A proactive use of engineering for a peaceful world

Peace Engineering

St. Thomas has been a leader in Peace Engineering for nearly 20 years. The purpose of St. Thomas’ peace engineering program is to engage and teach students to collaborate with and empower those experiencing injustices to develop innovative and sustainable solutions from a service mindset. This integrative program brings the social analysis of justice and peace studies together with the technical skills of engineering to find the best way for our engineers to promote the common good.

Peace Engineering course options can contribute to B.S. degrees in any engineering field (i.e., civil, computer, electrical or mechanical) and a minor in Justice and Peace Studies.

What do they do, exactly?

Peace Engineers

High level information

The Peace Engineering Program

Peace engineers:

Collaborate: see the pre-existing value of the community to find commonality.
Empower: co-create with those experiencing injustices with designs and decisions that enable a new future.
Serve: respect the full dignity of all involved by seeing people not as problems to be fixed, but as human beings – whole and worthy of service.

There are countless ways your passion for social, environment, and economic justice and your growing technical skills can make a difference. Peace Engineers might work on projects such as:

Energy and water resources
Aid of technology in areas of conflict or natural disaster
Public safety in engineering decisions
Agricultural tools to fight poverty and hunger

Earn Your Peace Engineering Minor:

Pair your traditional engineering degree with a peace engineering minor to widen your career possibilities. You’ll be able to take classes on topics such as Public Policy Analysis & Advocacy, Conflict Analysis & Transformation, or Leadership for Social Justice. And, you’ll have an experiential study abroad opportunity through your senior design capstone in, Peru or Jordan or complete a summer internship with Engineers for World Health.

A look at what might come next

Beyond St. Thomas

You can continue your Peace Engineering education at Drexel University or continue studying Humanitarian Engineering through the Peace Corps at Oregon State University and further your growth in this incredible field.

Peace Engineering Resources

Notre Dame Student Peace Conference is conducted for students by students and focuses on their experiences in peace studies. This annual conference provides a unique opportunity for students to share their work. Find more information about past and future conferences at the Notre Dame Student Peace Conference.

Journal of Engineering and Public Policy highlights how engineers have informed law makers in public policy.

Engineering, Social Justice and Peace Journal, Network, and Conference (ESJP) is a growing group of academics, practitioners and students who explore how engineering can be utilized to create a more equitable world through democratic practice. The community of engineers meet annually and publish a journal of essays, poems, articles, and conference notes in conjunction.

Engineering for Change (E4C) provides the opportunity to be involved in the socially minded engineering global community through its collaborative platform. They provide training as well as the platform for posting about opportunities.