Your career as a peace practitioner

Postgraduate Education at the Centre for Peace and Conflict studies provides a sound capacity for scholarly analytical research supported by practical skills that may be applied successfully to a wide range of situations and challenges.

Graduates of Peace and Conflict Studies work for the United Nations, international non-govenmental organisations, local community organisations, universities and government departments, and as peace-builders, community workers, diplomats, academics, conflict resolution practitioners and researchers.

Following are some examples of the career developments being pursued by CPACS graduates.

Indonesian student, Faye, went straight from her CPACS Masters course to be Senior Mental Health Officer for Médecins sans Frontières in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

Bona returned to his home country, Malawi, where he is working with the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation in the capital, Lilongwe, under the umbrella of the Malawi human Rights Commission.

After completing her Maters degree, Aletia was appointed Programme Assistant, Disarmament and Peace in the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland. Her main areas of research were restorative justice mechanisms for child soldiers in post conflict countries and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission's strategy for Burundi and Sierra Leone. In 2007, she participated in peacebuilding, trauma healing and alternatives to violence workshops in western Kenya with the Friends Peace Centre in Lubao.

Whilst pursuing his degree with CPACS, Xavier started work in human resource management with Austcare in Sydney. After completing his degree, he moved to Manila to take up a new position with Community and Family Services International, an international humanitarian organisation based in the Philippines. He is now heading the global human resources operations of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Xavier Hennekinne in Vietnam

Miyo is a full-time lecturer in sociology at Chiba Keizai College in her home country, Japan.

Sarah has worked as a United Nations Protection Officer in Southern Sudan and East Timor since completing her degree. At the beginning of 2007, she took up a new position as Protection and UN Liason Officer with Austcare, based in Sydney.

Andy returned to the UK after completing his Masters degree with CPACS and then took up a job with Nonviolent Peaceforce in Sri Lanka. In 2008, he returned to England

Erin spent the year following completion of her MA (PACS) degree working in political, press and public affairs with the British Consulate-General in Los Angeles. In August 2005 she was asked to help organise a visit programme for Sally Waples from the British Embassy in Washington, DC, whom she was surprised to discover was also a CPACS graduate!

Sally was seconded to the Embassy in Washington DC from the British Home Office to research good practice in policing. Sally joined the Home Office Strategic Policy Team in March 2004 after completing a consultancy project for the University of Kent evaluating policy on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Dagny worked as a volunteer with UNHCR in Canberra before serving on an emergency mission for UNHCR in earthquake affected Mansehra in Pakistan between March – May 2006. In the second half of 2006, Dagny commenced a new appointment as a Norweigian Junior Professional Officer working with UNICEF in Zambia.

After completing her MA (PACS) degree, Mireille obtained a position with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2006, Mireille was Acting Project Manager, Human Security and Small Arms and was co-author of two papers published by the CHD entitled “Transitioning to Peace: Guns in Civilian Hands” and “Civilians, Guns and Peace-Building: Approaches, Norms and Possibilities”.