undergradly.
Major · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

A pre-policy and pre-law major built around mediation and conflict

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (CIP 30.0501) is an interdisciplinary social-science bachelor’s focused on the origins, prevention, and resolution of conflict. About 314 students complete it each year across 63 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning a five-year median of $67,486 — a figure shaped by graduate-school ramps and nonprofit pay floors.

Schools offering
63
Annual completions
314
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$67k

About this major

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (CIP 30.0501) is an interdisciplinary social-science bachelor’s focused on the origins, prevention, and resolution of international and inter-group conflicts. The CIP definition centers the major on peace research methods grounded in social-scientific and psychological knowledge, drawing across political science, sociology, history, religion, and psychology. Students take a methods core, substantive coursework on negotiation, mediation, restorative justice, and human rights, and electives that often connect to a regional or thematic specialization. Most programs require a senior thesis or capstone and many include a practicum with a mediation center, NGO, or community organization.

The major fits students drawn to how conflicts begin, escalate, and end — and to the practices that interrupt that cycle. It rewards close reading of dense case material, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to translate academic analysis into mediation, facilitation, or program-design work. Bachelor’s-only graduates typically land in nonprofit program work, AmeriCorps or Peace Corps service, restorative-justice coordination in schools or HR, or city-government community-relations roles.

A grounded read on scale: 314 students complete this CIP each year across 63 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning a five-year median of $67,486. The narrow national pipeline reflects administrative grouping — most universities funnel related students into broader categories like International Relations or Political Science. George Mason University (45 graduates) and UNC Chapel Hill (43) lead, with Georgetown (24), Embry-Riddle (20), and Salisbury (20) following; religiously affiliated colleges with Anabaptist, Catholic, or Quaker traditions are also strong producers. Tracked destinations span arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators ($67,710), social scientists, all other ($100,340), and postsecondary teachers ($78,490) — two of those expect a graduate credential, which is why the bachelor’s wage signals a mix of nonprofit pay floors and graduate-school ramps.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Postsecondary teachers, all other $78k +1.8% Doctoral or professional degree
Social scientists and related workers, all other $100k -1.7% Bachelor's degree
Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators $68k +4.3% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$67k

Who this major is for

Strong fit signals start with attraction to conflict as a subject of study rather than a topic to avoid, comfort with reading-and-writing-heavy coursework, and willingness to spend a summer or a year in a practicum with a mediation center, NGO, or community organization. Clear-eyed planning for the graduate ramp matters: the named arbitrator and mediator destination of $67,710 typically requires a JD, an MA in conflict resolution from a program like George Mason’s Carter School or Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute, or an MSW with mediation certification, and the $100,340 social-scientist destination maps to master’s or PhD research roles. Service-year intent — Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, or the federal Pathways and Presidential Management Fellows pipeline — also predicts good outcomes from this major.

Reconsider this route if you need a clear bachelor’s-to-salary path without graduate study, since the $67,486 bachelor’s median sits below the named destinations and bachelor’s-only nonprofit roles often pay $40,000 to $55,000 starting. Pause if your interest is foreign-policy and security work specifically — International Relations (CIP 45.0901) is a closer fit and a more recognized credential for the State Department’s Foreign Service and intelligence-community paths. Weigh program selection carefully: 63 institutions split 314 graduates, and the curriculum at a Quaker or Mennonite college, a Catholic university like Notre Dame or Georgetown, a flagship public like George Mason or UNC Chapel Hill, and a private research school like Colgate will look different in religious framing, methodological emphasis, and federal-pipeline access.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
George Mason University Fairfax, VA 0 45 45
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 0 43 43
Georgetown University Washington, DC 0 24 24
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL 0 20 20
Salisbury University Salisbury, MD 0 20 20
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 0 17 17
Pace University New York, NY 0 13 13
Colgate University Hamilton, NY 0 13 13
Chapman University Orange, CA 0 11 11
DePaul University Chicago, IL 0 9 9
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Sustainability Studies

1,590 completions/yr

Medical/Health Humanities

255 completions/yr

Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis

199 completions/yr

Anthrozoology

19 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition organizes coursework around the origins, resolution, and prevention of international and inter-group conflicts, with peace research methods grounded in social-scientific and psychological knowledge. In practice, students take a methods core (qualitative and quantitative research, case-study analysis), substantive coursework on negotiation, mediation, restorative justice, human rights, and post-conflict reconstruction, and electives that span international relations, religion, history, and psychology of conflict. Most programs require a senior thesis or capstone, and many include a practicum, internship, or fieldwork component with a mediation center, NGO, or community organization. The reading and writing loads resemble a humanities major more than a STEM one.
What jobs do Peace Studies graduates land at the bachelor’s level?
The packet attaches three career rows — postsecondary teachers, all other ($78,490, doctoral typical), social scientists, all other ($100,340, bachelor’s typical), and arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators ($67,710, bachelor’s typical, 4.3% growth). Two of those are not clean entry-level destinations: postsecondary teaching needs a doctorate, and most named arbitrator and mediator roles in the federal and state systems expect a JD or a master’s with mediation certification. Realistic bachelor’s-only first jobs cluster in nonprofit program work at organizations like Mercy Corps, IRC, Peace Direct, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, AmeriCorps and Peace Corps service years, school or campus restorative-justice coordinator roles, HR conflict-resolution coordinators, and city government community-relations positions. Entry pay typically lands in the $40,000 to $55,000 range.
Do I need a master’s or law degree for the named higher-wage roles?
For most of them, yes. The arbitrator, mediator, and conciliator wage of $67,710 reflects working professionals who typically hold a JD, an MA in conflict resolution, or an MSW with mediation certification (CDR, ACR-Advanced); the bachelor’s alone rarely opens those titles. The social scientists, all other figure of $100,340 maps to research roles at think tanks and federal agencies that expect a master’s or PhD. Postsecondary teaching ($78,490) requires a doctorate. Common graduate paths from this major include George Mason’s Carter School, Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute, Eastern Mennonite’s SPI, an MA in international relations, an MPP, an MSW, or a JD.
How does this differ from International Relations, Political Science, or Sociology?
International Relations (CIP 45.0901) leans toward states, security, diplomacy, and the international system. Political Science (45.1001) is broader and more empirical, covering domestic institutions, elections, and political behavior. Sociology (45.1101) studies social structure and inequality without the conflict spine. Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution sits at the seam — it organizes the curriculum around conflict itself, the methods used to analyze it, and the practices used to prevent or resolve it. Choose IR for foreign-policy and security paths, political science for empirical methods, sociology for structural analysis, and Peace Studies when the resolution practice and normative framing of conflict are the subject.
Where do students actually complete this major?
All 314 annual completions are at the bachelor’s level across 63 institutions, with George Mason University leading at 45 graduates and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill close behind at 43. Georgetown (24), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical-Daytona Beach (20), and Salisbury University (20) round out the top five. UNC Greensboro (17), Pace (13), Colgate (13), Chapman (11), and DePaul (9) fill out the top ten. Religiously affiliated colleges with Anabaptist, Catholic, or Quaker traditions — Notre Dame, Eastern Mennonite, Goshen, Manchester — also run named programs, though the pipeline is fragmented and the small national total reflects administrative grouping more than program rarity.
What if I care about conflict resolution but want better job leverage at the bachelor’s level?
Two routes work. First, layer a credential or hard skill on top — mediation certification through a state CDR program or the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR-Advanced), data and survey-methods coursework, or a foreign language tied to a conflict region. Second, plan the graduate ramp early: graduate programs at George Mason’s Carter School, Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute, and Eastern Mennonite’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute open salaried roles at USIP, USAID DRG, the State Department’s Foreign Service, and the DoD Civil-Military Support Element pipeline. The federal-pipeline route through Pathways and Presidential Management Fellows is the cleanest bachelor’s-direct path into peacebuilding-adjacent work.