Peace and Justice Studies

The planet faces a set of interrelated challenges related to violence and war, peacemaking and peacebuilding, justice and human rights and, increasingly, environmental degradation and climate change. The Peace and Justice Studies Program (PJS) was founded to provide students with an academic means to understand these crises and to explore the means for achieving a just peace and sustainability. To this end, PJS has created an interdisciplinary course structure which examines the obstacles, conditions, and paths to addressing these challenges. It also explores the ways that governmental and nongovernmental organizations, social movements, and individuals have confronted such problems and worked to resolve them. This structure is also designed to develop students' critical and analytical skills as well as competencies in fields that contribute towards peace and social transformation.

Five overlapping areas of study are emphasized:

• the causes of war, the techniques of war prevention, and the conditions and structures of a just peace;
• the meaning of justice, the means to achieve justice, and the relationship between justice and peace;
• the theory and practice of conflict resolution operating along a continuum from individual disputes to international diplomacy;
• the relationship between violence and peace in culture, with particular emphasis on investigating the traditions of nonviolence and in understanding ethical social behavior;
• the origins, strategies, and visions of social movements and their relationship to other means of social change agency such as community organizing, Internet activism, civic engagement, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and institutionalized processes such as elections and lobbying.

PJS nurtures an active sense of social responsibility for the human condition, and encourages students to participate actively in developing their education by combining their talents and imagination through formal study and experiential education. The program presents a broad range of educational events and co-curricular activities which promote an engaged intellectual and civic climate on campus. In this sense, PJS complements the university's mission and the liberal arts tradition by encouraging the student's awareness, responsibility, and active engagement in the affairs of the world.

PJS offers both a major and a Certificate. To fulfill requirements for the major, a student must complete eleven courses: the introductory course (PJS 1), one intermediate course in each of five core areas, an internship (PJS 99), the integrative seminar (PJS 190), and three elective courses on a particular theme to be chosen in consultation with the student's PJS adviser. Students with a qualifying academic record are also encouraged to enroll in a senior honors thesis in Peace and Justice Studies (PJS 198).

For the PJS Major, a total of 11 courses (8 core and 3 electives) are required:

Introductory

PJS 001 Introduction to Peace and Justice Studies (offered every semester)

Core Courses
One class must be taken from each category A-E.

1. War and Peace
   • SOC 120 Sociology of War and Peace
   • PS 61 Introduction to International Relations
   • ANTH 25 Anthropology of War and Peacemaking
   • PS 170 Understanding Civil Wars: Internal Wars & International Responses
2. Justice
   •  
   • SOC 130 Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality
   • PHIL 141 Global Justice
   • ANTH 185-08 After Violence: Truth, Justice and Social Repair
   • ENG 160 Environmental Justice and World Literature
   • PJS 150-01 Introduction to Social Justice
   • PJS 150-06 Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights in the Middle East
   • PJS 150-07 Race, Ethnicity and US Africa Policy
   • PJS 150-10 Introduction to Human Rights
3. Violence and Peace in Culture
   • PJS/ED 164 Education for Peace and Justice
   • FAH 002 Art History from 1700 to the Present
   • ENG 0191-05 War and American Values
   • HIST 93 The Black Power Movement
   • PJS/PS 121 Political Culture in Comparative Perspective
   • PHIL 45 War and Terrorism
   • PJS 150-03 Genocide
   • PJS 150-03 Interventions in Africa: Violence & Technologies of Repair
   • PJS 150-06/RUS/ILVS/WL 91 War Stories
   • PJS 150-08 Peace Implementation in Bosina
   • PJS 150-09 Black Panther Party
4. Conflict Resolution
   • PJS 50 Introduction to Conflict Resolution
   • PJS 131/UEP 130 Negotiation, Mediation, and Conflict Resolution
5. Creating Social Change
   • PJS/SOC 111 Making Social Change Happen: Grassroots Organizing and Community Activism
   • PJS/SOC 135 Social Movements
   • PJS/CH 109 Community Action and Social Movements in Public Health
   • PJS/ANTH 27 Human Rights in Cultural Context
   • PJS/HIST 128 Civil Rights Movement
   • PJS 150-04/CD 143 Arts, Resilience and Social Justice
   • PJS 150-07 The Arab Spring

Advanced

• PJS 099 Internship in Social Change Organizations
• PJS 190 Integrative Seminar in Peace, Justice, and Social Change
• PJS 198 Senior Thesis (May be used to replace one of required three electives. Note: students undertaking a thesis must still complete PJS 190 senior seminar)

Three electives on a particular theme will be chosen in consultation with a PJS advisor.

1. Completed Common Application or Coalition Application
2. Completed Tufts Writing Supplement 
3. High School Transcript(s)
4. Senior Grades: All applicants will be required to send their senior grades as part of their application. Students applying Early Decision I should send first quarter or trimester grades no later than the last week in November. Students applying Early Decision II should plan for their first semester or trimester grades to arrive no later than the third week in January. Finally, Regular Decision applicants should submit their first semester or trimester grades by the middle of February. Students studying abroad (where predicted grades are common) should send those if senior grades are not available.
5. Testing:
   • For applicants to the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering or the Combined Degree Programs with the SMFA at Tufts or the NEC: SAT with two subject tests or ACT. See the standardized test requirements for information about these tests and recommendations regarding which subject tests to take.
   • For applicants to the SMFA at Tufts' BFA program: SAT or ACT. Subject tests are not required for BFA candidates applying to the SMFA at Tufts.
6. TOEFL Scores: Required only for students for whom English is not the first language or who attend a school where English is not the language of instruction.
7. Letters of Recommendation: Tufts requires one letter from a teacher in a junior or senior year major academic course (math, natural science, social science, English, or a foreign language) and one letter from a guidance counselor for all applicants. Candidates for the SMFA at Tufts' BFA or Combined Degree programs are required to submit a letter from their art teacher as well. An additional letter from all other applicants, though not encouraged, may be submitted if the student feels it can add new perspective to his or her application.
8. Extracurricular Activities: In addition to evaluating an academic fit, the admissions committee looks for ways a student may contribute to the community as a whole. They will assess the level and type of involvement in each activity and may ask questions such as: Has the student been a significant contributor or leader? How has the involvement contributed to the school or larger community? Does the student have a special talent in a particular area? We do not expect all students to be team captains, class presidents, or editors-in-chief; rather, we look for meaningful involvement in their school and/or community. The Common Application allows students to list up to ten different activities, but you don't need to fill every space. Some of the most successful applicants are heavily engaged in just a few activities. Keep in mind that the Common Application is your one chance to show your extracurricular engagements: we are not able to accept a supplemental resume of activities.
9. Art Portfolio: Required only for students applying to the Combined Degree BFA/BA or BFA/BS and BFA applicants to the SMFA at Tufts. Submit a 15-20-piece portfolio of recent work, which represents your strengths and interests, via SlideRoom.
10. $75 Application Fee or Fee Waiver - You may have the application fee waived by submitting either i) a written request from your college counselor or school official who can attest that the fee would represent a financial hardship, or ii) a College Board Request for Waiver of the Application Fee form. You may consider the waiver approved unless a member of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions notifies you otherwise. Without an application fee, or an approved fee waiver, we cannot continue to process your application to Tufts University.