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Overview of the program The Master of Arts in Conflict Studies aims to train analysts who can study international, national or local conflicts and propose interventions and policies to manage or resolve them. Our master’s program pays particular attention to ethnic and religious conflicts, but we also study international conflicts, political conflicts, work conflicts and environmental conflicts. We offer a multidisciplinary analysis of conflicts stemming from the social sciences, social psychology and the human sciences.
Admission details Registration: full-time (with some exceptions for part-time admissions) For information about admission deadlines, please click here. Scholarships Students registered in this program may be eligible for a number of scholarships. For more information, please click here.
This degree is conferred jointly by the Senates of Saint Paul University and the University of Ottawa.
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Admission to the program is competitive. Minimum requirements are:
Experience in the field of conflict resolution or a related area will also be taken into consideration. Candidates may be interviewed as part of the selection process.
If the minimum requirements for admission to the first year are not satisfied, a candidate may enroll in a qualifying program, the content of which is determined by the Coordinator of the program on a case by case basis. See details below.
In accordance with the University regulation, assignments, examinations, research papers and theses can be produced in either English or French.
Qualifying Program
Some additional documents, and in some cases specific forms, are required. For more information, please see the page Step 4: Gather the documents needed for the assessment of your application.
The MA program provides two options:
Compulsory Courses (18 units)
ECS5101 Identity-Based Conflict (3u)
ECS5103 Research Methods (3u)
ECS5110 History of Conflict Resolution (3u)
ECS5131 Design and Evaluation of Conflict Resolution Interventions (3u)
ECS5302 Theories of Conflict (3u)
ECS5304 Ethical Dimensions of Conflict (3u)
Optional Courses (15 or 9 units)
Students select five courses (Research Paper option) or three (Thesis option) from the list of optional courses.
ECS5112 Trauma, Healing And Reconciliation
ECS5114 Genocide And Reconciliation
ECS5116 Political Economy Of Conflict
ECS5118 Contemporary Peacebuilding
ECS5119 Mediation And Negotiation: Theory And Research
ECS5120 Selected Topics In Conflict Studies
ECS5140 The Adaptive Leader
ECS5141 The Comprehensive Approach To Complex Operations
ECS5142 Complexity Thinking For Integrative Peacebuilding
ECS5143 Intercultural And Inter-Religious Engagement
ECS5144 Peacebuilding, Identity-Based Conflict And Reconciliation
ECS5311 Religious Identities And Conflict
ECS5313 Spirituality And Conflict
ECS5315 Gender And Conflict
ECS5316 Indigenous Cultures, Conflict And Coexistence
ECS5921 Research Internship
ECS6140 Research Seminar
ECS6999 Master Thesis
A maximum of two graduate courses (6 units) may be taken from other programs and universities with prior authorization from the director of the program.
Research
ECS6140 Research Seminar (3u) (Research Paper option)
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ECS7999 Thèse de maîtrise / Master's Thesis (Thesis option)
For admission to the thesis option, a student admitted to the MA in Conflict Studies program must first obtain 9 units (through courses or through advanced standing), and then apply to the the director of the School for permission to enroll in the thesis option. To do so, the student must find a suitable supervisor and submit a detailed topic and plan of research. The director will examine the application and inform the student of its decision.
If a student chooses the thesis option and the thesis uses a quantitative methodology, a course in quantitative methodology is required. If the thesis uses a qualitative methodology, one of the following is required: a course in qualitative methodology, participant observation, content analysis, or evaluation research.
Critical evaluation of research findings in the human sciences. Qualitative and quantitative methods of gathering, validating, and interpreting evidence. Issues in research ethics. Applications in graduate research projects and theses.
Conflict resolution approaches and institutions created over time in different regions of the world. Traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. State and law. Democratic institutions. Third party involvement and promotion of peace.
Violence and trauma in the context of identity-based conflicts. Emotional, spiritual, physical and cognitive dimensions of the human person. Reconciliation, forgiveness and trauma healing.
Degeneration of conflicts into unforgettable and unforgivable atrocities. Causes, mechanisms, attitudes leading to extreme mass violence. Role of faith in healing memories. Case study of genocides in Germany, South Africa, Rwanda and among indigenous peoples in North and South America.
Influence of development and allocation of economic resources on political conflict, including ethnic and religious strife. Influence of globalization on the propensity of societies toward violence.
National and international policies and programs designed to eliminate the causes of violent conflict and prevent their re-emergence. Dialogue and reconciliation. Political and economic reforms. Local development and empowerment.
Theoretical and empirical aspects of strategies and processes of mediation and negotiation. Critical examination of contemporary approaches to mediation and negotiation. Cases of successful or unsuccessful negotiations. Roles, capacities and motivations of parties.
Conflict analysis applied to the elaboration of intervention strategies. Evaluation of projects and programs in conflict resolution. Case studies. Ethical questions related to the planning and evaluation of conflict resolution interventions.
Using psychological theories of the development of consciousness, this course explores how leaders can adapt to complex environments. An integral approach is used to develop a methodology to systematically reflect on practical challenges in order to refine intentions, strategies and actions.
The Comprehensive Approach, within international and domestic security environments, enables the student to better understand the capabilities and constraints of a variety of institutions within today’s operational environments.
Competencies are enhanced in achieving greater integration of effort among personnel and their organizations as more lasting solutions are generated to the complex challenges of international missions.
Both conflict and peacebuilding take place within complex adaptive systems with many variables. This course explores the characteristics of chaos, complexity and emerging creativity theories and how they assist in understanding the multi-dimensional dynamics of peacebuilding.
Cultural competency is needed to be effective within host communities. Students will learn to identify dynamics of tensions between religious, national, economic, and ideological components of conflicts; to analyze reasons for various kinds of exclusivist and intolerant attitudes and to integrate the religious component into peacebuilding, development initiatives, and whole-of-government programming.
The challenge of peacebuilding is situated in the context of historically driven, deep-rooted conflicts between identity- groups. Students will learn to use theoretical frameworks to analyze conflict and advance reconciliation. The dialectical relationship between peacebuilding and social and political reconciliation will be explored, emphasizing trust-building, structural change, symbolic conciliatory gestures, and socio-emotional transformation.
Study of theoretical models of conflict drawn from the social and behavioural sciences. Applications to the analysis of different types of conflict.
Conceptual and procedural ethical issues concerning norms of social justice and reconciliation. Relation of ethical issues to self-other dialectics, dynamics of discourse and power, gender and class, memory and agency.
Implication of religious identities, traditions and actors in escalating, diverting or transforming deep-rooted conflicts in different societies. Comparative multi-religious framework. Sociology of religion and contextual theological hermeneutics.
Impact of conflict on spirituality and of spirituality on conflict. Part played in conflict by the spiritual life and convictions of those involved.
Multidisciplinary examination of cases of domination and marginalization. Social and cultural constructions of gender. Role of these constructs in structures of domination. Challenges met in transforming these structures.
Implication of indigenous identities in the emergence and transformation of conflicts. Ethnic and religious dimensions of indigenous cultural resurgence in Canada and other national contexts. Conflict reduction and pluralistic coexistence.
Internship of 150 hours in Conflict analysis and/or resolution, involving advanced and sustained research and analysis work. The internship is supervised and the work evaluated by a professor member of the program.Graded S/NS. Prerequisites: Completion of 9 credits in the MA program with an average of at least B+. Approval of the internship proposal by the program director.
Contact Us
Office of the Associate Vice-Rector, Strategic Enrolment Management
Room 148
Saint Paul University
223 Main Street
Ottawa, ON
K1S 1C4
CANADA
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Telephone: 613-236-1393
Fax: 613-782-3014
admission@ustpaul.ca
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223 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1S 1C4
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613-236-1393
613-782-3005
info@ustpaul.ca