Center for Peace and Security Studies

The Center for Peace and Security Studies (CPSS), formerly the academic wing of the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) since 2007, has been reestablished as a separate graduate program under the College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities as part of AAU’s restructuring in 2025. CPSS is a pioneering teaching, research, and community service unit in Ethiopia’s core peace, conflict, and security studies areas. It offers interdisciplinary training, with opportunities to engage closely with policymakers and practitioners at national, regional, and continental levels. The center offers an MA in Peace and Security Studies, an Executive MA in Managing Peace and Security in Africa, a Joint MA in Global Studies (with a special emphasis on peace and security in Africa), and a PhD program in Peace and Security Studies.

Faculty: The Center’s core faculty includes energetic, dynamic, and highly productive members, consisting of 4 Associate Professors and 3 Assistant Professors. The faculty brings valuable experience and insights from their extensive research and policy work to benefit students. This core group is complemented by highly experienced faculty from other departments at AAU, including faculty from Leipzig University, particularly from the Global and European Studies Institute and the Institute of African Studies (for the Joint MA in Global Studies), as well as other renowned African scholars from across the continent and beyond, especially for the Executive MA program.