The University for Peace - Natural Resources and Peace

Human Security
1. Specialization in Public Health and Society
2. Specialization in Urban Challenges and Peace

Beginning in August, 2010, UPEACE will offer a new MA in Human Security with two options of specialization for students: Public Health and Society and Urban Challenges to Peace.

Rationale
The United Nations mandated University for Peace has become a worldwide leader in preparing professionals in Peace and Conflict Studies. The institution has already broken the barriers that have separated peace from other disciplines and is now looking to do so again by offering an MA in Human Security with two specializations: Public Health and Society and Urban Challenges and Peace. Students from all over the world are drawn to the University for Peace because it offers MA Programmes that are designed to provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge to facilitate positive change in the world.

The emerging paradigm of human security arguably reflects the challenges facing the world today; indeed, it is people, as opposed to the State, that must be empowered to cope with threats such as environmental degradation, poverty and hunger. The traditional view of security has been embedded in national security, where the State protects itself from military threats and in turn, guarantees stability. The human security view holds that a people-centered view of security is crucial in attaining global stability. Holistic in nature, human security entails freedom from hunger, from lack of opportunity, from social exclusion, from poor living conditions, from lack of treatment for illness and from all forms of violence.

Human Security is a recognized as a useful paradigm for studying global issues. Under this approach it is the individual human being and her/his relationship to the surrounding society which is the focus of attention, rather than societal units such as nation-states, ethnic or cultural groups. Use of the Human Security paradigm helps the student to see beyond national and ethnic differences, and to understand the common problems which all human beings face as individuals and as family units. UPEACE is introducing this approach in a new MA program this year, with two optional specializations.

a. Design of the Master of Arts in Human Security

Duration: 11-month programme of strict residential work.
Target population: Intended for young professional that have working experience or plan to work in areas of potential or ongoing violent conflict. Intended applicants are international servicepersons in charge of peace-keeping operations or humanitarian and development assistance programmes, UN system officials, military and police officers, advisors to members of parliaments, new diplomats, and officials of judiciary systems and related services that wish to expand their knowledge on new approaches in security.
Entering profile: University Degree (Bachelor or equivalent), English proficiency, and at least five years of relevant working experience.
Exit profile: Graduates of this programme will have a clear understanding of modern approaches to security (especially the nature and interrelation of the seven dimensions of Human Security, as conceived by the UNDP), knowledge and skills on how to lead projects in conflict situations, an inclination to initiate programmes to address urban problems and rebuild war-torn civil societies, and a sensitivity to social issues such as HIV/AIDS, leprosy, refugees and displaced people.
Contents of the programme: The programme will have 42 credits distributed in four categories of courses: required, concentration, electives, and practicum. After the courses, students will be expected to complete a systematic and highly structured graduation requirement project. In all courses, students will be exposed to knowledge and skills related to project development, project management, and needs and risks assessment.

Required courses (15 credits)

Foundation course in Peace and Conflict Studies -3 cr.
Introduction to Human Security and Peace Building- 3 cr.
Research Methods- 3 cr.
Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Peace Building-3 cr.
Urbanization, Urban Health and Human Security: A Introduction- 3 cr.

Specialization (11 credits)

Public Health and Society

HIV/AIDS issues-2 cr.
Health and Gender/Gender and Human Rights-3 cr.
Health Systems and Social Change -3 cr.
Social Inclusion and Determinant of Health-3 cr.

Urban Challenges to Peace

Sustainable Urbanization, Conflict and Peace-3 cr.
Hunger, Famine and Food Security in Urban Areas-2 cr.
Mass Population Displacement, Slums and the "Ruralization" of Slums-3 cr.
Small Arms and Weapons-3 cr.

Electives (5 credits)

To be taken in any MA UPEACE programme upon student choice

Practicum (3 credits)

Students will participate in an ongoing and practical activity, overseen by a faculty member, which uses Costa Rican based organizations to apply theory abd build professional skills.

Graduation Project (8 credits)

The final graduation project can take the form of a research or an Internship I a relevant host organization.

b. Design of Specializations

1. MA in Human Security with Specialization in Public Health and Society
Why Public Health and Society?
Data released from The World Health Report reveals a chronic shortage of health workers and an even higher demand for qualified workers on the new academic interface of peace and health. This shortage becomes intensified in countries suffering the effects of conflict and war due to the limitations created under these conditions. As a result of conflict, it is common to find communities with many and varied illnesses, groups of abandoned persons, early deaths among men and women, trauma and physical abuse. At the same time, there is often an insufficient number of well-prepared professionals to ensure health recovery and the establishment of peaceful conditions for all people.

Content of the Programme
This specialization covers various current international trends; it explores the prevention of violence, full respect for human rights, integral social inclusion, and the realities confronted by people with mental and physical disabilities. Such health and peace issues are studied, analyzed, researched and approached from the human security perspective. Using a multidimensional and trans-disciplinary perspective, emphasis will be placed on the inherent connections between peace and health.

The convergence of these two fields implies the optimization of human wellness, and constitutes an important contribution to human development. Students attending the programme will be exposed to an international learning community, which encompasses the voices of a multicultural world.

Programme Design
The MA in Human Security with Specialization in Public Health and Society is a 42 credit Programme entailing 15 foundational credits, 11 credits in the selected area of specialization, 5 elective credits, a 3-credit practicum and an 8-credit graduation project. Foundational credits include a Foundation Course in Peace and Conflict Studies; an Introduction to Human Security and Peace Building; Research Methods; Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Peace Building; and Urbanization, Urban Health and Human Security. The Public Health and Society specialization includes courses in HIV/AIDS Issues; Health and Gender; Health Systems and Social Change; and Social Inclusion and Determinant of Health.

Career Prospects
The specialization in Public Health and Society is offered to students who want to become experts, promoters, and protectors of people's health during times of peace and war. The specialization, through focused courses and practical experiences, will increase students' knowledge and skills which will enable them to contribute positively to health and peace issues in local, international, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as to research, evaluation and development projects.

2. MA in Human Security with Specialization in Urban Challenges and Peace
Why Urban Challenges and Peace?
For the first time in history more people are living in cities than in any other forms of human settlements and the current population increase in these cities will continue to rise steadily. The rapid growth of current urban areas, emergence of new ones and the concentration of population in specific mega-cities and urban mega-regions bring about both new challenges as well as opportunities. These challenges and opportunities are crucial for human security, prosperity and peace at the local, national, regional and global levels.

Major cities around the world face problems related to overcrowding, poverty, lack of decent housing and employment opportunities, gang warfare and other forms of urban violence, drugs, diseases and human trafficking. As rural populations increasingly migrate to urban areas, they are often forced to live and raise families in precarious situations in proliferating slums. In addition to rural-urban migration, the world is also experiencing mass international movement of people towards big cities in the Americas, Europe and North Africa, primarily originating from the South and migrating north. This increase in international migration has the potential to generate cultural confrontations in major urban areas; lack of resources, overpopulation and poverty can fuel xenophobia, thereby creating a potential 'clash of civilizations' in cities.

Poverty, spatial unevenness, and social, economic and environmental insecurity are likely to grow unless city planning and governance begin to shift towards inclusive urban governance that foster livable cities.

Content of the Programme
To address these urban problems, the MA Specialization in Urban Challenges and Peace introduces students to concepts and theories of urbanization as well as to urbanization trends at national, regional and global levels. The challenges these trends pose to urban peace and security at the city, national, regional and global level will also be examined.

Through the courses of this Specialization, students will learn about the causes of urban violence, juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and alcoholism, examine the threats they pose to urban security and peace and explore the best ways to address these issues. Students will also learn about the vulnerability of urban populations to different urban health risks and the subsequent differential impacts in various segments of the urban population. In this respect, students will learn about pollution, sanitation, water supplies and food security in urban areas and explore the links between domestic urban violence and health. Additionally, students will examine current urbanization trends and the ecological and human threats they pose. The Specialization in Urban Challenges and Peace discusses how urban settlements varying in size, economic status, and location might have different impacts on the ecosystem services within and around them. The major processes driving change within and in the surroundings of these different types of settlements and the best approaches to handle change will also be identified.

Besides the comprehensive theoretical foundation of current urbanization problems, this MA Specialization seeks to introduce and enhance the necessary skills to effectively address these issues. The MA Specialization therefore explores possible avenues for envisaging practicable and sustainable solutions. In this respect, the correlation between the opportunities the city provides and its internal security and peace will be examined. Viewing cities as places of ingenuity, the MA Specialization explores the alternatives that cities may invent and the necessary urban organizational reforms required to mitigate the impacts of, for instance, climate change. Students in this MA Specialization will study cities and urban regions as potential magnets for global investment as well as spaces for collective action among consumers and political actors.

Programme Design
The MA in Human Security with Specialization in Urban Challenges and Peace is a 42 credit Programme entailing 15 foundational credits, 11 credits in the selected area of specialization, 5 elective credits, a 3-credit practicum and an 8-credit graduation project. Foundational credits include a Foundation Course in Peace and Conflict Studies; an Introduction to Human Security and Peace Building; Research Methods; Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Peace Building; and Urbanization, Urban Health and Human Security. The Urban Challenges to Peace specialization includes courses in Sustainable Urbanization, Conflict and Peace; Hunger, Famine and Food Security in Urban Areas; Mass Population Displacement, Slums and the "Ruralization" of Slums; and Small Arms and Weapons.

Career Prospects
This MA Specialization, in brief, provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary for a career with municipal governments, international and private organizations which are focused on urban issues as well as with neighborhood communities and national and international NGOs.

ADMISSIONS FOR THIS NEW MA PROGRAMME IN HUMAN SECURITY ARE NOW OPEN
Deadline for applications: 15 June 2010