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Employment Options

There is a range of employability options  for students of the MSc. in Applied Peace and Conflict Studies. Graduates of the programme will have key research and practice skills which will equip them to pursue careers in a wide range of fields, including conflict resolution, human rights, community and economic development, social justice, psychosocial interventions, education, law, social work and politics among others. 

Development and humanitarian organisations, in particular, are increasingly recognising the value of employing staff with a strong understanding and knowledge of conflict resolution and peacebuilding issues, particularly given the prevalence of tensions and conflict in developing countries.  The knowledge and skills gained during the MSc. in Applied Peace and Conflict Studies also has applicability and desirability for employers within the public and private sector, particularly in the areas of negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution

Academia

One option is a postgraduate programme in the pursuit of advanced studies at doctoral level, leading to an academic career.  A sizeable number of both local and international students of this programme have pursued doctoral research in a number of Universities including Ulster, Queen’s University Belfast, University College Dublin, Chicago, Cambridge and Uppsala.  Some have gone on to academic careers in the UK, the US and Europe (including Sweden and Italy).

In addition, US students graduating from this programme are well positioned to progress to enrolment in professional law schools for further study.  One graduate student is currently a Professor of Law at Georgetown University, Washington DC.  Other academic-based positions are also open to graduates in relevant peace organisations, with one former student currently employed as Conference Coordinator at the Joan B. Kroc Peace Center at the University of San Diego.

Specialists in the Field: Globally

Past graduates have also gone on to develop careers as specialists working in large multi-lateral organisations, including the United Nations and the European Union.  For example, one graduate of the programme has developed a career in policy and planning around conflict regions, working with a range of UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.  A Belgian national went on to become a Rule of Law Expert, working as a Human Rights Team Leader at the EU Rule of Law Mission in Iraq.

Graduates from the US have also taken up positions in national institutions in conflict regions, including the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, and the Colombian National Commission for Reparations. Other graduates have gone on to work in other UN-associated and independent development agencies in developing countries, including the Canadian International Development Agency and an environmental organisation in Indonesia.

International students have often returned to their country of origin to implement their new knowledge and skills within their own context.  Former students from Scandinavia have taken up positions in the Norwegian Refugee Council (as Institutional Donor Advisor) and as an independent Negotiations Consultant.  A Japanese graduate is currently Vice President of the Kumamoto Fair Trade Steering Committee. Another student returned to work for the Bulgarian diplomatic service

Specialists in the Field: Locally

Locally-based graduates of the programme have demonstrated the wide range of career paths which have opened up to them as a result of their studies in peace and conflict.  Some are engaged directly in reconciliation work, such as the former students who are now respectively the Coordinator of The Junction – A Community Relations and Peacebuilding Centre in Derry/Londonderry and the current Director of Coventry Cathedral’s Centre for Reconciliation.

Others are engaged in community development projects on issues such as Travellers’ rights, community education and cross-community and cross-border engagement.   In reverse order, other international students have settled in Northern Ireland as a result of their experience on the programme.  One is now a Programme Officer with the Community Relations Council; another is working on community development in loyalist inner-city Belfast, and a third now works as a funder of peace organisations working on the Northern Ireland conflict. Another student is now a MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly

 

Read some success stories about our Graduates