Peacock

    Center for International Development and Conflict Management       •       College of Behavioral and Social Sciences       •       University of Maryland

Opportunities to Engage

In order to meet its goals and objectives, the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace welcomes assistance of all kinds, including support provided by informal student volunteers and formally appointed student interns. The Chair also offers students the opportunity to enroll in an undergraduate independent study course or a graduate-level Independent Project. See below for detailed information on how to become engaged in the Chair’s activities.

Independent Project

Part of the Independent Study offering at the Chair is an opportunity for students pursuing a graduate degree to apply their knowledge to developing a socio-economic project at the Chair. With guidance and support from the Chair Professor, each student chooses a focus — practical, creative, or scholarly — and devises an independent project to be explored and initiated over the course of the semester. Projects may range from an in-depth analysis of a particular society or group and its socio-economic needs, to a comparison of approaches to the development of alternative methodologies and capacity-building for conflict mitigation and sustainable peace, to conflict resolution, to refining a particular methodology in the study or application of knowledge in other fields of international development.

Graduate students can use the Independent Project option to supplement research towards their own thesis, seek graduate credit, and/or explore the implications of their topic across disciplines.

The Independent Project is also an opportunity for graduate students from a variety of disciplines to engage in a collaborative effort that can bring their experience and research to bear on the issues of importance to the mission of the Chair. Their work will contribute to the inter-disciplinary graduate student forum out of which future projects and programs are expected to emerge. Such graduate students may be asked to present their independent project at conferences sponsored by the Chair or partner institutions.

Internships

Students wishing to gain additional experience may wish to apply for an internship at the Chair. Interns are given responsibility for a specific center project and are assisted by the Chair staff. Chair interns can work both directly at the Chair or in their community/area of focus (if appropriate to the nature of the project). Internships are offered both with or without advanced academic credit. Interns obtain guidance, experience, and exposure in an agreed-upon subject of interest to them through involvement in research and operations.