The “Master Peace Research and International Relations" – MAPIR – is a four-semester study programme and part of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. Its German version has been offered since the winter semester 2004/05 as one of the first M.A. degrees with a focus on studying peace, conflict and international relations in Germany. It is designed as a consecutive and research-oriented degree programme. In addition to academic teaching, the programme offers study trips, lecture series as well as workshops with experts who work for international organisations, NGOs, and think tanks.
The programme is aimed at university graduates with a first degree in Political Science or International Relations or related fields who are seeking for a career in peace research and policy. After successful completion, students have a systematic and critical knowledge in the field of Peace Research and International Relations.
The Master's programme focuses on research-based learning in relation to core questions of peace, conflict and international politics. These include the processes and structures of violent conflicts and how they are embedded in broader structures of international politics as well as the opportunities and possibilities of cooperation between a variety of actors in coping with such conflicts. The programme involves the critical re-thinking and further development of central concepts, institutions and strategies of violence prevention and peaceful conflict transformation based on methodologically substantiated and theoretically informed research. In addition, it covers core ethical questions of international politics as well as the normative foundations of peace.
