MA Program in Peace and Conflict Management

Exceptional students looking to make a difference in the world are invited to come to the University of Haifa and use Israel as their living classroom in the innovative one-year master's degree program in Peace and Conflict Management Studies. This full-degree program, taught in English, combines an in-depth understanding of theory with applications from a regional and international perspective. Students will investigate ethnonational, cultural and religious conflicts in deeply divided societies. They will study and evaluate different approaches to conflict management and peacemaking while immersing themselves in a region that offers a great deal of relevant real-life case studies.

The program is based primarily on theoretical and practical frameworks in the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, communications, history, law, philosophy, and education. These perspectives will enrich the students' understanding of conflicts within and among societies and nations. The curriculum also examines specific case studies of conflict and uses the Middle East and Israel as a living classroom for empirical learning.

This program is unique because it includes a mandatory practicum/internship, which increases students' experience in grassroots initiatives in the field.

Graduates of the program may become researchers, educators, negotiators, mediators, government officials, businesspeople and activists in organizations focused on human rights, dispute resolution, environmental protection, international law, and human and economic development.

The Academic Program

The interdisciplinary program was created to give students a solid background of theoretical knowledge as well as hands-on field experience. It consists of the following main components:

• Core and Elective Courses:
  The core and elective courses fall under three main subjects: 1) The nature of conflicts and how they develop,
  2) Peace processes and ways to foster them,
  3) Research methodology.
• Practicum:
  This core aspect of the program is designed to furnish exposure to non-governmental and municipal organizations that work for Arab-Jewish and Israeli-Palestinian coexistence and Middle East peace processes.
• Enrichment:
  Academic tours, simulation games, role-playing and expert panel discussions.

Field trips give students a first-hand acquaintance with the reality of government agencies and non-government organizations that are dealing with conflict management issues on a daily basis.

These trips are intended to enhance understanding of some the constraints and challenges of the field, facilitate discussions with professionals who are dealing with these issues, and stimulate ideas for the students for further research and study.

Both thesis and non-thesis tracks are offered.

Program Highlights

• International, one-year MA program taught in English.
• Academic tours, simulations, role-playing and expert panel discussions.
• Supervised practicum in Israel.