Matsunaga Institute for Peace

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Peace Studies Certificate

About Peace Studies

The Certificate in Peace Studies is designed to expose students to the central ideas and work in the field, and to supplement study in other academic and professional fields. It is flexibly structured, interdisciplinary, and meant to broaden and strengthen any major in any school. The certificate may be taken by undergraduate and Master of Arts graduate students in degree granting programs. Some students may want to focus primarily on peace studies as a personal, intellectual endeavor. Others may be seeking a career in some area relevant to peace studies and will use the peace certificate as a way of enhancing their credentials and expertise.

Undergraduate Peace Studies Certificate students learn:

• Critical thinking related to issues of justice, conflict resolution, security and peace;
• Knowledge of ways to effect desired outcomes and goals through strategies and skills for peacemaking at all levels,local to international;
• Knowledge of the creation and evaluation of policies relevant to the fields of peace and conflict resolution;
• Knowledge of the major theoretical foundations of the fields of conflict resolution and peace studies.

How to Apply

You can apply by contacting the Matsunaga Institute for Peace, (808) 956-7427 and asking for an Institute faculty member who will provide you with a list of current classes and assist you in finding an advisor, or you can enroll in a peace studies course and try it out.

To view a downloadable informational brochure, please click here.

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Formal Requirements

To receive a certificate, students must take:

• PACE 310 Survey Peace & Conflict Studies
• PACE 495 Practicum & Internship, and
• Nine credit hours from any of the remaining courses on the approved course list.
  At least one course should come from a discipline other than PACE (Peace And Conflict Education).

Courses should be distributed between those emphasizing conflict resolution and those emphasizing social justice or conflict prevention. Maintenance of an overall GPA of 2.5 is required in prerequisite and certificate courses.

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Approved Course List*

• ANTH 423  Social & Cultural Change
• BIOL 310  Environmental Issues
• COM 340  Intercultural Communication
• COM 459  Topic of Communication & Peace
• ECON 454  Economics and Cooperation
• ECON 466  Growth & Crisis in the Global Economy
• FAMR 350  Leadership & Group Process
• GEOG 336  Geography of Peace & War
• PACE 247  Survey of Conflict Management
• PACE 315  Personal Peace
• PACE 340  Negotiation
• PACE 345/ANTH 345 Aggression, War & Peace
• PACE 373/POLS 396  Nonviolent Political Alternatives
• PACE 399  Directed Reading
• PACE 410  History of Peace Movements
• PACE 412  Gandhi, King & Nonviolence
• PACE 447  Mediation Skills: UH Basic
• PACE 478  Int'l Disputing & Int'l Law
• PACE 485  Topics in Peace & Conflict Resolution
• POLS 201  Problems of War & Peace
• POLS 319  International Organizations
• POLS 375  Public Law & Judicial Behavior I
• POLS 394/WS 353  Democracy in Organizations
• SOC 433  Analysis in Law & Social Change
• SOC 451  Analysis in Marriage & the Family
• SP 455  Conflict Management
• WS 304  Women, War & the Military

*List of courses based on previous offerings by the departments. Other courses may apply. Please consult with your academic advisor.

For a listing of Summer 2008 courses offered, click here (pdf).

The following courses will be offered in Spring 2008

Core Courses

Elective Courses

To view a printable version of the Spring 2008 flyer, click here.
For instructor contact information, click here.
**Course information is subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the UH Manoa Class Availability Website.