GRAD SEMESTER PROGRAMS:
UN University for Peace

N.B. Information on this page does not apply to the dual Master's degree program, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (NRSD). For information on the NRSD program, please see this Web site.

The United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) in Ciudad Colón (near San José), Costa Rica was established in 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the UN General Assembly. The university’s charter defines its mission as follows: “To provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations.” To this end, UPEACE has developed innovative graduate programs that question the fundamental causes of conflict through a multidisciplinary, multicultural approach.

UPEACE attracts students from around the world and the student body is truly international. AU students who participate in this one-semester program study alongside UPEACE students in courses regularly taught by UPEACE. Programs of study at UPEACE include the following:

• Environmental Security and Peace
• Gender and Peacebuilding
• International Law and Human Rights
• International Law and Dispute Settlement
• International Peace Studies
• Media, Peace and Conflict Studies
• Natural Resources and Peace
• Peace Education

With the approval of their academic advisors, students on the program can take up to 9 credits at UPEACE toward their AU degree. As UPEACE is an English-language institution, no language pre-requisites apply; however, students should consider studying Spanish prior to their arrival at UPEACE in order to gain valuable communication skills for daily living.

San José is the capital and largest city in Costa Rica. It sits at the heart of the Gran Area Metropolitana (GAM), a metroplex of Costa Rica’s four Central Valley cities, and is the focal point for the country’s political activity, commerce, art and architecture and tourism. With a quaint downtown area and colorful nightlife, San José is a great place to spend a semester studying peace.

Fall 2009 application deadline:  April 15

Questions? Find out more.