Peace Studies
In the peace studies program, students develop an understanding of peace and consider practical solutions to conflict. Students participate in internships with area organizations.
In the Peace Studies program, students explore the various meanings of peace, the relationship between peace and conflict and the role of peace on local and international levels. The courses, including “Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies” (PSTD 10) and “Peace Studies Project” (PSTD 190), require students to develop a profound understanding of peace as a concept and as practice. The interdisciplinary Peace Studies program is part of arts and humanities in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Related Majors, Minors, and Concentrations
The Peace Studies minor can complement virtually any major, ranging from American studies to public health. Related majors may include, but are not limited to, anthropology, economics, environmental studies, history, international affairs, journalism, Judaic studies, Middle East studies, political science, philosophy, religion, sociology and women’s studies.
What can I expect to learn in the Peace Studies program at GW?
Students will examine peace as a concept by reading, discussing, and analyzing the work of major historical, literary, philosophical, political and religious thinkers and groups. Students are asked to incorporate the academic study of peace into a practical setting, typically through an internship with an organization relevant to the individual student’s interests.
What can I do in the Peace Studies field?
Students can pursue many avenues with a Peace Studies minor, including careers in domestic and international non-governmental organizations, education, government, journalism, law, medicine and social work.
What is the Peace Studies community like at GW?
We are a diverse community of socially aware students and faculty committed to intellectual and political engagement.
Resolving Conflict
The peace studies program explores the causes of war and conflict, the various ways to achieve resolution and methods of preventing conflict.
The GW Experience
Students
All in the Family
Greg and Heather Hachenburg talk about their undergraduate experience at GW, one of many sibling pairs to share in the Colonials legacy.
Creating Next Generation Leaders
GW program helps female students connect with leading women across a variety of fields and develop their roles as future women in leadership.
Where the City is a Classroom
Freshman volunteers experience life beyond Foggy Bottom...
Faculty
Fighting Neglected Diseases
GW professor works to eradicate diseases that affect the health, education and economic development of the world's poorest people.
Building the Super Computer
Pioneering lab puts GW at the forefront of high-speed computing and offers GW students unprecedented access to science and skills of the future.
Blast From the Past
Students map an ancient—and dramatic—eruption as part of a geological research program in the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains.
Alumni
Giving Back to the District of Columbia
D.C. public health director calls GW education the foundation of his career.
GW Opens Doors
A chance encounter with a GW alumna helped give one GW undergraduate, an aspiring broadcast journalist from Texas, his big break.
The Legend Lives On
The $2 million bequest commitment caps a lifetime of philanthropy and service to GW, establishing the Elyse B. and Donald R. Lehman Endowed Professorship in Theoretical Physics.