Pursue an MA in Peace, Conflict & Democracy at UCY

The University of Cyprus (UCY) offers a Masters programme in Peace, Conflict & Democracy.

The programme:

• The programme is designed for students interested in understanding central issues and challenges in the interdisciplinary study of peace, conflict and democracy globally.
• It is led by our award-winning academic staff in different regions of the world, signposting the global orientation of the program.
• It is taught by political scientists, sociologists, journalists, and anthropologists, exposing stud ents to different disciplinary approaches to the stud y of peace, conflict and democratic transformation.
• The MA programme lasts 18 months (90 ECTS) for a total of three semesters.
• In the first two semesters, students will attend courses geared towards developing their theoretical, methodological and practical skills.
• In the third semester, students will develop an independent research project (dissertation) under the supervision of an experienced faculty member.

Location:

The programme is situated in Nicosia, thus offering students a unique experience of peace and conflict studies in a safe research environment.

Employability:

The programme is designed to develop the employability skills and boost the career prospects of graduates. To this end, students will be able to engage in a research-oriented internship within a local organisation.

World-class faculty:

Our academics publish findings of their cutting-edge, award-winning research in top journals in the field and have expertise in regions around the world.

lnterdisciplinarity:

Reflecting the unique interdisciplinary structure of the host departments (Political Science, Sociology, Journalism), the programme will familiarise students with various disciplinary approaches to the study of peace, conflict and democratic transformation.

Building your portfolio:

The programme offers a wide range of elective courses, including nationalism and ethnic conflict, radicalisation, electoral engineering, peace journalism, topographies of conflict and gender in conflict settings, thus enabling students to tailor their studies to their interests.

Visual Dissertation:

Students will have the opportunity to produce an independent short documentary under the supervision of experienced academic staff in audio-visual media/film studies.

Eight small research groups:

Student-led workshops are designed to support students’ methodological skills, ethics training and learning experience.

Programme content and structure:

As part of their core courses, students will complete a dissertation (30 ECTS) and three mandatory courses:

• Fundamentals of Peace & Conflict Transformation (7,5 ECTS)
• Fundamentals of Democracy (7,5 ECTS)
• Applied Research (7,5 ECTS)

In parallel, students can select up to 5 electives from a range of interdisciplinary courses, each exploring a different aspect of Peace, Conflict and Democratic Transformations:

• Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict
• War & Peace: A History of Ideas
• Election & Democracy after Conflict
• Topographies of Peace and Conflict
• Dynamics of Radicalism & Conflict in Democracy
• Human Rights, Gender & Conflict Transformation
• Reporting Peace & Conflict
• Special Topics in Peace, Conflict & Democracy
• Internship

Funding:

A number of merit-based studentships will be offered to the most competitive applicants.

lnternship:

Students will be offered the opportunity to secure a research placement at a local organisation with the aim of benefitting students’ understanding of grassroots processes of peace, conflict and democratic transformation, while also enhancing their future career trajectory. The internship programme builds on a highly-successful internship scheme run by the Department of Social and Political Sciences.

The University of Cyprus:

Although established only in 1989, the University of Cyprus was ranked #84 in the 50 Years Old or Younger category of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2021. It is part of the ‘Young Universities for the Future of Europe’ (YUFE) and one of 17 universities selected by the European Commission in 2019 to develop and implement models for a unified European University. With eight faculties and 22 departments, the University offers a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and research programmes catering to almost 7,000 students.

Funding:

The programme offers a number of fully-funded studentships to strong applicants. All applicants will automatically be considered for funding.

Academic requirements:

The programme will consider applicants with an academic background/degree in Social Sciences, Arts or Humanities or any other associated field.

• International graduates should normally have the equivalent grade level (e.g., UK university graduates should normally have an upper second-class honours degree (60+)).
• Graduates of the University of Cyprus or Greek universities should normally hold a grade level of at least 7.5 or above.
• Applicants with extensive professional experience (>5 years) in the fields of peace and conflict or democracy will be admitted if they already hold a postgraduate degree or may be considered if they have received a grade level of at least 7.0 from an internationally recognised university.
• When applicants’ previous studies have not been conducted in English, they are expected to show an adequate level of proficiency in English.
• Applicants should have an IELTS* score of 6.5 (with at least 5.5 in each section) with the test taken not more than two years before the submission of the application.

Supporting documents:

• Motivation Letter
• Two letters of reference

The SPS department:

The Department of Social and Political Sciences (SPS) in one of the largest departments at the University of Cyprus, with about 400 undergraduate, 50 graduate, and 12 doctoral students.

Articles and books on issues related to peace, conflict and democracy written by its award-winning academic staff regularly appear in prestigious academic publications and journals in the field. Beyond the academy, our faculty members actively engage in policy-making in various national and international bodies, offering evidence-based policy recommendations.

Fees for the entire 18-month period are €5,125