“A Ph.D. program is the pinnacle of the pursuit of knowledge—a
sign that we are very serious about generating new expertise about
achieving and sustaining peace.” — Robert C. Johansen, acting director of the Kroc Institute and director of the doctoral program
During the 2007-08 academic year, the Kroc Institute established a Ph.D. in peace studies in partnership with Notre Dame’s departments of history, political science, psychology, and sociology. Between January 1 and February 1, 2008, 63 students applied to the program. Five were accepted, including two who were named Presidential Scholars, for admission in fall 2008.
This program grows out of an acute awareness of the need for more rigorous interdisciplinary study of peace and war and for deeper understanding of how peacebuilding can effectively address political, ethnic, and religious violence throughout the world. Students choose one of four related yet distinct doctoral degrees: Ph.D. in history and peace studies; Ph.D. in political science and peace studies; Ph.D. in psychology and peace studies; or Ph.D. in sociology and peace studies.
Graduates of the program will be fully credentialed in one these four disciplines, plus fully acquainted with the research questions and findings of interdisciplinary peace research on the causes of armed conflict, the conditions necessary for peace, and the essential ingredients for effective peacebuilding. They will be prepared for interdisciplinary research and teaching positions in peace studies as well as for positions in the peace and conflict subfields of history, political science, psychology, or sociology. Some students will become practitioners of peacebuilding in the service of human security or employed by intergovernmental or nongovernmental organizations.
