Turbulent times like ours call for people who understand systems of violence and conflict, and who are prepared to build peace with justice. This involves identifying and transforming systems of violence, marginalization, and oppression, including racist, gendered and colonial violence at home as well as around the world. Whether working locally or globally, Peace and Conflict Studies is committed to imagining, educating, and ongoing learning that equips our graduates to pursue justice and peace.
PACS as a department is located on territory that is governed by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum and land promised to the Six Nations Confederacy in 1784 as part of the Haldimand Declaration. For more information, see Conrad Grebel University College's land acknowledgement and read about decolonization at the University of Waterloo's Office of Indigenous Relations.
Why Study Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS)?
Learn diverse ways to promote peace, equitable justice, and social change through a vibrant interdisciplinary program that combines the study of history, political science, sociology, and psychology to understand better the causes and impact of interpersonal, communal, and international conflicts and violence in different societies. You will explore theory, research, and practice in classes taught by leading peace and justice scholars and practitioners. As an arts student, you will bring a unique perspective and set of skills to peace and conflict studies. Your creativity, critical thinking, and empathy can help contribute to finding new and innovative solutions to the complex challenges of peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
Take courses on conflict mediation, non-violent social change, gender and peacebuilding, religion and culture, environment, community transformation, human rights and social justice, refugees and forced migration, negotiation strategies, trauma, healing, and restorative justice.
Prepare to become a peace practitioner, community leader, or entrepreneur in conflict management programs or work with community and international development organizations, education systems, law firms, social services, refugee resettlement program support agencies, and more after graduation.
Who are PACS graduates?
PACS graduates have gone into many careers and used their training in different ways.
To learn more about what students can do after they graduate from PACS, check out our alumni profiles
Events
Make A Difference (MAD) market
The Make a Difference (MAD) Holiday Market: Shop, Support, and Give Back!
Join us on Saturday, November 22nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Conrad Grebel University College for our annual Holiday Make a Difference Market! This festive event brings together local vendors and artisans for a joyful day of community, shopping, and giving back.
Browse unique, handmade gifts and support small businesses while helping us spread kindness this holiday season.
Your generosity will directly support a charitable organization!
Event Details:
📅 Date: November 22, 2025
🕙 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍 Location: Conrad Grebel University College
🎁 Highlights: Local vendor booths, silent auction, festive treats, and more!
Call for Make a Difference Market Vendors
The PACS Society at Conrad Grebel University College is excited to host MAD Market this year, and they're looking for amazing vendors to join them! 🛍️ Showcase your art, crafts, baked goods, or unique creations at this lively community market.
📍 Where: Conrad Grebel University College
📅 When: November 22, 2025 (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.)
Vendor Fees:
Students: $25
Standard 6ft table: $50
Standard 8ft table: $60 Don’t miss the chance to share your work with the Grebel and UW community!
Contact: pacssoc@uwaterloo.ca for more information.
News
Chiara McLean on Everyday Applications of Peace and Conflict Studies
Chiara McLean, a 4th year Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) student at Conrad Grebel University College based at the University of Waterloo, is passionate about global affairs. As Chiara began studying at Waterloo, she knew her educational path involved a Political Science major and Communication Studies minor. In her first year, Chiara heard a friend mention they were enrolled in PACS 101: Peace is Everybody's Business and that it was an interesting course. Curious to know more about PACS, she enrolled in PACS 201: Roots of Conflict, Violence and Peace and PACS 203: A History of Peace Movements in her second year of undergraduate studies. In her third year, she decided the program would complement her academic plans. With an interest in international relations and affairs, Chiara sought opportunities through co-op and volunteering that were challenging yet rewarding.
Peacebuilding from Theory to Practice
Peace is not just a theory for Maria Lucia Zapata Cancelado (DPCS 2001); it is a daily mission. As a Colombian lawyer and peace scholar, Maria is the Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution at Javeriana University in Bogotá. Her work at the Jesuit school focuses on restorative justice and post-conflict peacebuilding. Maria earned her PACS diploma from Conrad Grebel University College in 2000, where she developed an interdisciplinary approach that reshaped her perspectives on law and peacebuilding.
Winding Roads: Alice Chu’s journey toward a fulfilling career
Alice Chu is accustomed to winding roads. Now an attorney and an entrepreneur who franchises bakehouse Hazukido throughout Canada, Alice’s experience studying at the University of Waterloo provided a foundation for the pursuit of her interests.
Alice, who attained a Bachelor of Arts and Business in Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) in 2018, recalled starting her degree as an Economics major. As her interest in Economics waned, she decided to take several courses from other programs. While in PACS courses, she “felt like the instructors and the professors were invested in their cohort and in their class.” Alice sought community during her time as an undergraduate student, and intimate class sizes were an important aspect of her undergraduate experience. The class sizes, alongside the program being aligned with her skillset, later motivated her to declare a PACS major.
She found the PACS program provided solid ground for approaching co-op jobs and opportunities during her undergraduate degree: “I think through learning and honing in on skill sets during our academic semesters and then transitioning to the workforce, they were building blocks. As I matured, as each co-op placement came, I felt more confident in my communication skills and being able to advocate for myself,” Alice said. Her classroom experiences helped her understand how to transform conflicts at work as they arise, and how to mitigate future conflict-related challenges. By strengthening her ability to communicate, Alice was able to navigate building relationships at her co-ops and beyond.
Alice appreciated courses that offered new perspectives and outlooks on the world. Courses like PACS 327: Cultural Approaches to Conflict Resolution, taught by Professor Nathan Funk, was one favourite.
“What I like about PACS is that you have room in an academic and supervised environment to explore,” Alice noted. “We're still learning different things and building our skill set, but you also had the breathing room to really explore things that interested you that are related to the world.”
Her interest in different cultures and a world outside of Canada inspired Alice to participate in the university’s international exchange program in Singapore. Since then, she has frequented Singapore at least once a year. That exchange also led Alice to the realization that risk-taking is an integral part of navigating life choices. For Alice, “having the foresight of understanding that there will never be a time or a moment in your life where you relive this moment,” allowed her to pursue her goals with a spontaneous spirit. Alice’s zeal for travelling ultimately influenced her to pursue law school at Bond University in Australia.
While Alice’s academic career gave her a starting point in terms of how to communicate and understand individuals, her years in entrepreneurship strengthened this skill set. Through experience she found that, while it is not possible to rein in everyone in times of chaos or conflict, the human-to-human dynamic and learning how people communicate has been a fulfilling part of her journey. Entrepreneurship has allowed Alice to enhance her communication and soft skills first discovered in the PACS program.
Alice’s skillset subsequently supported her professional career in family and estate law. While articling, Alice gravitated toward family and estate and had an “inkling of how people should communicate” based on her prior course work. "Law is easier to navigate based on my skill set and all the things I have acquired from my undergraduate degree and from my life experience," Alice shared.
Reflecting on her time as a PACS undergraduate, Alice believes that “in order to have a fruitful life - a purposeful life - you have to have certain things that you anchor towards when there is conflict - when there is hardship.” Holding her personal values of integrity, empathy and kindness high, Alice finds staying true to one’s value system can support students in their post-secondary career.
Alice’s wish is for “students, especially young students, and also women, to know that so long as you have confidence in yourself, and you believe in yourself, it doesn't really matter what kind of winding road you go on, as long you feel that it's fulfilling and you're living true to who you are.”
By: Samira Abdillahi