Overview
The MA in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, is rooted in Coventry’s history as a ‘City of Peace and Reconciliation’. This is the Centre’s most established postgraduate course. It provides students from all over the world with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of issues, theories and practices relating to peace and conflict. you will be taught how to apply theory and draw on case studies to aid peacebuilding in complex situations. The programme is designed to enhance the skills and abilities of people seeking to achieve and strengthen peace in their local communities and around the world.
The MA is a blended learning course – a mixture of distance and face-to-face study – allowing you the flexibility to integrate your studies with work and personal commitments. We also provide the opportunity to study through our fast-track (APEL*) route which can allow you to gain accreditation for your prior experience and learning, taking into account what you have achieved in your career so far.
Qualifications available:
- Postgraduate Certificate in Peace and Conflict Studies (8 months by blended/distance-learning).
- Postgraduate Diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies (16 months by blended/distance-learning).
- Full Term MA Peace and Conflict Studies (24 months by blended/distance-learning).
- Fast-Track MA Peace and Conflict Studies (16 months with APEL by blended/distance-learning, omitting the PG Dip stage).
*Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) is the process by which Coventry University awards credits towards a qualification based on a student’s prior learning and experience in, for example, their career, previous qualifications and other, relevant life experience. For this course, Coventry University is able to award a third of the credits of the qualification based on a student’s reflection on the outcomes of their prior experience and learning, providing a fast-track option and an opportunity to complete a master’s degree in 16 months rather than 2 years. For more information on our APEL route or this course, contact the Postgraduate Programmes Team at study.ctprs@coventry.ac.uk or on +44 (0) 2477659059.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedStudent experience
All the support you need, in a top student cityWhat our students say...
The workshop allowed me to meet people from different backgrounds, different religions and different ways of knowing conflict… all sharing their life experiences.
Course information
The MA in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations is rooted in Coventry’s history as a ‘City of Peace and Reconciliation’. This multidisciplinary programme provides you with the opportunity to learn about the complex nature of peace and conflict in the 21st century. You will be taught how to apply theory and draw on case studies to aid peacebuilding in complex situations. The programme enhances the skills and abilities of people seeking to achieve and strengthen peace in their local communities and around the world.
As well as being active researchers in this dynamic field, our current teaching team has a wealth of experience as practitioners in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Our team provides a highly interactive and supportive learning environment, focusing on the skills and knowledge that should help to enhance your understanding, practice and career. This programme helps you to develop key skills and attributes for a wide variety of careers, which could include anything from work on the ground in a local context to policy making on a global stage.
Qualifications available:
- Postgraduate Certificate in Peace and Conflict Studies (8 months by blended/distance-learning).
- Postgraduate Diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies (16 months by blended/distance-learning).
- Full Term MA Peace and Conflict Studies (24 months by blended/distance-learning).
- Fast-Track MA Peace and Conflict Studies (16 months with APEL by blended/distance learning, omitting the PG Dip stage).
Course Specification
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Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
In more detail...
Our MA in Peace and Conflict Studies course has a history of successfully attracting senior professionals from leading organisations from around the world (such as the UN) and is designed, led and currently taught by some of the leading academics in this field. Our teaching team provide a supportive and rich learning environment for face-to-face and distance study. Our course is informed by our Centre’s cutting-edge research into peace, conflict and social justice and by contemporary issues and challenges. Our current teaching team has a wealth of experience in the practice, theory and activism that underpin this critical field of study.
Each year students from all over the world study Peace and Conflict Studies with us, bringing with them an array of personal and professional experiences of peace, conflict and development. The opportunity to meet and learn with people who work on similar issues in very different parts of the world is one of the most valuable aspects of our programme. Our MA in Peace and Conflict Studies equips students to build peace locally, nationally and internationally and enables a deeper understanding of what makes and breaks peace. Such skills and understanding are considered invaluable assets in many different fields and careers. The programme prepares people to enter or further careers in fields such as international development, faith-based social action, peacebuilding, community development, conflict resolution, work with refugees, migrants and survivors of trauma, countering violent extremism and for positions in international organisations such as the United Nations, local and national government agencies, charities and civil society organisations.
- You can complete an MA in 16 months with accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL). For those with 5 years+ working experience, you could gain one third of your Master’s degree credits in recognition of what you’ve already achieved, through our APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) route.
- Complete a Postgraduate Certificate in 8 months or a Postgraduate Diploma in 16 months. Our course can be studied at Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma Master's Level, with the opportunity to stop, pause or progress between stages. Whilst most complete a full Master’s degree with us, many students choose to pause after the first or second stage, graduating and continuing their careers with ‘PGCert’ or ‘PGDip’ after their name.
- Study wherever you are, whilst working. We can provide the flexibility of studying online and through short residential workshops where you can meet, network and learn with peers in a diverse range of roles around the world.
- An international network of professionals. Access to a current network of practitioners working in roles related to peacebuilding internationally, as well as the large team of researchers and practitioners working in the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations.
- A distinctive, international course led by world-leading experts. This course views peace studies as an activist discipline, which looks more holistically at peace than other similar courses.
- Delivered by active international researchers. Our courses are global, from the content of the programme and the staff leading them, to the diverse backgrounds of our participants.
- Inspired by our city. Our courses are founded in and inspired by the heritage of Coventry, the UK’s City of Peace and Reconciliation. Further, our courses are developed by Coventry University, ranked 15th in the Guardian’s University Guide (2020) and Times Modern University of the Year 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The course combines residential workshops in Coventry with interactive online learning, making it perfect for people who need to integrate their studies with family or work commitments.
Online modules are provided through the virtual learning environment (Moodle) to help facilitate communication between staff and students, and between students. You will have access to Coventry University’s library, including its digital resources and library support for distance learners.
Extensive coursework feedback and support from the programme team will be provided. CTPSR also has PGT (Postgraduate Teaching) Ambassadors who can provide more general support.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy aims to ensure that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the University may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we were able to provide a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
International experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
What our students say...
Although it’s distance learning, the course was delivered in such a way that I felt connected to the Centre, it was thought-provoking and participatory.
Entry Requirements
What our students say...
The workshop allowed me to meet people from different backgrounds, different religions and different ways of knowing conflict… all sharing their life experiences.
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
The MA in Peace and Conflict Studies is currently taught by experts in the broad field of peace and conflict studies and is informed by their research, practice and activism. The programme provides students with a deeper insight into theoretical and practical challenges in contemporary peacebuilding.
The course seeks to create a learning community sharing and debating ideas and challenges with academic staff, alumni and current students during the course and long after it has concluded. The course provides practitioners with opportunities to broaden their professional network and draw on the experience of other practitioner students. We consider this to be useful in the workplace and gaining a formally accredited Postgraduate qualification may enhance career progression. This course equips students who have an interest in peace and conflict with the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to work for a broad range of organisations such as international non-government organisations, multi-national government organisations like the United Nations, regional communities such as the European Union or the Economic Community of West African States, faith groups, faith-based organisations, community organisations, the private sector, think tanks and academia.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the University will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.