Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice

The Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice  is housed at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and offers major and specialist programs in Peace, Conflict and Justice (PCJ). PCJ employs a multidisciplinary approach to peace, conflict and justice studies and attracts students from many diverse disciplines.

The major program consists of 7.5 FCEs, and the specialist, 12.0 FCEs. Students complete PCJ core courses along with electives from other units that allow them to connect their studies in PCJ with their interests from other disciplines and programs of study.  

Learn more about PCJ program requirements here 

The Program equips students with the skill set necessary to confront complex issues in the field, including analytical and critical thinking skills, effective communication, and training in quantitative and qualitative research methods. More broadly, the Centre aims to foster a lively community where students can thrive by providing research, experiential learning, and co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities. 

Program Philosophy 

The Trudeau Centre works within and beyond the traditional purview of international affairs, studying interstate war as well as major conflict inside countries, including revolution, insurgency, ethnic strife, guerrilla war, terrorism and genocide. Students seek to identify the underlying causes of this strife, from poverty, resource scarcity, and weapons proliferation, to competing claims for justice and failures of foreign-policy decision making.  

Students engage with pertinent topics related to human rights, transitional justice, environmental, LGBTQ+ and Indigenous issues, among others, as subsets of the discipline. Throughout their studies, students are confronted with some of the world’s most urgent and intractable humanitarian problems. The Centre provides students with the analytical training to examine these issues from multiple vantage points, including local, national and global levels of analyses, and through a multidisciplinary approach. 

WHY CHOOSE PEACE, CONFLICT AND JUSTICE? 

• Flexible and highly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program: Students can explore their interests by combining studies in peace, conflict and justice with other disciplines and programs of study.
• Experiential learning opportunities: Students can take advantage of internship placements, study abroad opportunities, a group internship course, independent study courses, and travel-based research
• Scholarship and funding opportunities: PCJ students are eligible for several course and merit-based scholarships, and can apply for awards to travel, study, research and complete internships abroad.
• Community: PCJ is a small program with only about 120 students. We offer opportunities to form close connections with your PCJ instructors, active student life programming, events and workshops, and a supportive administration. Students also benefit from a close connection to the Munk School
• Co-curricular opportunities: to name a few, PCJ students can publish and contribute to a journal, host a conference, become a member of the PCJ Society, and access special events and opportunities at the Munk School.

EXPERIENCES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM 

• Conduct independent travel-based research: we provide funding opportunities for students to travel abroad to study their interests through their own field work and research
• Internship placements: students can receive 0.5 FCE while gaining real world experience and training through placements with our partners, which include The Mosaic Institute, GreenPAC, Jumpstart Refugee Talent, Arctic360, The Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary History, etc.
• Networking opportunities with the Trudeau Centre Advisory Abroad: students benefit from connections with the Board through mentorship, small seminars, and related opportunities.
• Vibrant student life: our PCJ Student Society fosters a close sense of community through fun student life programming, peer-to-peer mentorship, group study sessions, and socials.

2020 PCJ Student Conference Team: The Future Of Reconciliation: Indigenous Rights In Canada

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES 

• Join the Rapoport Journal for Peace, Conflict and Justice: the student journal offers opportunities to participate as a contributor, or join the editorial board
• Join the Peace, Conflict and Justice Society Executive: become a PCJ student leader and play a leading role in student life programming for PCJ Student
• Participate in the Centre for the Study of the Presidency and Congress Fellows program: exclusive opportunity for PCJ students to be nominated each year and attend two conferences in Washington, DC
• Events: we host a range of academic, social, and professional development events, workshops, and seminars for students throughout the year
• Become a part of the annual Peace, Conflict and Justice Student Conference: the conference is planned entirely by PCJ students each year and focuses on a pertinent theme in peace, conflict and justice

WHAT COMES AFTER PCJ?  

There is no single path for PCJ graduates. 

Although many pursue graduate or doctoral levels, others go on to professional careers in global governance, public policy, diplomacy, law, journalism, academia and non-governmental organizations, among several others. 

They have worked in government agencies such as the Canadian International Development Agency, and Global Affairs Canada, in non-governmental organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the International Crisis Group, and in multilateral agencies such as the ICRC and UNHCR. 

As such, PCJ graduates are well-suited for a wide range of careers in the public and private sectors and higher education because of the primacy afforded to analytical and critical thinking skills in the program 

View PCJ Alumni profiles here 

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE? 

Visit our website, connect with us on social media, or get in touch via email!