After several years of planning and preparation, the institute launched its two-year master of arts in peace studies program in the fall of 2004. The class of 2006, comprised of fifteen students from thirteen countries, enrolled in a program designed to foster integration of the theory and practice of peacebuilding.

The program now incorporates a five- to six-month field experience, new core courses, and a requirement that students concentrate their coursework around one of five themes, or tracks, each led by a faculty expert. The track focusing on culture, war and peace was led by Cynthia Mahmood, who served her second year as graduate program director in 2004-05. The other tracks are global politics and international norms (led by Robert Johansen); the political economy of war (Amitava Dutt); conflict analysis and transformation (Larissa Fast and John Paul Lederach), and religion and conflict (Scott Appleby and Rashied Omar).

Institute faculty developed core courses for each of the five thematic areas, which all students were required to take. Students take two additional courses in one thematic area of their choice to complete the degree.

Kroc faculty and staff worked closely with the students and their advisers to choose internships that best suited their academic aims. There were some twenty possibilities, developed by associate director Martha Merritt. Most students were selected by a host non-governmental organization that was ranked among their top three choices. In July, after going through a week-long orientation program at Notre Dame, they began their field work in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Israel/Palestine, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia and the United States. Students were oriented at their sites by faculty with regional expertise, and kept journals reflecting on their experiences.

When the students return in January 2006, they will begin work on the research projects that must be completed before they graduate in June. These master’s projects will integrate students’ field experiences with their research. The projects will be evaluated as part of a master’s colloquium, taught by Larissa Fast. The seminar-style course will provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their field experiences in light of peace studies theory.

After leading the graduate program through a challenging transition, Cynthia Mahmood began a full-time appointment in the anthropology department in June. Subsequently, Jaleh Dashti-Gibson was hired to fill a new position, director of academic programs, which is devoted full-time to overseeing both graduate and undergraduate peace studies. Dashti-Gibson is a 1992 graduate of the institute’s M.A. program, and earned her Ph.D. in government and international studies from Notre Dame.

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