Peace and Conflict Studies (master's - 2 years)
Credits: 120
Organization: Full-time programme
Responsible faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
Degree:
Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Studies
- Why choose this programme?
- Learning outcomes
- How to apply?
- Structure and accomplishment
- Teaching and examinations
- A semester abroad
- Quality assurance
- After completion / career opportunities
- Contact us
Why choose this programme?
The programme offers studies of peace and conflict related issues through two study options, one in political science and one in history. Conflict between groups and states is a recurrent worldwide phenomenon. Why do some of these conflicts turn violent, while others remain non-violent? Peace and conflict studies aim at answering this and a wide range of other questions about the causes of conflicts and the conditions for peace.
The Master's Programme in Peace and Conflict Studies is a two year full-time academic programme that leads to a Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Studies.
Why is it possible to solve some, but not all conflicts by means of negotiations and diplomacy? What, if anything, is new in ‘new wars’? How does the distribution of power among states affect the likelihood of inter-state war? How has warfare changed over time? Under what conditions are decisions concerning use of force likely to be the result of misperceptions? Are democratic states more peaceful than authoritarian states?
When you have successfully completed the Master’s Programme Peace and Conflict Studies, you have acquired theoretical and methodological tools that enable you to analyse these and similar questions in a scientific manner.
The programme aims at providing a background for work in voluntary organizations, research, inquiry and information activity, civil and military administration and the educational system.
Two study options: History and Political Science
The programme offers studies of peace and conflict related issues through two study options, one in political science and one in history. Both tracks combine mandatory and elective courses.
Through the common mandatory courses all students acquire a firm common knowledge base, while the elective courses make it possible to specialize in one field.
Language of instruction
The Programme's language of instruction is mainly English. The Autumn Semester 2011 the course PECOS4021 will be taught in Norwegian.
As of 2012, all the courses taught under the political science programme option will be taught in English, while some of the courses taught under the history programme option will be taught in Norwegian only.
Learning outcomes
The programme offers studies of peace- and conflict-related issues through two study options, one in political science and one in history. Conflict between groups and states is a recurrent worldwide phenomenon. Why do some of these conflicts turn violent, while others remain non-violent? Peace and conflict studies aim at answering this and a wide range of other questions about the causes of conflicts and the conditions for peace.
Knowledge
- Develop your ability to discuss the history of war and peace in the 20th and 21st centuries
- Acquire advanced knowledge of the central theories of causes of conflicts and wars between states and groups and the conditions for peace, as well as the explanatory factors emphasized by these theories
- Be well acquainted with different conflict resolution mechanisms and have acquired a special comprehension of conflict resolution through negotiations and mediation.
- Be well acquainted with the existing state of knowledge in a specialized relevant field of research.
- Be able to discuss what influence the Nobel Peace Prize may have had on international relations.
Skills
- Identify and assess relevant scholarly literature.
- Distinguish between different levels of analysis and understand how the different levels interact in analysis of specific historical or contemporary conflicts
- Assess the analytical and methodological quality of relevant scholarly work.
- Formulate a researchable problem in an independent way and assess how your choice of research question influences your choice of research design as well as your choice of method(s).
- Identify, select, collect and assess relevant sources and data for purposes of analyzing specific research questions.
- Analyze large amounts of relevant data in a scientifically tenable way and present the results of your analysis in a clear, succinct and lucid way.
- Give and receive comments to ongoing scholarly work in a constructive way.
- Discuss academic questions connected to your own and other people’s work.
Competences
- The study provides you with theoretical and methodological tools that enable you to analyze key issues of peace and conflict in a scientific manner.
- You will have competence to critically assess the validity and reliability of different sources of information and on that basis form your own qualified opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of arguments.
How to apply?
Admission is once a year. Application deadlines:
1 December:
- International applicants.
15 April:
- Extended deadline for citizens from
the EU/EEA area + citizens from Switzerland. - Nordic citizens and applicants with a
permanent residence in Norway.
Application process for international applicants:
Application process for Nordic citizens and applicants with a permanent residence in Norway:
- Apply through SøknadsWeb. NB: Only for applicants holding an 11 digit Norwegian ID-number. Other applicants, please contact the department for application procedures.
If you meet the admission requirements for several master's programmes at the Faculty of Social Sciences you can prioritize up to three programmes in Søknadsweb. Your applications will be processed in the order of priority you have set. You can change the order of priority in Søknadsweb at any time until the application deadline.
Available places: 20
Admission requirements
Admission to master s degree studies
requires:
-
Higher Education Entrance Qualification (generell studiekompetanse ). Applicants with foreign education, please refer to the
GSU-list (pdf file). - a completed bachelor s degree
comparable to a Norwegian bachelor s degree. - a specialization defined by the
programme. - a minimum grade point average (GPA) of
C (in Norwegian scale) or equivalent from the specialization in your
degree. - a language requirement documented by
one of the tests/exams below:
a) Passed examination in
English foundation course (140 hours/5 periods per week) in
Norwegian upper secondary school with a minimum grade of 4 (or an
equivalent grade from a Nordic upper secondary school) or
alternatively passed examination in English from second and/or
third school year, or
b) An
internationally recognised English language proficiency test .
Special requirements for the Master's programme in Peace and Conflict Studies
- Specialization within political science or history equivalent to 80 ECTS credits.
- Students with a multi disciplinary Bachelor's degree who are eligible for admission to the Master's programmes in history or political science, are automatically eligible for admission to the Master's programme Peace and Conflict Studies.
- A methods course equivalent to at least 10 credits must be included in the academic requirements for admission. For applicants with a specialisation within history from the University of Oslo, the research methods requirement is fulfilled by the ordinary curriculum.
- The disciplinary focus throughout the master’s programme shall be the same as that for which students have earned their 80 credits.
Supporting documents
1) Official transcript showing:
- A list of courses taken including the number of credits and grades
- A class distribution of the grades for each course in your bachelor's degree or the class distribution of grades for your whole bachelor's degree. (Applicants from Universities that use the ECTS-grade scale or have their transcript converted to the ECTS-grade scale do not need this).
If your transcript does not include the class ranking, please enclose a letter from your University/Department stating the distribution of grades for each course in your major and minor. The letter should contain the cumulative percentage scale of the grades for the courses in your bachelor's degree i.e. show how many students obtained your particular degree or better.
Applicants that do not enclose a letter showing the distribution of grades for the courses in their bachelor's degree or that do not enclose a transcript indicating class ranking, will not be considered for admission.
The final ranking is made on the basis of the academic results obtained in your bachelor's degree. If two or more students have identical academic results, relevant professional or organisational experience as well as the letter of motivation is taken into consideration and may thus be decisive.
Foreign Transcripts:
Records of all courses, seminars, and examinations, including grades, scores, grading scales, and conferrals of degrees, must be in English. If records are not available in English, original records must be submitted with certified English translations. All translations must be literal and complete versions of the original records. Irreplaceable foreign documents will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed envelope large enough to hold the documents. The University reserves the right to request additional academic documents.
2) Research methods
Confirmation that you have taken a course in research methods, preferably within your discipline of specialization, during the course of your studies. The reading list/syllabus for the research method course must be enclosed with your application. The course must amount to at least 1/3 of a full time semester E.g. if a full time semester at your university is 30 credits, the research method course must total at least 10 credits.
For applicants with a specialization within history from the University of Oslo, the research methods requirement is fulfilled by the ordinary curriculum.
3) Letter of motivation
A personal statement (1-2 pages) explaining your motivation for applying to the Master's programme in Peace and Conflict Studies as well as a short summary of your background, professional and organisational experience. You should also include a short summary of previous written academic works of a certain length (10 pages or more), such as course assignments. The letter must be written in English.
Ranking of applicants
Applicants are ranked according to their grade point average (GPA). Applicants who can not be estimated according to their grade point average, will be ranked based on individual assessment.
Admission to 1-2 years' Master's programmes is subject to Regulations governing admission to 1- to 2-year master's degree programmes at the University of Oslo .
Structure and accomplishment
The Master's Programme in Peace and Conflict Studies spans four semesters, throughout which students take a combination of mandatory and optional courses and complete a master’s thesis.
Political science track:
• Common mandatory courses: 40 ECTS credits
• Mandatory courses for students on the political science track option: 30 ECTS credits
• Optional courses: 20 ECTS credits
• Master’s thesis (mandatory): 30 ECTS credits
Recommended study plan political science track option:
History track:
• Common mandatory courses: 40 ECTS credits
• Mandatory courses for students on the history track option: 30 ECTS credits
• Optional courses: 20 ECTS credits
• Master’s thesis (mandatory): 30 ECTS credits
Recommended study plan history track option:
| 4. semester | PECOS4095 Master's Thesis | PECOS4041 Thesis Seminar 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. semester | HIS4030 - Prosjektseminar, master i historie | Optional course | PECOS4095 Master's Thesis | PECOS4031 Thesis Seminar 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. semester | PECOS4110 - International Negotiations/Conflict Resolution | HIS4010 - Historiske grunnlagsproblemer: teori og historiografi | Optional course | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. semester | PECOS4010 - Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies | PECOS4021 - Research Methods | HIS4421 - War, Peace and the Nobel Peace Prize | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 ECTS credits | 10 ECTS credits | 10 ECTS credits | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common mandatory courses:
In the first semester of the programme, all students take the courses PECOS4010 - Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, PECOS4021 - Research Methods, and HIS4421 - War, Peace and the Nobel Peace Prize. In the second semester all students take PECOS4110 - International Negotiations/Conflict Resolution. All students apply for a supervisor at the end of the second semester. The deadline for applying for a supervisor is 26. June. All students start writing their thesis in the third semester.
Mandatory courses for political science track:
The students who follow the track in political science take PECOS4022 - Applied Statistics for Peace and Conflict Studies in the second semester. Through participation in PECOS4080 in the third semester, you will further develop your ability to plan and complete a large scientific work. You will also attend the thesis seminar PECOS4092 in the third semester. You must be assigned a supervisor before you can take either PECOS4080 or PECOS4092. The fourth semester is devoted to your work with your master’s thesis PECOS4094, including the thesis seminar PECOS4093.
Mandatory courses for history track:
The students who follow the history track take HIS4010 - Historiske grunnlagsproblemer: teori og historiografi(the course is taught in Norwegian) in the second semester. Through participation in HIS4030 - Prosjektseminar, master i historie(the course is taught in Norwegian)in the third semester, you will further develop your ability to plan and complete a large scientific work. You will also attend the thesis seminar PECOS4031 in the third semester. You must be assigned a supervisor before you can take either HIS4030 or PECOS4031. The fourth semester is devoted to your work with your master’s thesis, including the thesis seminar PECOS4041.
Optional courses:
All students on the master’s programme in Peace and Conflict studies take one optional course in the second semester and one in the third semester. The optional courses are supposed to compliment the students’ academic discipline of specialization and preferably contribute to deepen the students’ knowledge of one or more specialized topics pertaining to the Master’s thesis. One of the optional courses are PECOS4006 - Practice .
Teaching and learning methods
The teaching methods at the programme are based on lectures, seminars and workshops.
Forms of examination and assessments
Examination forms at the programme are mainly written, invigilated exams and term paper assignments. The evaluation of the thesis is based on an assessment of the written thesis as well as an oral examination, during which the students will have the opportunity to defend the thesis.
Teaching and examinations
Time and location
You will find time and place for teaching and examinations at the semester pages for each course. Please see the list of courses offered at the University of Oslo.
Teaching and learning methods
The teaching methods at the programme are based on lectures, seminars and workshops.
Location
The University of Oslo, Blindern campus.
Forms of examination and assessment
Examination forms at the programme are mainly written, invigilated exams and term paper assignments. The evaluation of the thesis is based on an assessment of the written thesis as well as an oral examination, during which the students will have the opportunity to defend the thesis.
Language of examination
In the courses comprising the programme, the exam question papers are given in English, and the answer papers are normally supposed to be delivered in English. Note that some of the mandatory courses on the history track is only taught in Norwegian. The course descriptions provide more information about requirements concerning the language of examination
Grading scale
The programme contains both courses using the pass/fail scale and courses using the grading scale with five steps from A to E for pass and F for fail, cf. § 6.1 i Forskrift om studier og eksamener ved Universitetet i Oslo (Norwegian only). Each course description provides more information about the grading scale in use.
Diploma
The diploma is issued when you have completed the combination of courses which fulfill the degree requirements. The diploma is issued in English. With the diploma, you also receive a Diploma Supplement, providing more information about the degree and about the Norwegian system of higher education. Read more about diplomas at the Faculty of Social Sciences (in norwegian).
A semester abroad
We currently have two student exchange programs available to our students, the ERASMUS student exchange program and our agreement with Université Laval in Quebec, in the French-speaking part of Canada.
Quality assurance
The University of Oslo aims at offering an innovative and relevant education with the best teaching and tuition possible. It is therefore important that you as a student give us feedback and contribute to evaluations of your programme and courses.
The programme of study is regularly evaluated to ensure and develop the quality of the programme:
- Each year, the programme management conducts a review to assess whether the objectives of the programme have been met. External programme supervisors monitor examinations and assessment.
- At least every fourth year, the faculty conducts a more thorough evaluation of the programme. External representatives take part in the evaluation panel.
- Courses in the programme are evaluated regularly, according to a schedule decided by the faculty.
Read more about the quality assurance system at the University of Oslo.
Evaluation reports
Quality assurance system at The Faculty if Social Science
Tilsynssensors rapport 2006 (text in Norwegian)
Tilsynssensors rapport 2007-2008 (text in Norwegian)
Periodisk programevaluering 2006 (text in Norwegian)
Egenevaluering 2006 (text in Norwegian)
Egenevaluering 2009 (text in Norwegian)
Studiekvalitetsrapporter 2008, 2009, 2010 (text in Norwegian)
After completion / career opportunities
The program aims at providing a background for work in voluntary organisations, inquiry and information activity, civil and military administration and the educational system.
Contact us
For applicants
Department of Political Science, University of Oslo
Visiting address:
Moltke Moes vei 31
Visiting hours:
12-15
Postal address:
Pb 1097 Blindern
N-0317 Oslo
Fax: +47 22 85 44 11
E-mail: ekspedisjon(at)stv.uio.no
Web: http://www.sv.uio.no/isv/
For students on this programme
Department of Political Science
Visiting address:
Moltke Moes vei 31, Eilert Sundt's Building, 7th floor
Visiting hours:
12:00 - 15:00
Postal address:
P.o. Box 1097 Blindern
N - 0317 OSLO
Fax: + 22 85 44 11
E-mail: ekspedisjon(at)stv.uio.no
Web: http://www.sv.uio.no/isv/
| Other points of contact | Office/adress | Consultation hours/opening hours | Phone | Comment | |
| Programme Manager Tora Skodvin | Room 918, 9th floor ESH | +47 228 55 166 | tora.skodvin(at)stv.uio.no | ||
| Programme Coordinator Siv Håberg | Room 735, 7th floor ESH | 12 - 15 all weekdays | +47 228 56074 | siv.haberg(at)stv.uio.no | |
| Student Advisor Kristina Enge | Room 733, 7th floor ESH | All questions regarding exams and how to register for courses should be directed to Kristina Enge | +47 857855 | kristina.enge(at)stv.uio.no |