Students have an opportunity to explore the root causes of violence at all levels of human interaction seeking to understand human potential for waging protracted lethal conflict and for creating lasting peace. A leader in the development of the field of study, Juniata approaches peace not as the opposite of, or even the absence of conflict, but rather as a social process whereby conflict is nurtured and managed so as to be creative rather than a destructive force in the human community. Nearly one-third of the faculty at Juniata have participated in the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. The Program is made up of more than twenty courses and is one of a few undergraduate programs with a strong non-departmental emphasis in the area of Conflict Resolution and Mediation. This is a committee made up of faculty, students and staff responsible for the curriculum, program, and budget.
Students have equal voice and vote with faculty members in helping plan and administer the program.
This provides excellent experience for students as well as giving a direct participation in planning and administering the program. In addition to opportunities to travel to special conferences, peace students also have funds available to them to assist with research related to their Senior Thesis. In the past, students have done research in such venues as New Zealand, The Sudan, and the Galapagos Islands . At this Seminar students have an opportunity to have personal contact with scholars in arms control communities from all over the world and to examine arms control and disarmament issues related to a specific region with university teachers from those regions. This service provides training in Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation to local schools and businesses.