Electives Requirement: Student Approval Form

Students are required to take a minimum of two electives involving a minimum of 6 credit hours.  This is in addition to PCE 201 and PCE 410.  While PCE 201 will provide students with a general background on a broad array of areas for study and methods of inquiry, the electives will be geared towards allowing students to focus on particular areas of emphasis that best meet their interests.  These particular areas of emphasis will then be brought back into the Peace Studies framework in the capstone course, PCE 410.

Peace Studies Electives require approval of the Director to count towards the Peace Studies Certificate requirement.  The Director will deem a course as appropriate if at least 50% of the course is geared towards one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Focus Area I: Peacebuilding.  Addresses systems and infrastructure needed to create more peaceful societies.
• Focus Area II: Peacemaking.  Addresses leadership skills, skills for resolving and transforming conflict.
• Focus Area III: Promoting Understanding, Cooperation, and Development.  Addresses cross cultural issues, international organizations, economic and social development.
• Focus Area IV: Addressing Global and Regional Pressures.  Addresses problems of population, scarcity, trade, sustainability, ecosystems, climate, and immigration.

Please note that it is not the intent of the Peace Studies Director to force students to take courses outside of their area of interest or to force students to take courses beyond the minimum required for their academic major or minor.  If unsure, it would be safest to ask if the course meets the Peace Studies requirements prior to enrolling in the course.

Student requirements:

Before taking a Peace Studies elective, the student should provide the Director with a syllabus of the course (a recent version for the same course from the same instructor is fine).  This can be done in hard copy form or by emailing the Director at clayton.thyne@uky.edu.

Upon approval, the Director will provide the student with a signed copy of the form that is available here.  A copy of the signed form will also be placed in the student’s file.

PCE 410 Faculty Mentorship Contract

Students taking the Peace Studies Capstone Project and Seminar are required to write a policy memo to propose a specific solution to some international conflict.  “International conflict” is defined very broadly, and could relate to a variety of issues (e.g., civil or interstate wars, management of water rights, humanitarian disasters, the AIDs pandemic, environmental concerns).  This memo will require the students to develop (1) a summary statement, (2) an analytical overview of the conflict, (3) options for managing the conflict, and (4) policy recommendations for a solution to the conflict.

As the students develop their policy memo, they are required to receive advice and mentorship from a faculty member at UK with expertise on the conflict.  At a minimum, the students must meet with the faculty mentor at least three times during the semester.

Requirements of the faculty mentor:

The faculty member must be willing to meet with the student at least three times throughout the semester.  These meetings may be quite short, perhaps 15 minutes each.  This is the only thing required of the faculty mentor.  The faculty member may choose to go well beyond this as s/he sees fit (e.g., meeting frequently, reading drafts of the memo, suggesting a grade for the final project). 

Requirements of the student:

The student is responsible for (1) establishing a faculty mentor relationship, (2) scheduling at least three meetings during the semester, and (3) providing summaries of the meetings.  Details are described in the course syllabus.  The faculty mentor relationship must be established prior to the last date to add a class.  The information at the form available here below must be filled out and submitted to the Peace Studies Director prior to enrolling in the Peace Studies Capstone Seminar.

Further Details

The content on this website is meant to provide a general overview of the program. Click here for full documentation of the program as approved by the UK Faculty Senate in May 2013. The Director, Dr. Clayton Thyne, can be contacted with any remaining questions or concerns at: clayton.thyne@uky.edu.