About the Kroc Institute

The University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, is one of the world's leading centers for the study of the causes of violent conflict and strategies for sustainable peace. Kroc Institute faculty and fellows conduct interdisciplinary research on a wide range of topics related to peace and justice. 

The Kroc Institute also offers degrees at every level:

• The Ph.D. Program in peace studies shapes the field by producing scholars and educators trained in peace research and in the fields of anthropology, history, political science, psychology, sociology, and theology.

• The Master of Global Affairs - International Peace Studies program attracts students from around the world who are committed to lifelong careers in public policy, political change, management of organizations in peace and justice, and conflict transformation.

• The Undergraduate Program in peace studies allows students at Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College to enrich their educations with a supplementary (second) major or minor in peace studies.

Research at the Kroc Institute ranges from policy- and -practice-relevant studies to the defining of fundamental theoretical concepts. Faculty have contributed to the understanding of ethnic and religious conflict; the practices of effective peacebuilding and conflict transformation; and the role of religion in conflict and peacebuilding. They have helped design "smart sanctions" and other instruments of social and political change and worked to illuminate international norms and the dynamics of the United Nations and other institutions that seek to restrain violence and advance human rights and justice.  Major research initiatives are underway to examine intersectionality, justice and peacebuilding; to strengthen peace accords and their implementation processes; to define and promote the concept of strategic peacebuilding as a method of diagnosing and approaching conflict; and to contribute to the development of a theology of "just peace." 

The Kroc Institute's mission is integral to Notre Dame, an international Catholic research university. The Institute engages in conversation with the Church's teachings on war and peace, ethics and the use of force, and the connection between justice and peace. The Institute fosters dialogue and collaboration between religious and secular traditions, building mutual respect and strengthening the capacity of all traditions for peacebuilding.  Faculty and students represent many religious and secular traditions and share a commitment to peace.  

To learn more about the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, visit our website at Kroc.nd.edu