Peace economics and program change in undergraduate peace studies programs

The purpose of this study was to create knowledge about peace economics content of Midwest undergraduate peace studies programs, barriers that constrain economic content expansion, and strategies to overcome these barriers. A 40 question survey of directors and 4 director interviews were used to gather data to test hypotheses on the curriculum process and program economic content. The main finding was that strong support from departments making up the interdisciplinary program is crucial for curriculum change and economic content expansion. Financial resources are not as important as strong departmental and tenure support and can impede the change process by diverting time from program development. Specialty economic topics increase with program size while general economic topics increase with revenue sources.