OBJECTIVE
The overall goal of the programme is to provide quality graduate level training and research to enable our students analyse conflicts so as to understand the underlying causes and to apply appropriate strategies to manage or resolve them. The specific objectives of the programme are:
● To deliver high-quality postgraduate programmes at Postgraduate Diploma Level
● To give students theoretical, methodological and practical grounding in the emerging field of peace and security studies.
● To conduct research on the causes of intrastate and international armed conflict; security, conflict resolution and post-conflict building with special reference to Africa.
● To engage in practical projects that build capabilities for sustainable development, community engagement, governance and conflict transformation.
● It will also give people with interest in the field, but whose initial training was not in peace and security studies, an opportunity to achieve their desired goal.
Eligibility
To be eligible for admission into the programme, candidates must possess a first degree (B.Sc. B.Ed., B.A.) from any recognized university. Preference will be given to candidates who have degrees in related fields of study, and to those who work in the peace and security sector. In exceptional cases, candidates without first degrees, but who have attended high professional institutions like the National War College, NIPSS, etc and who have demonstrable practical experience in peacekeeping operations and other peace building activities, may be considered for admission.
Duration
The Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Peace and Security Studies is designed for 12 months full time.
Mode of Application
Requests for application forms should be made to the Graduate School such requests must be accompanied by the stipulate fee made payable to the University of Port Harcourt with the candidate’s name, address and course applied for, written at the reverse side.
Method of Teaching
The course will include lectures, group work, case studies, critical reading, discussion and self-assessment. There will be some video material used to support theoretical concepts raised during lectures.
Method of Assessment
A two-hour closed book examination will be written by students for each course. Examination questions are written so as to test for understanding and critical evaluation, as is stated in the learningoutcomes. A term paper and tests shall be part of a continuous assessment.
Graduation
A student shall be eligible for the award of Postgraduate Diploma
● If he/she attains a cumulative CGPA of 3.00 on a 5 point grading scale at the end of the programme
● Has obtained a “Pass” in the Thesis.
Assessment of Students
Students will be assessed on the courses taken as follows:
- Continuous Assessment = 30%
- End of Semester written examination = 70%. Candidates are expected to obtain a minimium grade of ‘C’ (50%) in each course thry registered for and a semester in order to qualify for the awardof the Post – Graduate Diploma in Peace and Security Studies.
Grading Guide
A = 70% – 100%
B = 60% – 69%
C = 50% – 59%
F = 0% – 49%
DIPLOMA CLASSIFICATION
Students in the PGD programme in Peace and Security Studies will be awarded wth Upper Credit , Lower Credit and a pass . The cumulative grade point for classification shall be:
Class of Diploma Cummulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
Distinction 4.50 – 5.00
Upper Credit 4.00 – 4 .49
Lower Credit 3.50- 3.99
Merit 3.00 – 3.49
Fail 1.00 – 2.99
Courses
To graduate from the Diploma programme, a candidate must obtain a minimum of 30 credits. This load will include a research project of 6 credits to be completed after the course work. In addition to the Core Course Courses, the students are required to take at least 2 elective per semester.
FIRST MODULE
| S/NO | COURSE CODE | COURSE TITLE | CREDIT UNIT |
| 1 | PSS 700.1 | Concepts and theories of Peace and Conflict Studies | 3 |
| 2 | PSS 701.1 | African Approaches to Conflict Resolution | 2 |
| 3 | PSS 702.1 | Conflict Analyses and Management | 2 |
| 7 | |||
SECOND MODULE
| S/NO | COURSE CODE | COURSE TITLE | CREDIT UNIT |
| 1 | PSS 703.1 | Non – Violent Conflict Tranformation | 2 |
| 2 | PSS 704.1 | Research Methodology in Peace Studies | 2 |
| 3 | PSS 705.1 | Communucations and Conflict Management | 2 |
| 6 |
THIRD MODULE
| S/NO | COURSE CODE | COURSE TITLE | CREDIT UNIT |
| 1 | PSS 706.2 | Peace building Strategies and Recovery Frameworks | 3 |
| 2 | PSS 707.2 | Environment and Conflict | 2 |
| 3 | PSS 708.2 | Peace Education and Peer Mediation | 2 |
| 7 | |||
FOURTH MODULE
| S/NO | COURSE CODE | COURSE TITLE | CREDIT UNIT |
| 1 | PSS 709.2 | Early Warning and Response Mechanisms | 2 |
| 2 | PSS 708.2 | Individual Research Project: Write, Submit and Defend | 12 |
| 14 | |||
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF COURSES
PSS 700.1 Concepts and Theories of Peace and Conflict Studies – (2 Credit Units)
The course explores the evolution and development of peace and conflict studies as an academic subject area. It familiarizes the students with basic concepts like conflict, violence, war, and peace, settlement, resolution, order, etc. It also looks at the causes of conflicts; the relationships between peace and violence, peace and conflict, and peace and war; ethics and war, including circumstances, under which the use of military force can be justified; discussions of realist, pacifist and just war responses; ethics of peace and war; relationship between ethical traditions and modern international law; what international law says about war; unsolved issues of humanitarian intervention, war crimes; relationship between religion and conflict; etc.
PSS 701.1 African Approaches to Conflict Resolution – (2 Credit Units)
This course is aimed at providing the students with an understanding of issues of conflict and peace in Africa, understanding the principle and process of Alternate Dispute Resolution and Traditional Dispute Resolution mechanisms; the nature of the community and state in Africa and its relationship to peace, African institutions as instruments for peace building, Westernization and challenges to African institutions and culture as bases for conflict, African colonial past and implications for conflict, African approaches to conflict, nonviolence and peace-building. Case studies from Nigeria, West Africa and the rest of Africa will be used.
PSS 702.1 Conflict Analyses and Management – (2 Credit Units)
The course is built on the premise that successful; conflict resolution depends largely on adequate analysis. An important tool for conflict understanding is conflict analysis. An important tool for conflict understanding is conflict analysis. The course will cover meaning and issues involved in conflict analysis (its uses) examining the various methods for analysing conflict; the use of self-reflection at individual levels; the use of the ABC method of analysis, pyramid methods, use of case study analysis and mapping of the conflict.
PSS 703.1 Non-violent Conflict Transformation – (2 Credit Units)
This course is designed to equip students with the theories and principles nonviolent conflict transformation. The growing culture of violence in politics and interpersonal relations requires peace education that includes knowledge and application of methods of nonviolence. Some people or individuals in conflict tend to have penchant for attack of life and limbs of opponents rather their power. This alone underlies a need to provide students with an opportunity to explore the concept of nonviolence and related concepts of Non-killing in dealing with conflicts. The course is intended to make students appreciate the values, methods and strategies of nonviolent conflict transformation by focusing on specific cases, including recent nonviolent actions in Africa. As well, it will look at historical cases of nonviolent struggles and ideas credited to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior. The course will also explore traditional approaches to peace in Africa in context of non-violence.
PSS 704.1 Research Methodology in Peace Studies – (2 Credit Units)
This course is aimed at introducing research methods in peace and conflict studies. Issues to be covered include, conceptual foundations of research; concepts, constructs, hypothesis, theories, variables, etc. The nature of peace and conflict data, community conflict research, the Participatory Rural Appraisal methodology, the historical methodology, ethics in conflict research. Others are types of research, data collection methods, sampling and sampling designs; measurement; questionnaire construction; organization of project reports; data analysis, and hypothesis testing. The management of conflict research findings as an instrument of peace building
PSS 705.1 Communications and Conflict Management – (2 Credit Units)
This course focuses on the importance of communication to conflict management. It looks at communication theory, and the Media as an instrument of mass communication. It explores attitudes and communication skills in conflict situations. It also covers the meaning of communication; elements of good communication, communication skills and tools; listening techniques, roadblocks to communication and conflict management. It will also involve ethics of reporting conflict, minimizing bias in conflict reporting; use of language in conflict reporting; risks in conflict coverage and reporting; conflict of interest between media proprietors and the ethics in conflict coverage.
PSS 706.2 Peace-Building Strategies and Recovery Frameworks – ( 2 Credit Units)
In this course students will understand the root causes of conflict and how to address them using different frameworks developed by National and International Organizations engaged in peace work. It will also enable students become conscious of the barriers to sustainable peace and ways of averting them. Finally, this course will expose students to cross-cutting issues like human needs approach to development, sustainable development, participatory development and development cooperation.
PSS 707.2 Environment and Conflict Management – ( 2 Credit Units)
Students will understand the origin and nature of conflicts caused environmental degradation in Africa, particularly in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. It will also examine the impact of war on the environment and global environmental protocols and legislations enacted to protect the environment.
PSS 708.2 Peace Education and Peer Mediation – ( 2 Credit Units)
The course will introduce students to the definitions and concepts of Peace Education; the culture of Peace; and Instituitions and processes of Peace Education, Instituitions of Peace Education, the use of the agencies socialization for teaching non-violence, using subjects like music, art, drama, mathematics, etc, to teach peace education, setting up peer peace groups, etc.
PSS 709.2 Early Warning Response Mechanisms – ( 2 Credit Units)
This course introduces students to the concepts and practice of early warning mechanisms identification as a fundamental way of preventing violent conflicts in human society. Some of the focus areas of this course include; complexity of conflicts, anticipation of conflict, role of governmental and nongovernmental organizations in intelligence gathering, early warning analysis and how to ensure early response. Your understanding of this course will empower you to critically scrutinize information and conflict indices in order to enhance the design of early and right responses to prevent violence.
PSS 710.2 Individual Research Project: Write, submit and Present (Core) – (12 Credit units)
Every student will write, defend and submit a research project at the end of the course work, leading to the Submission of a project. The topic of research must fall within one of the research areas in peace and conflict studies.