The Peace and Conflict Studies Minor

This minor, housed in the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program, may be pursued by students in any major. Courses are designed to provide an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural approach to the issues of war and conflict, peace and peace-building.

The STS Peace and Conflict Studies minor will give students the opportunity to study the factors that contribute to war and conflict; the methods designed to prevent, resolve and manage it; and the conditions necessary for peace.

The STS Peace and Conflict Studies minor culminates in a capstone seminar in which students share, deepen and advance their individual approaches in an intellectually demanding context.

Typical Peace and Conflict Studies courses focus on such areas as:

• concepts of peace around the world
• technology and war
• the history of peace movements
• contributions of science and engineering to the pursuit of peace and conflict resolution
• conflict in race relations, family and community
• peace and war in international relations
• environmental degradation and as a consequence of war
• techniques of peace building: mediation, consensus, conflict resolution, meditation

Career Enhancement

Many careers increasingly require an understanding of the sources of and alternatives to conflict-- as well as the methods and skills necessary to manage and resolve it. This is especially true in such areas as international relations, education, law, health care, and human services.

Peace and Conflict Studies Minor Requirements (18 credits)

• Prescribed Courses (9cr)
  • STS 090, Intro. to Peace and Conflict Studies (3cr)
  • STS 490, Peace & Conflict Studies Seminar (3cr)
  • PL SC 14 or INT U 200 [Note: PL SC 14 and INT U 200 cannot both be taken for credit] (3cr)
• Supporting Courses (9cr)
  Supporting List [click to download as PDF file]
  • One course from international course on the supporting course list (3cr)
  • Two other courses from the supporting course list (6cr)

For More Information Contact:

Dr. Wenda Bauchspies
Science, Technology, and Society Program
201E Old Botany Bldg.
University Park, PA 16802

         Phone: 865-3046
         Email:  wkb4@psu.edu