What is Peace and Justice Studies?
About the program
Peace and Justice Studies (PJS) is an academic discipline that first emerged in the 1950s and is now an established part of the university curriculum in more than 300 programs worldwide. Our program is the only and largest in New York City and has been recognized as a model nationwide.
The foundation for our program is built on:
- An emphasis on critical thinking as expressed in outstanding research and writing skills
- An intersectional approach to issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability
- A nuanced understanding of social justice grounded in a conflict transformation framework
- A transnational lens that connects local, national, and international issues.
Pace University students and faculty are actively engaged in the struggle for gender and racial justice, disarmament and environmental sustainability. Pace’s exciting program in Peace and Justice Studies will help cultivate the next generation of thinking activists, advocates, campaigners and humanitarians.
–Jody Williams
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Chair of the Nobel Women’s Initiative
Career Paths
Our students pursue many career paths including advocacy, human rights work, nonprofits, restorative justice, mediation, negotiation, facilitation, humanitarianism, poverty alleviation, education, counseling, trauma work, social entrepreneurship, public health, government, economic development, research, and environmental protection.
Outside of the classroom, PJS has working relationships with a variety of nonprofits and international non-governmental organizations. Students can meet mediators, facilitators, negotiators, community organizers, activists, United Nations staff, and international aid workers to develop mentoring relationships and hear firsthand stories about their professional work.