What Can You Do With a Major in Peace Studies?
Peace studies major careers and jobs
Because there is tremendous flexibility for peace studies majors to tailor their coursework to their specific interests, graduates pursue jobs and careers in a variety of fields. The skills you gain as a peace studies major transfer into almost any setting. For example, companies and organizations of all types seek out candidates who demonstrate the ability to think strategically, resolve conflicts nonviolently, communicate effectively, and solve problems creatively.
One recurring theme among peace studies majors is making a conscious decision to pursue careers and jobs that allow them to thrive by living out their values and by contributing to the creation of a more peaceful and just world.
Jobs for peace studies majors
Peace studies graduates have pursued meaningful work in many fields.
Counseling:
- trauma therapy and healing
- victim support
- community healing and restorative justice
- refugee resettlement
Humanitarian Action:
- humanitarian emergency response
- crisis health care and social services
- public health work related to violence
Government:
- diplomacy
- human rights protection
- peace processes
- post-conflict reconstruction
- civil-military relations
- disarmament
Conflict Resolution:
- inter-faith, inter-ethnic, and intercultural dialogue
- mediation or dispute settlement
- language interpreting or teaching
- reconciliation
- violence prevention or resolution
Sustainable Futures:
- international economic development
- housing and urban development
- microfinance and small business development
- strengthening democratic institutions
- sustainable agriculture
- local development around poverty, hunger, and homelessness
Global Threat Mitigation:
- economic and social injustice
- climate change
- gender exclusion and gender-based violence
- genocide and mass violence
- war and terrorism
Law:
- human rights law
- immigration law
- labor and employment law
- land issues and environmental law
- migration and human trafficking
Business:
- human resources
- public relations
- contract negotiation
- sustainability initiatives
- corporate social responsibility
Additional resources on careers in peace studies.
The peace studies major will lead you to become an agent for positive change by studying the theory and practice of nonviolent peacemaking, human rights and conflict resolution. The major involves a rigorous interdisciplinary course of study that will challenge you to think critically and ethically, while positioning you to live and work in manner consistent with what you value.