Peace and Justice Studies Certificate

The Certificate in Peace and Justice Studies prepares students for careers in social justice, advocacy, peacemaking, conflict resolution, journalism, teaching, and activism.  Its focus is the development of leaders capable of assessing the conditions for creating social justice and maintaining peaceful relations.  Certificate recipients will be prepared with background on the theoretical structures of justice as well as social, political, and historical praxis for peace and justice education.

Students may pursue the fifteen-credit Certificate in Peace and Justice Studies alone, or together with a Masters degree in Liberal Studies or a related discipline such as Theology, Political Science or History.  Students in Masters programs other than Liberal Studies may use up to two courses towards both their Masters degree as well as the Certificate.  

In keeping with the commitment of the Liberal Studies program to individualized study, only one course is required for the Certificate.  To fulfill this requirement, students may choose from the following options: “Catholic Social Teaching and Peacemaking”; “Theories of Justice”; “Social Justice”; or “The Challenge of Peace.”  They are free to choose the remaining four courses from courses across the graduate curriculum which are designated as satisfying the Peace and Justice Studies requirements.

"We are very excited about this new certificate,” says Dr. Marylu Hill, Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies Program.  “Peace and Justice Studies has long been a strength of Villanova and its faculty, as well as an example of a field of scholarship which links closely to the mission of the University.  The interest on the undergraduate level has been steadily increasing over the past ten years, and we are pleased to now offer the certificate on the graduate level as well.”  Dr. Sally Scholz (Department of Philosophy) has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for such a certificate.

Anyone with a passion for peace and justice will find this new certificate to be a rewarding experience.  For more information, please contact Dr. Marylu Hill, Graduate Liberal Studies, at marylu.hill@villanova.edu or at 610-519-6936. 

Graduate Liberal Studies
Villanova Center for Liberal Education
Rm. 103, Saint Augustine Center