Peace & Social Justice Studies Program Requirements

Note: The Undergraduate Catalog contains the most current Peace and Social Justice Studies information including program requirements and course descriptions.

The Peace and Social Justice Studies Minor consists of six courses (18 credits) and focuses on three broad areas: Introduction, Perspectives and Applications, and Capstone.

Introduction (3)

The Introduction provides you with the major principles of the study of peace, peacemaking, and social justice as an academic and practical discipline.

Perspectives and Applications (12)

The Perspectives and Applications area consists of four courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences. These courses offer you a wide range of topics, including studies in war and peace, diversity and intercultural relations, poverty and violence, the development of religious, social, political, and economic systems, media manipulation, systemic discrimination and exclusion, crime and punishment, nonviolence as a tool for social and economic change, family violence and conflict resolution, science and society, capitalism and corporate social responsibility, environmental justice, leadership for peaceful change, non-violent social resistance, and grass roots activism.

The four courses must be chosen from at least two different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and reflect a coherent thematic focus (e.g., conflict resolution, poverty, race relations, criminal justice, national security).

Capstone (3)

The Capstone area is covered by participation in a PSJS Seminar or an Internship. Internship placements, which include agencies and organizations in and outside the Rochester area, offer you an opportunity to apply what you're learning, as well as expose you to the realities and practical challenges of peacemaking and social change. At the end of the Internship, you will complete a report and make an oral presentation before the Program Director, Faculty Advisors, and other interested faculty and students.