About the program

The Peace Engineering program from Drexel University is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Institute of Peace’s PeaceTech Lab and Drexel’s College of Engineering and serves the dual purpose of integrating engineering and technology into peacebuilding practice and infusing conflict-sensitivity into engineering design.

Peace Engineering will cultivate a new skillset in students by combining disciplines of study from engineering, the social dimensions of conflict, and the applied sciences. Students will learn to conduct conflict analyses and to develop ethically and technically just solutions. These solutions will be based in the understanding that conflict, and the ability to address its root causes, emerges from the dynamics and interactions of social, technical, and environmental systems. The program offers a combination of online and classroom courses, group seminars and experiential learning with partners such as the PeaceTech Lab, the U.S. Institute of Peace, community-based organizations, and government agencies.

Career

Peace Engineering will be educating students to serve in fields that are growing rapidly due to the increased awareness of conflict and its causes (e.g., climate change), the widespread availability of technology that connects communities and economies, and the strong desire in current generations to have a positive impact on humanity. Extraordinary opportunities exist for graduates to work in the multinational, government, and non-governmental organizations that have historically led peacebuilding, stabilization, relief, and development efforts.

These include the UN, WHO, World Bank, the World Food Programme, FEMA, DOS, DOD, NGOs and a host of public services within any community. Perhaps more impressive are the opportunities that are being created by the birth of the Peace Tech Industry.

Engineers with a deep understanding of conflict are well suited to organizations that range from contractors involved in stabilization and development efforts, to extraction and consumer product companies working in conflict prone communities, to social entrepreneurs and their venture philanthropists developing technologies that do good.

Courses Included

• Peace Engineering Seminar
• Conflict Management for Engineers
• Peacebuilding Skills
• Risk Assessment
• Systems Engineering for Peacebuilding
• Data-based Engineering Modeling
• Community-Based Design
• Risk Assessment