Brandeis University
The Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Understanding Conflict. Facilitating Peace.

At Heller’s Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence Program, we’re committed to educating responsible peacebuilding practitioners. Conflict takes many forms — so the ability to manage it, resolve it and seek productive pathways forward is more critical than ever. You’ll gain the tools and perspectives you need to truly understand the complexities — and opportunities — inherent in conflict resolution, and to guide individuals, families, communities and nations toward common ground that promotes peace.

a professor speaks to students sitting at a round table

Master core competencies and specialized skills
Over the course of 16 months, you’ll learn how to analyze conflict; structure and evaluate interventions; engage people and partners; and develop regional or focus area specializations, such as development, transitional justice and humanitarian action and more.
Heller student with younger female students in headscarves

Gain fieldwork experience for a career with impact
You’ll gain hands-on experience in the field after your first year, preparing you for roles in nonprofit organizations and government work both in the United States and around the world, as well as intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations and more.
three students looking at laptops

Work with passionate peers from around the world

The COEX program draws socially conscious individuals from all walks and phases of life — from diplomacy to education, journalism to health. We are a vibrant, diverse, passionate community that shares a common thread: advancing knowledge and interventions for sustainable peace.
Learn more about the COEX program

Alumni Outcomes

Tarig Mohamed, MA COEX'16, Regional Program Manager for Africa and the Middle East, KARAMA

"Maximize your time at Heller. Listen to different views on the same topic from diverse colleagues and professors, and try to relate and apply these views on your own context. Start creating change in a smaller community to be able to change the bigger one."

Lisette Anzoategui, MA SID/COEX'15, Program Manager, Social Impact

As a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras, “I saw constantly the interaction between violence prevention and conflict and peacebuilding and development. That was a huge part of why I chose Heller, where I could do the dual degree in sustainable international development and coexistence and conflict to make those linkages.”

Naveed Noormal, MA COEX'16, First Secretary, Embassy of Afghanistan, London

“Around the world, there are many schools that teach you the theory part of knowledge, but at Heller, theoretical knowledge is taught by well-known professors and practitioners with extensive experience on the ground."