ICAR Partners with Peace Corps: For First Master's International Conflict Resolution Program
This past December, ICAR officially announced its partnership with the Peace Corps to begin offering a Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program in conflict analysis and resolution. The Peace Corps' Master's International program is comprised of a consortium of 61 universities. The first conflict resolution-related program of its kind, students will be able to earn a Master’s degree while simultaneously serving their two-year commitment to the Peace Corps.
Applicants to the program will apply through the standard admissions processes for the M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and Peace Corps service, and must be accepted into both programs in order to participate in the PCMI degree program. ICAR students participating in the program will spend two semesters and a summer on campus prior to commencing their 27-month Peace Corps fieldwork, and will return to campus for a final semester to complete their academic coursework.
The program is intended to provide Peace Corps volunteers with the skills necessary to operate effectively in post-conflict areas by augmenting their experience with conflict resolution training prior to their departure. In the academic year before their service, students will learn strategies for dealing with conflict surrounding matters of cultural sensitivity, discrimination, and minority issues and development, among others. As a result, each volunteer will be empowered with a knowledge base that will allow them to more effectively meet the challenges of navigating community issues of communication, public participation, and just governance that will inevitably arise during their field service. Moreover, the coursework in conflict analysis and resolution will augment each participant’s ability to coordinate various and varied projects in a relatively harmonious environment.
With this partnership, the hope is to take students with academic backgrounds and interests in an array of conflict resolution issues and provide them with the analytical and practical skills that will allow them to improve their ability to act rationally in potentially chaotic situations. In particular, focus will be placed on the ability to recognize and articulate the core issues of a conflict situation, developing an under- standing of structural and societal violence, creating an acknowledgment of marginalized populations, and enhancing self-reflective performance in the field.