Peace, War, and Defense Major, B.A.
Peace and war are among the oldest dreams and most difficult challenges of human experience. The curriculum brings together faculty and courses from many disciplines to provide undergraduates with a range of approaches to the fundamental issues of human conflict and national and global security and defense.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the peace, war, and defense program, students should be able to:
- Express themselves effectively in written and oral communication
- Use appropriate research methodology
- Demonstrate knowledge of major concepts, theoretical perspectives, and history of peace and war
- Think critically and analytically in approaches to the concepts, perspectives, and history of peace and war
- Demonstrate knowledge of the interrelationships between the various disciplinary approaches to the study of peace and war
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| HIST/PWAD 266 |  Global History of Warfare | 3 |
| PHIL/PWAD 272 | The Ethics of Peace, War, and Defense | 3 |
| PWAD 250 | Introduction to Peace and Security Studies | 3 |
| Four courses from one concentration (see course lists below) 1 | 12 | |
| Two courses chosen from outside the area of concentration (see course lists below) 1 | 6 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Through level 5 of a single modern foreign language. 2 | 3 | |
| All General Education requirements must be met. In fulfilling General Education requirements, majors should consider the following courses as helpful preparation for the curriculum: | ||
| General Anthropology H | ||
| Introduction to Economics H, F | ||
| American History to 1865 | ||
| American History since 1865 | ||
| The World since 1945 | ||
| Early Modern European History, 1450-1815 | ||
| From War to Prosperity: 20th-Century Europe | ||
| Calculus for Business and Social Sciences F | ||
| Virtue, Value, and Happiness: An Introduction to Moral Theory H | ||
| Liberty, Rights, and Responsibilities: Introduction to Social Ethics and Political Thought H | ||
| American Democracy in Changing Times H, F | ||
| International Relations and Global Politics H, F | ||
| Introduction to European Government H | ||
| General Psychology F | ||
| Sociological Perspectives H | ||
| Introduction to Data Analysis | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| F | FY-Launch class sections may be available. A FY-Launch section fulfills the same requirements as a standard section of that course, but also fulfills the FY-SEMINAR/FY-LAUNCH First-Year Foundations requirement. Students can search for FY-Launch sections in ConnectCarolina using the FY-LAUNCH attribute. |
- 1
PWAD 396, PWAD 680, PWAD 490, PWAD 690 and PWAD 691H may be applied toward the concentration requirement with the permission of the chair. Students can request that relevant courses not on this list, but offered as first-year seminars, honors seminars, or topics courses in other departments, be used to fulfill major requirements. This requires the approval of the chair.
- 2
Alternatively, students can take one semester of POLI 281 or STOR 151 or STOR 155, or students may suggest a substitute statistics-heavy methodology course.
The Culture of Peace and War
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 280 | Anthropology of War and Peace | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 276 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 357/PWAD 362 | The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 425 | Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 69 | First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 331 | Cracking India: Partition and Its Legacy in South Asia H | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 435 | The Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 427 | Cold War Culture in East Asia: Transnational and Intermedial Connections | 3 |
| CMPL/PWAD 489 | Empire and Diplomacy H | 3 |
| COMM 376 | The Rhetoric of War and Peace | 3 |
| COMM 574 | War and Culture | 3 |
| COMM/PWAD 355 | Terrorism and Political Violence | 3 |
| COMM/PWAD 575 | Presidential Rhetoric | 3 |
| ENGL/PWAD 161 | Literature of War from World War I to the 21st Century | 3 |
| ENGL 659 | War in 20th-Century Literature H | 3 |
| ENGL 660 | War in Shakespeare's Plays | 3 |
| ENGL 488/PWAD 484 | Critical Security Studies | 3 |
| GERM/PWAD 283 | Freedom, Terror, and Identity: Modern Philosophy from Kant to Arendt | 3 |
| GSLL 84 | First-Year Seminar: Terror for the People: Terrorism in Russian Literature and History | 3 |
| GSLL 85 | First-Year Seminar: Children and War | 3 |
| GSLL/JWST/PWAD 465 | Literature of Atrocity: The Gulag and the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| GSLL 467 | Language and Political Identity | 3 |
| HIST 134 | Modern East Asia | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 248 | Guerrillas and Counterinsurgencies in Latin America | 3 |
| HIST 254 | War and Society in Early Modern Europe | 3 |
| HIST 262 | History of the Holocaust: The Destruction of the European Jews | 3 |
| HIST 277 | The Conflict over Israel/Palestine | 3 |
| HIST 281 | The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy | 3 |
| HIST 373 | The United States in World War II | 3 |
| HIST 421 | Alexander | 3 |
| HIST 422 | Ancient Greek Warfare H | 3 |
| HIST 432 | The Crusades | 3 |
| HIST 565 | Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848-1900 | 3 |
| HIST 570 | The Vietnam War | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 273 | Water, Conflict, and Connection in the Middle East | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 354/WGST 353 | War and Gender in Movies H | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD/WGST 517 | Gender, Military, and War | 3 |
| LAW 252 | International Law (permission of the PWAD chair and instructor) | 3 |
| MEJO 653 | Leadership in a Time of Change H | 3 |
| MUSC 289 | Sounds of War and Revolution | 3 |
| PLCY/PWAD 450 | Internal and Interpersonal Conflict Management | 3 |
| POLI 260 | Crisis and Change in Russia and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| POLI 416 | Constitutional Policies and the Judicial Process | 3 |
| POLI 450 | Contemporary Inter-American Relations H | 3 |
| POLI 469 | Conflict and Intervention in the Former Yugoslavia H | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 458 | International Conflict Management and Resolution H | 3 |
| PWAD 364 | Post-Conflict and Peacebuilding | 3 |
| PWAD 388 | Chinese Strategic Thought: Antiquity to the Present | 3 |
| PWAD/SOCI 411 | Social Movements | 3 |
| PWAD 673 | Post-Conflict Security Challenges | 3 |
| PSYC 490 | Current Topics in Psychology H | 3 |
| PUBA/PWAD 635 | Military Leadership and Public Service | 3 |
| RELI 481 | Religion, Fundamentalism, and Nationalism | 3 |
| RELI 583 | Religion and Culture in Iran, 1500-Present | 3 |
| RUSS 475 | Literature of Russian Terrorism: Arson, Bombs, Mayhem | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
International Security and Intelligence
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AAAD 312 | Terrorism in Africa | 3 |
| ANTH 280 | Anthropology of War and Peace | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 276 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 331 | Cracking India: Partition and Its Legacy in South Asia H | 3 |
| CMPL/PWAD 489 | Empire and Diplomacy H | 3 |
| COMM/PWAD 575 | Presidential Rhetoric | 3 |
| ECON 460 | International Economics | 3 |
| ENEC 108 | Our Energy and Climate Crises: Challenges and Opportunities | 4 |
| GEOG 120 | World Regional Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 453 | Political Geography | 3 |
| GSLL 84 | First-Year Seminar: Terror for the People: Terrorism in Russian Literature and History | 3 |
| GSLL 85 | First-Year Seminar: Children and War | 3 |
| GSLL/JWST/PWAD 465 | Literature of Atrocity: The Gulag and the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| GSLL 467 | Language and Political Identity | 3 |
| HIST 134 | Modern East Asia | 3 |
| HIST 205 | War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-1815 | 3 |
| HIST 213 | Air Power and Modern Warfare | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 248 | Guerrillas and Counterinsurgencies in Latin America | 3 |
| HIST 262 | History of the Holocaust: The Destruction of the European Jews | 3 |
| HIST 277 | The Conflict over Israel/Palestine | 3 |
| HIST 577 | United States Foreign Relations in the 20th Century | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 206 | War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-1945 | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 578 | Transatlantic Relations and Contemporary Geo-Politics from the Cold War to the Present | 3 |
| HPM 634 | Public Health Issues in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management | 3 |
| LAW 252 | International Law (permission of the PWAD chair and instructor) | 3 |
| PLCY 210 | Policy Innovation and Analysis H | 3 |
| PLCY 220 | The Politics of Public Policy H | 3 |
| PLCY/PWAD 101 | Making Public Policy H | 3 |
| PLCY/PWAD 110 | Global Policy Issues H | 3 |
| PLCY/PWAD 430 | Analysis of National Security Policy | 3 |
| POLI 150 | International Relations and Global Politics H, F | 3 |
| POLI 231 | Latin America and the United States in World Politics | 3 |
| POLI 252 | International Organizations and Global Issues H | 3 |
| POLI 253 | Problems in World Order | 3 |
| POLI 256 | The Politics of the First Era (1880-1914) of Globalization | 3 |
| POLI 260 | Crisis and Change in Russia and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| POLI 443 | American Foreign Policy: Formulation and Conduct | 3 |
| POLI 450 | Contemporary Inter-American Relations H | 3 |
| POLI 452 | Africa and International Conflict | 3 |
| POLI 469 | Conflict and Intervention in the Former Yugoslavia H | 3 |
| POLI 631 | European Security: The Enlarging European Union and the Trans-Atlantic Relationship | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 287 | Strategy and International Relations | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 444 | Terrorism and International Peace | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 457 | International Conflict Processes | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 458 | International Conflict Management and Resolution H | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 459 | Trans-Atlantic Security H | 3 |
| PSYC 490 | Current Topics in Psychology H | 3 |
| PWAD 352 | The History of Intelligence Operations | 3 |
| PWAD 353 | Intelligence Analysis: Research Methods and Writing | 3 |
| PWAD 356 | Strategic Intelligence and International Security | 3 |
| PWAD 357 | International Intelligence Services | 3 |
| PWAD 358 | Cyber Security: Advanced and Persistent Threats to National Security | 3 |
| PWAD 359 | Comparative History of National Intelligence Regimes | 3 |
| PWAD 360 | The History of Warning Intelligence | 3 |
| PWAD 361 | The History of Deception | 3 |
| PWAD 363 | Ethical Issues in Intelligence and National Security | 3 |
| PWAD 364 | Post-Conflict and Peacebuilding | 3 |
| PWAD 388 | Chinese Strategic Thought: Antiquity to the Present | 3 |
| PWAD 486 | National Security Decision Making | 3 |
| PWAD 488 | Nuclear Security in the 21st Century | 3 |
| PWAD 673 | Post-Conflict Security Challenges | 3 |
| PWAD 674 | Research Seminar on the History of Covert Action | 3 |
| RELI 481 | Religion, Fundamentalism, and Nationalism | 3 |
| RUSS 475 | Literature of Russian Terrorism: Arson, Bombs, Mayhem | 3 |
| SOCI 481 | Managing International Conflict | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| F | FY-Launch class sections may be available. A FY-Launch section fulfills the same requirements as a standard section of that course, but also fulfills the FY-SEMINAR/FY-LAUNCH First-Year Foundations requirement. Students can search for FY-Launch sections in ConnectCarolina using the FY-LAUNCH attribute. |
The Evolution of Warfare
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AAAD 312 | Terrorism in Africa | 3 |
| COMM/PWAD 355 | Terrorism and Political Violence | 3 |
| ENGL 660 | War in Shakespeare's Plays | 3 |
| GSLL/JWST/PWAD 465 | Literature of Atrocity: The Gulag and the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| HIST 212 | History of Sea Power | 3 |
| HIST 213 | Air Power and Modern Warfare | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 238 | The American Revolution, 1763-1815 | 3 |
| HIST 254 | War and Society in Early Modern Europe | 3 |
| HIST 262 | History of the Holocaust: The Destruction of the European Jews | 3 |
| HIST 277 | The Conflict over Israel/Palestine | 3 |
| HIST 281 | The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy | 3 |
| HIST 368 | War and American Society to 1903 | 3 |
| HIST 369 | War and American Society | 3 |
| HIST 373 | The United States in World War II | 3 |
| HIST 421 | Alexander | 3 |
| HIST 422 | Ancient Greek Warfare H | 3 |
| HIST 432 | The Crusades | 3 |
| HIST 565 | Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848-1900 | 3 |
| HIST 570 | The Vietnam War | 3 |
| HIST 577 | United States Foreign Relations in the 20th Century | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 205 | War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1618-1815 | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 206 | War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-1945 | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 207 | The Global Cold War | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 245 | The United States and the Cold War: Origins, Development, Legacy | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 248 | Guerrillas and Counterinsurgencies in Latin America | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 251 | The Thirty Years War (1618-1648): Europe in an Age of Crisis | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 578 | Transatlantic Relations and Contemporary Geo-Politics from the Cold War to the Present | 3 |
| HIST 486/PWAD 485 | Extremism, Terrorism, and Security in Postwar Europe H | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD 354/WGST 353 | War and Gender in Movies H | 3 |
| HIST/PWAD/WGST 517 | Gender, Military, and War | 3 |
| MUSC 289 | Sounds of War and Revolution | 3 |
| POLI 150 | International Relations and Global Politics H, F | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 444 | Terrorism and International Peace | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 459 | Trans-Atlantic Security H | 3 |
| PSYC 490 | Current Topics in Psychology (with approval, based on topic) H | 3 |
| PWAD 352 | The History of Intelligence Operations | 3 |
| PWAD 388 | Chinese Strategic Thought: Antiquity to the Present | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| F | FY-Launch class sections may be available. A FY-Launch section fulfills the same requirements as a standard section of that course, but also fulfills the FY-SEMINAR/FY-LAUNCH First-Year Foundations requirement. Students can search for FY-Launch sections in ConnectCarolina using the FY-LAUNCH attribute. |
Special Opportunities in Peace, War, and Defense
Additional information on all of these subjects, including lists of internship possibilities, can be found on the curriculum's website.
Honors in Peace, War, and Defense
Majors who earn at least a 3.3 overall grade point average and at least a 3.3 grade point average in the major through their junior year may apply to the chair of the curriculum for permission to enroll in PWAD 691H and PWAD 692H. Students interested in honors must take a research seminar in peace, war, and defense (PWAD 670 or PWAD 680), a seminar in history (HIST 398), or another course that provides background in research design. For students who wish to write an honors thesis in their senior year, a thesis topic should be approved by an appropriate thesis director by the end of the junior year. Students prepare an honors thesis in PWAD 691H and PWAD 692H and defend it orally. PWAD 691H can be used to fulfill the student’s chosen concentration requirement; PWAD 692H provides credit hours toward the major but cannot be used to satisfy concentration requirements. Based on faculty evaluations, the baccalaureate degree may be conferred with honors or with highest honors, or merely with course credit.
Departmental Involvement
The curriculum is also now a participating institution in the Intelligence Community: Center for Academic Excellence (IC-CAE).
Experiential Education
Internship courses provide students with the opportunity to earn academic credit while obtaining practical work experience in agencies and organizations clearly related to national and international security. In recent years students have served in these and other agencies: The Central Intelligence Agency, Durham Police Department, Office of Naval Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency, Carolina for Kibera, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Peace Action, United States Army Special Operations Command, and many more. Students are limited to one internship for credit, and all internships are limited to three hours of academic credit. Although some routine administrative tasks are required in any professional setting, the expectation is that a majority of the intern’s work will be directed toward the substantive mission of the agency and that tasks will be of a nature to justify awarding academic credit. All internships require prior approval, and all must consist of at least eight hours per week and at least 100 hours per semester. Students must sign an internship contract with their agency and faculty supervisors, setting out expectations and course requirements. Interns are required to keep a daily work journal. Once approved for an internship, students enroll in PWAD 393, which is offered on a Pass/Fail basis only and therefore does not count toward the nine courses required for the major. Students wishing credit towards the major derived from their internship work should pursue an independent study with a faculty supervisor either while taking the internship or in the next semester. That independent study should produce a major written product, would be graded normally, and receives credit in the major.
Study Abroad
The curriculum encourages all undergraduates to study abroad either for a summer, a semester, or an entire year. Students should consult the study abroad website and visit the Study Abroad Office as early as possible in their course of study to meet with a study abroad advisor. A number of foreign programs contain courses that qualify for major credit. Of particular usefulness is study at the King’s College, University of London War Studies Department, the closest analogue to the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense in the English-speaking world and a program with a renowned faculty. Students with at least a 3.3 grade point average are eligible to apply to King’s College. While supervision arrangements need to be negotiated and agreed with relevant faculty members, students writing honors theses in their senior year may also apply to spend the year at King’s College.
Undergraduate Research
Students who qualify are encouraged to experience original research by writing a senior honors thesis described in the honors section above.
