Peace and Conflict Studies

College of Letters and Science
Group Major Office: International and Area Studies, 101 Stephens Hall, (510) 642-4466

Chair: Khatharya Um, PhD (Department of Ethnic Studies and Department of International and Area Studies)
Department Website: Peace and Conflict Studies 

Overview

Peace and Conflict Studies has been an undergraduate major at UC Berkeley since 1985. The founding premise of PACS is that war and other forms of violence, despite their ubiquity, can be mitigated and transformed through the application of knowledge. To this end, the major introduces students to critical analyses of the social, economic, political, and ecological structures of conflict, power, and processes of change. Given the complex and multifaceted nature of violence and its causes, students are expected to approach their studies from a number of interdisciplinary perspectives.

The PACS curriculum is designed to provide students both breadth and depth in their study of peace and conflict. Breadth is accomplished by the survey fields and depth through the area of concentration. PACS majors are encouraged to develop an integrative understanding of peace theory, research, and practice, taking advantage of internship opportunities in both local and global settings

In consultation with an academic adviser, students choose the courses that will fulfill major requirements. All students are required to fulfill a common set of core courses: Introduction, Methodology, Theory, and the Senior Seminar, as well as a Concentration. Areas of concentration include Human Security, Global Governance, Culture and Identity, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, and Nonviolence.

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The Group Major

Declaring a major in peace and conflict studies follows guidelines established by the College of Letters and Science (L&S). Students wishing to declare PACS:

1. Must be currently enrolled in or have completed PACS 10 with a grade of C or better (PACS 10 can be repeated only once in order to obtain a grade of "C" or better; there are no transferable equivalent for PACS 10 from California community colleges)
2. Have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher
3. Must have attended a major declaration workshop
4. Must not be in their final semester of undergraduate work
5. Are encouraged but not required to have completed at least two semesters of college-level foreign language or the equivalent before applying to the major

To declare the major, students must meet with a program adviser in person to submit the PACS application materials.

Students are reminded that: no coursework for the major may be taken on a passed/not passed basis, and no course may be used to satisfy more than one major requirement.

Double Majors

Double majors must be approved by the dean of the College of Letters and Science. No more than two upper division courses may be used to satisfy requirements in both majors.

Courses Outside L&S

No more than three courses outside the College of Letters and Science may be used to fulfill group major requirements.

Study Abroad

The use of coursework taken at institutions outside the United States to fulfill major requirements is restricted to the equivalent of three semester-length upper division courses. Courses taken to fulfill the foreign language requirement for the group major are not included in this restriction.

Transfer Courses

A maximum of three upper division courses taken at other institutions (including those of the UC Education Abroad Program) may be transferred into the major. These courses will be accepted only as three of the required upper division courses (regardless of unit value) and must be validated by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and approved by a major adviser. Courses used to fulfill lower division requirements or the foreign language requirement are not included in this restriction.

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Course Plan

Note: The Course Plan below will be effective through Fall 2014. Beginning Spring 2015, the major requirements for PACS will be changing.  The changes are:

1. The total number of required upper division courses will increase from nine to 10 (with a unit limit of 36).
2. PACS 190, Senior Seminar, will become a year-long course sequence for eight units instead of a semester-long course for four units.
3. The two-course survey requirement will be eliminated.
4. The Concentration requirement will increase to six courses instead of four.  The Pre-designed Concentration areas will be reduced from six areas of concentration to three areas of concentration, to include Governance and World Order, Human Rights and Human Security, and Conflict Resolution and Peace Building.  (The option for a Self-Designed Concentration will continue.)

There is considerable flexibility within PACS for students to construct individual programs unique to their intellectual interests. There is, however, a structure built into the major and specific course requirements that must be met. This structure is designed to provide all PACS students with a common knowledge base and intellectual reference points. Students are strongly recommended to follow the program sequentially, beginning with the lower-division courses, followed by the methodology, survey, and concentration courses.

The program begins with lower division courses centered around PACS 10, Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies, which provides a basic factual, theoretical, and methodological grounding in peace and conflict studies. Two other lower division courses must be chosen from the list below. There is also a language proficiency requirement which, depending on one’s language skills, could require language courses.

The upper division courses include two core courses, including a senior seminar; three survey courses, a methods course, and four concentration courses. Students may also enroll in the honors program (described above).

Lower Division (three courses)

PACS 10 and two courses from the following list: Anthropology 3, 3AC; Asian Studies 10; Development Studies C10; Economics 1, 2; Geography 4, 10, 20, C32, C55; History 6B, 7B, 8B, 10, 11, 12, 14; International and Area Studies 45; Latin American Studies 10; Middle Eastern Studies 20; Near Eastern Studies C26; Political Science 2; Psychology 1; Sociology 1, 3AC; Undergraduate Business Administration 10.

Foreign Language

All PACS students must be able to demonstrate proficiency in any single modern language (other than English) equivalent to four college-level semesters.

There are three ways students can fulfill the four-semester language requirement, depending on their backgrounds and abilities:

1. Through Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test: An AP score of five or an International Baccalaureate (IB) score of seven will complete this requirement. An AP score of four will place a student into the fourth-semester college level course. A score of three will place a student into the third-semester college level course. Documentation of AP scores must be provided.
2. Through coursework: Any combination of college courses, summer programs, or college-level study abroad programs could satisfy the language requirement. At a minimum, students must complete the fourth semester of a language with a grade of C- or better. The first, second, or third levels of language may be taken on a passed/no passed basis; the fourth semester must be taken for a letter grade. Language courses need not be taken at Berkeley; courses taken at a community college or any accredited school or university are acceptable. Advanced Placement Language Test scores of five complete the requirement. However, transcripts and score reports must be provided. See an adviser in the IAS office concerning language study abroad.
3. With a proficiency exam: Some, but not all, language departments on campus offer proficiency testing for students with advanced skills in that language. Please note that if a particular language is not taught on the Berkeley campus, then students are not able to test in that language. A student would then need to choose one of the other methods for fulfilling the foreign language requirement.
4. High school completion in a non-English language: Students who were educated in a non-English language through the completion of high school or the equivalent may wish to satisfy this requirement with that experience. Students must provide a transcript or diploma proving that they have been educated in this language at least through the completion of high school or the equivalent.

Upper Division

• Core (two courses): PACS 100, Peace Theory: Approaches and Analyses, and PACS 190, Senior Seminar. These courses provide the scope of the discipline in historical, theoretical and practical terms.
• Methods (one course): The methodology requirement is designed to give each PACS major a set of analytical skills appropriate to the core focus of their individual program. The methods course can be drawn from any of two broad categories—statistical methods or research design. The selection of the most appropriate class for each student should be undertaken in close consultation with an adviser. The first category focuses on advanced statistical methods and computer-assisted data analysis. A lower division statistics course is strongly recommended as a prerequisite to any of these courses. The second category focuses on research design and field methods. It is oriented to questions of survey design, field analysis, qualitative methods, and approaches to research design. An introductory course in statistics is also recommended as prerequisite to these courses. Lists of approved courses can be obtained from the PACS handbook.
• Concentration (four courses): In the concentration, students pursue advanced study on a particular issue or topic in peace studies. Students may choose on of the six topics listed above (not already chosen for the two Survey requirements) as their Concentration. Or they may design their own Concentration topic in consultation with a PACS faculty adviser. See the PACS Handbook for more information.
• Survey (two courses): Survey courses are chosen from two of six topics: Conflict Resolution, Culture and Identity, Global Governance, Human Rights, Human Security, and Nonviolence. See the PACS Handbook for course lists.

Honors Program

To graduate with honors from the group major in peace and conflict studies, students must enroll in the two-semester honors seminar, IAS H102 (fall only) and PACS H195 (spring only), and must obtain GPAs of 3.6 in the major and 3.5 in overall university coursework. The honors seminar (PACS H195) is taken in addition to a student's regular coursework for fulfilling requirements for the major and culminates in the writing of a senior thesis. The thesis is read by the PACS H195 instructor and at least one other faculty member who is selected by the student in consultation with the thesis instructor. Eligibility for participating in the Honors Program is determined in the IAS office. Note: There is no guarantee that students accepted into the honors program will graduate with honors. Honors recommendations are made after graduation and are based on a number of factors including (but not limited to) major GPA, grades received for IAS H102 and PACS H195, and faculty adviser recommendations.

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The Minor

The PACS minor is open to all undergraduates except PACS majors. Applications for the minor and a list of approved courses are available from the IAS office. To apply for the minor, students must have completed at least one PACS course with a grade of B or better and have an overall GPA of 2.0. Completed applications and a Petition for Confirmation of Minor Program must be submitted to the IAS office no later than the last day of instruction of the term immediately preceding your final semester.

To complete the minor, students must take six upper-division courses, three of which must be PACS courses. The remaining three courses must be selected from one (only) of the six PACS Concentration/Survey Areas. 

Note: The following college requirements apply to the PACS minor program:

• At least three courses must be completed at Berkeley
• All courses must be taken for a letter grade, PACS 197, 198, and 199 cannot be used to fulfill minor requirements
• A minimum GPA of 2.0 must be achieved in the courses used to satisfy the minor requirements
• And no more than one course can satisfy requirements for both a major and a minor