Course Details

Syllabus

As a student of Peace Studies you will be required to take the module Introduction to Peace Studies in order to provide you with a solid grounding in key themes and issues relevant to the study of peace.

Students on the MA in African Peace and Conflict Studies are also required to undertake the following two core taught modules:

Introduction to African Politics
The module will encourage you to think analytically about the underlying forces shaping issues of peace, conflict and development on the African continent. The course will therefore look to colonialism, the post-colonial legacy, ethnicity and conflict, the underdevelopment of Africa, democracy in the African context, the role of religion in African politics, the relationship between China and Africa, and other thematic issues that pertain to African politics.

African Approaches to Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
By making extensive use of casestudies, our aim is to encourage you to reflect on the ways in which African approaches relate to theories and practices in the field of conflict resolution and peace studies and to explore their potential in the prevention, management and resolution of contemporary conflicts in Africa.

The course will include topics such as pivotal concepts and themes in conflict resolution; conflict resolution methods and techniques; culture, conflict resolution and peacebuilding; conflict management and the post-colonial state in Africa; indigenous knowledge and conflict management practices and institutions in traditional African societies; and, peacemaking and peacebuilding from below in select communities across Africa.

You then have the opportunity to define your own engagement with the discipline by choosing from the full range of modules offered by the Department. It is therefore up to you to decide what specific dimensions of peace you wish to focus on, with possible options ranging from modules on: the environment, human rights, Islam, Christianity and politics, African politics, nationalism, international political economy, international politics and security studies, conflict resolution, East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

To complete the MA degree, you will undertake a dissertation project in a topic of your choice, which must relate to the subject of Peace Studies.

Structure

The MA courses extend over a period of three semesters (full time) or five semesters (part time). You must complete course units amounting to 180 credits at Level M, which includes a dissertation worth 60 credits and taught courses amounting to 120 credits. Full Time students must take taught course units amounting to 60 credits in each semester.

The Postgraduate Diploma course extends over a period of two semesters (full time) or four semesters (part time). Students must study units amounting to 120 credits at Level M. Full time students must take taught units amounting to 60 credits in each semester.

Students may take the MA or Postgraduate Diploma on a part-time basis over a period of up to 5 years. For example part time students taking the MA or Postgraduate Diploma over 2 years would take 60 Credits in their first year, and a further 60 taught credits in their second year.

MA students begin preparing for the dissertation in the second half of their degree course. The dissertation is a 15,000 word piece of independent research on a topic of your choice – although the topic must be related to your field of study.

Aim

Having completed the MA, students will have acquired the following subject-specific knowledge and understanding:

• An understanding of the theories and concepts of peace and conflict and their application to global, regional and local contexts;
• An advanced understanding of the nature, dynamics and complexity of the links between peace, conflict, security and development in contemporary Africa;
• An advanced understanding of the competing theories, interpretations and discourses on history, politics, conflict and development in Africa, and their application to contemporary issues in a global, regional and local context;
• An advanced understanding of methodologies of conflict analysis, management, resolution and peace-building in an African context.

Learning Outcome

The MA African Peace and Conflict Studies aims to:

• Develop your knowledge and understanding of a coherent, current and intellectually stimulating body of theory and analysis;
• Encourage you to develop an independent, critical and scholarly approach to the field which will enable you to apply your knowledge and develop your understanding;
• Encourage you to relate academic study to questions of public concern in the peace and conflict field;
• Provide you with a curriculum supported by active scholarship, staff development and a research culture that promotes breadth and depth of intellectual enquiry and debate;
• Help you to develop a valuable range of key skills and personal attributes for a wide variety of careers;
• Provide you with a friendly and supportive learning environment.

Discipline Skills

• The ability to critically evaluate competing theories, interpretations and discourses in the field of peace and conflict studies;
• An independent and critical ability to gather, organise and analyse relevant primary and secondary evidence or data so as to present coherent and clearly reasoned arguments which address specific problems ;
• The ability to apply conceptual frameworks and research methodologies to case-studies.

Personal Transferable Skills

• An ability to communicate effectively and fluently in speech and writing, use communication and information technology for the retrieval of and presentation of information, work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organisation and time management and collaborate with others to achive common goals.

Teaching Strategy

A variety of teaching strategies are employed, including lectures, tutorials, seminars and group work. In the case of the latter, where group work is formally assessed you either receive an individual rather than a group mark for your work to ensure that your own work on the group project is recognised and/or you are required to provide a diary of group meetings which inform the overall assessment of a group project. It should also be noted that formally assessed group work always constitutes a relatively small percentage of the final mark for any course in which it is used.

Assessment Strategy

The form of assessment for course units varies according to the specific pedagogical requirements of the unit. However, a range of assessment methodologies are employed across the course units including: essays, exams (both closed and open papers) reflexive journals and formally assessed group presentations. All pieces of assessment are numerically marked. A dissertation of 14-15,000 words must be submitted by a date to be determined by the Department each year and clearly specified in the MA handbook.

How to Apply

To meet the Department's criteria for admission to one of the MA programmes you should have

• A first degree, usually Upper Second Class (2:1) Honours level or better (or its equivalent). However, we also take into account relevant experiential learning to an equivalent level.
• A demonstrable competence of the standard of written and spoken English required for postgraduate study. The Department currently asks for a minimum standard of Grade C at GCSE or 6.0 IELTS or the equivalent in TOEFL
• Two good references, preferably including from at least one individual who is able to comment on your academic work
• A Personal Statement as to why you would like to do the programme

Apply From

The Department accepts applications for entry onto the MA programme throughout the year.

Apply Until

The Department does not have a formal closing date for application. However, for overseas students we RECOMMEND that you apply by the end of June as the visa application process can be quite lengthy.

Apply to

To apply, go to www.brad.ac.uk/university/pgpros/apply-taught.php and follow the links. Or complete an application form and send it with supporting documents to the address above.

International applicants you can also contact an overseas representative in your own country, who will help with the application procedure. A list of overseas representatives is available on the University website.