Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation
Program Options:
"I chose SIT’s degree for two reasons: the diversity of the student body and the outstanding faculty. I also wanted an institution that incorporated my international experience with academic challenges and critical thinking."
-- Brehan Doud, Public Affairs Team Member, Mercy Corps
Acquire practical skills and strategies for peacebuilding based on a holistic, multidisciplinary approach and real-world experience in the field.
SIT is one of the academic institutions pioneering this field. SIT’s degree in Conflict Transformation is designed to develop students' insights, analytical ability, theoretical knowledge, and practical skills for working with groups of people that are in conflict with other communities. It is unique in its interpersonal as well as systematic approach to the identity-based dynamics of conflict. It focuses on developing holistic responses to conflict in order to transform the relationships and systems that uphold intractable inter-communal conflicts around the world.
- Study the theory and practice of conflict transformation;
- Examine the dynamics of deep-rooted conflicts;
- Explore potential solutions in diverse settings;
- Learn from faculty and alumni engaged in peacebuilding activities in critical conflict zones.
SIT’s Conflict Transformation master’s degree program prepares professionals to
- Design and lead conflict transformation programs;
- Develop conflict prevention and conflict-sensitive interventions;
- Create and manage projects that address the causes and consequences of complex and multi-layered conflicts.
Graduates are prepared for positions with nongovernmental organizations, educational institutions, the media, the private sector, the government, international organizations, and other professional venues.
Program Focus
Students develop conflict analysis skills, which are applied to explore and articulate roots, dynamics, and processes of social conflict. They build skills in core practices in:
- Negotiation, facilitation, mediation, strategic nonviolence, social healing and reconciliation
- Program design, management, and evaluation
- Training for capacity-building
- Leading inter-communal dialogue
- Cultivating positive and inclusive group relations through organizational change
- Advocating for human rights and community organizing
Students are aware of their own attitudes, behaviors, impact on others, and role in society. They also understand themselves as members of particular groups and the consequences of such group membership in relation to others in conflict. They are aware of their role and limitations in transforming or mitigating conflict at home and abroad – as a 3rd party in internal and external conflicts, as an intermediary, intervener, program consultant, and self reflective advocate.
Students can introduce and advocate for conflict consciousness and sensitivity within organizations and communities. They might focus on development, inter-group relations, youth programs, humanitarian aid, education, or human rights, all with an eye toward conflict prevention, mitigation, management, resolution, reconciliation, and recovery.
"Peace does not happen when the last bullet is fired...years, even decades"
Brehan Doud
Public Affairs Team Member, Mercy Corps
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Phone:
802.257.7751
Admissions:
800.336.1616 (toll free in US)
802.258.3510 (outside the US)
TTY:
802.258.3388
Fax:
802.258.3500
Mailing Address:
PO Box 676, 1 Kipling Road
Brattleboro, VT 05302 USA