USD Students Put Peace & Justice Studies to the Test

Recommendations from Refugee Camp to Go to the United Nations

As the final chapter of their master’s program in peace and justice studies, eight University of San Diego students recently visited a refugee camp in Africa to find out how their lessons in the classrooms matched up with reality in the field.

Their reports on what they found on a variety of topics including ethnic conflict, health care delivery and the use of mobile clinics, and microfinancing to help refugees develop skills and start businesses once they are re-settled, will now go to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “The UNHCR is very interested in looking at these reports and taking advantage of the expertise of our students,” said USD Political Science Professor Vidya Nadkarni.

The eight students who visited the Lugufu camp of 60,000 refugees in Tanzania will present results of their studies on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 3:30 p.m. in USD’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theatre. The public is invited to the free event.

Student Yusuf Gawany, who took a leave from his job with the UNHCR to earn his master’s degree, said he was excited to learn how relevant his classes in conflict resolution, trauma and refugee psychology, geographic information systems and other topics were to the situation on the ground. “I look forward to applying what I’ve learned in future endeavors,” he said.

Another student, Lee Sorensen, works as development director for U.S. Doctors for Africa, and is already moving ahead with plans to create mobile clinics to provide health care in rural areas of Africa.

USD’s Master of Arts in Peace and Justice Studies is a one-year, full-time program limited to a maximum of 12 students each year. The interdisciplinary program emphasizes ethics, international affairs and conflict resolution with a goal of producing graduates capable of relating theories of peace and justice to real-world conflict solving. The program is now part of the new Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at USD, following the recent appointment of founding Dean William Headley.

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About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is among the Top 20 Best Private Schools for Making an Impact according to The Princeton Review. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.