University of San Diego - Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies Graduate Programs

Do you want to lead positive social change? Do you want to be an effective agent of peace and social justice? Our graduate programs are designed to prepare students for solving today’s most vexing issues. With this in mind, we offer an integrated curriculum that explicitly combines social justice, poverty alleviation and conflict resolution. Through a distinctive learning experience, students will expand their vision and imagination of what is possible to build a better world and gain expertise to translate ideas into action.

At the Kroc School, we educate for transformative impact:

·      Faculty practice what they teach. Our classes are infused with knowledge continuously developed in scholarship, consulting and fieldwork, locally and abroad. 

·      Applied peace learning model. Students gain knowledge and build capabilities by participating in real-world projects that involve a myriad of issues such as immigration, youth and violence, humanitarian relief, women and peacebuilding, technology and social movements, human rights advocacy, and social entrepreneurship.

·      Field based opportunities. Students can participate in projects of our award-winning peacebuilding Institutes: the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice and the Trans-Border Institute as well as the Center for Peace and Commerce (CPC)—a joint program with the School of Business Administration.

·      Community engagement and collaboration. There are ample opportunities to engage with the local community to learn and co-create projects.

·      Peace and justice entrepreneurship. We offer seed funding to launch and test social ventures through the CPC’s Social Innovation Challenge, an annual competition open to all students.

We offer two distinct graduate programs:

Master of Arts in Peace and Justice Studies (2 Years)

Master of Arts in Peacebuilding (1 Year) 

Master of Arts in Peace and Justice Studies 

This is a 2-year full-time program designed for those seeking to acquire the fundamentals of peace and justice, while having the opportunity to integrate new knowledge and capabilities in applied peace projects. In addition to courses and small workshops, the program offers a 10-week U.S. or international summer internship and a capstone integrative project.

Learning Outcomes:

·      Analyze. Capacity to identify and analyze the roots and drivers of violence, oppression, and injustice, together with peacebuilding strategies intended to address them.

·      Imagine. Develop the moral imagination to address complex social problems and build positive peace.

·      Communicate. Become an effective communicator with the ability to shape a compelling vision and lead effective teams.

·      Professionalism. Gain skills and competencies connecting individual career interests and market demands in the fields of peace, justice and social change.

·      Apply.  Integrate knowledge and experience for problem solving.

Those completing the program emerge with a changemaker’s way of thinking, knowing, being and interacting. Graduates are prepared to work in an extensive variety of organizations, from start-ups to grassroots to international nonprofits to government to business in areas of conflict resolution, advocacy, community building, development, humanitarian action, social entrepreneurship, restorative justice, resilience, among others.