Traditionally doing peace research has appeared exclusive to graduate students and scholars of this field or to those researchers who are able to obtain research grants for doing this type of research at some graduate institutions. This practice has limited the opportunity for peace research and eventually the opportunity to building peace in the world because only a small number of people can participate. Therefore, the Department of Peace Studies with its establishment for more than 10 years in peace education and research sees the need to open this opportunity to the wider community who are interested in doing peace research and able to do so under the training and supervision of the department. This program can benefit the following groups of people:

  1. University instructors inside and outside the country, who want to be away from their work in order to focus on their research, writing, and publications.
  2. Doctoral graduate students who need new research and publications in order to pursue the academic career.
  3. Independent researchers who want to try peace research and need guidance from scholars of the this field.
  4. Community members who want to do peace research and publication and are willing to learn from the scratch.

Required qualifications for students who apply for the Independent Peace Research Certificate Program are as follows:

  • Demonstration of fluency in English via a 500 TOEFL score or equivalent
  • Bachelor’s degree and/or understanding field or academic background in Peace Studies.

The methods of selection are as follows:

  • Completed application form
  • Evidence of English proficiency
  • A preliminary research proposal
  • Personal/telephone interview

Process:

This is a one-year peace research certificate program. Once a student is accepted into the program, the student (now a researcher) will be assigned an advisor to work closely with him or her throughout the one-year program. The researcher has to defend his or her research proposal before a committee of experts (3 persons). After the proposal is approved, the researcher will work closely with the advisor until the researcher completes the one-year program. The researcher is expected to complete the research report and have it approved by the committee of experts (3 persons) before the program ends. The researcher is also expected to present the research result at an academic conference and publish an article accredited to the Department of Peace Studies.  

The program timeline is not extended. An alumnus of the program can join the program again in another year under a new research project.  

Expected Benefits of the Program for Learners:

Learners of this program can expect the following benefits:

  1. Access to peace studies resources and learning facilities at Payap University.
  2. Receiving needed supervision of the research from faculty who have expertise and research experience in the research topic.
  3. The research work receives proper academic evaluation of experts in the field.
  4. Opportunities and assistance in presenting research work at international conference and publication.
  5. Opportunities to interact and exchange knowledge and research with PhD students of the PhD Program in Peacebuilding at the Department.
  6. Opportunities to participate in research training workshops and project activities of the department.
  7. A peaceful environment for reflection, writing, and enjoying Chiang Mai life.
  8. One-year visa.

Tuition: 40,000 Thai baht for the whole program (1 year).

For enquiry and application, please kindly contact Dr. Le Ngoc Bich Ly via email at [email protected]