives which can be applied to future careers.

The program begins in the fall and runs for three consecutive semesters from October to September. Courses cover the following subjects:

1. The sources, types and levels of conflicts and how they develop
2. Conflict management and ways to foster peace processes
3. Research methodology
4. Practicum (field internship)