Message from the Director

Welcome to the School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development. The School was founded in 2017 and encompasses three primary entities: The Center for Conflict Management, a Master of Science in Conflict Management (MSCM), and a PhD in International Conflict Management.

The Center for Conflict Management works locally and globally to promote peace and conflict resolution by providing training in conflict management skills. Thousands of individuals have benefited from the programming provided by the Center.

Our Master of Science in Conflict Management (MSCM) program, one of the first of its kind in the country, provides students with training that emphasizes the intersection of theory, research, and practice. Founded in 2000, the program has graduated hundreds of students who have pursued careers in courts, government, education, human resources, health care, law enforcement, technology, international peacebuilding, humanitarian non-profits, and more.

Third, our PhD in International Conflict Management was launched in 2010 as KSU’s first PhD Program and the only one of its kind in the Southeast. Our degree is designed to meet the global demand for scholar-practitioners and approximately half of our PhD students come from outside the United States. Given our scholar-practitioner focus, we have students both in academia in tenure-track or teaching positions and practitioner roles within the international peacebuilding and development field.

The core strength of our School is our faculty members. Faculty are engaged in real-world problems, from supporting the work of the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, training professionals in courts, assisting businesses with generational succession, contributing to programs of non-profits, supporting governments in policy design, and conducting research and program evaluation on critical global problems.

As a School, we are committed to promoting peace within our communities and around the world. We invite you to join us in our efforts!

Sincerely,

Charity Butcher, Ph.D.
Director, School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development