Peace isn’t a niche interest at Goshen College—it’s a shared passion. Peace is central to our identity, which is apparent in our curriculum, our history and our core values. The peace, justice and conflict studies (PJCS) program pulls together and gives full expression to the many strands of peace that permeate campus culture.
As a PJCS student, you’ll study subjects like restorative justice, social change and war and peace in the modern world. And you’ll have plenty of opportunities to put your beliefs into action through a range of internship options. Some are local, with organizations like La Casa (working with low income families) in Goshen and the Center for Community Justice in Elkhart, and some are across North America, with agencies like Mennonite Central Committee or a summer internship with the Service Inquiry Program. Some students find a way to do international internships as well.
What can you do after college with a PJCS major? Anything that requires the ability to analyze complex problems, come up with creative solutions, be an effective organizer and transform destructive conflict in positive directions. As a graduate of the PJCS program, you’ll have top-notch preparation for your future career as a social worker, teacher, lawyer, mediator or peace worker for a service or mission organization.
With more than 25 years of experience in conflict prevention, transformation and peacebuilding, Philip Thomas ’87 has dedicated his life to helping facilitate peace and reconciliation.
Jes Stoltzfus Buller ’08 knows firsthand how messy the process of peacemaking can be. Shortly after graduating from Goshen College, Buller moved to Colombia as a part of Mennonite Central Committee's Seed program.
Lydette Assefa ’09 is an attorney and clinical fellow with the Children & Family Justice Center at the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Sam Carlson was a peace, justice and conflict studies major with a minor in women’s and gender studies who takes his PJCS studies seriously. In the summer of 2014, he served at a conflict resolution center in Palestine.