The European University Center for Peace Studies offered postgraduate political studies from 1990 to 2013 in Stadtschlaining,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. The institution was founded in 1988 by Gerald Mader in his capacity as president of the ASPR, with the support of European

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

commissions, and is affiliated to the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR), also located at Stadtschlaining. The original curriculum of EPU was designed along the lines of

Johan Galtung Johan Vincent Galtung (24 October 1930 – 17 February 2024) was a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. He was the main founder of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in 1959 an ...

’s ”Plan for a Master of Peace and Conflict Resolution” which he developed for the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. The EPU has been offering postgraduate programs in

Peace Studies Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such ...

since 1990. In 1995, EPU was co-winner of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. The EPU's UNESCO Chair on Peace, Human Rights and Democracy was established in 1996. Between 2010 and 2013, the institute gained accredited private university status and was renamed to "European Peace University (EPU) - Private Universität". In July 2013, EPU's accreditation was withdrawn by Austria's accreditation body; students currently enrolled in the "Master of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies" programme may finish their studies until 2014.AQ Austria: Widerruf der Akkreditierung
/ref> Primary goals of the EPU are: * Spreading the idea of peace in the spirit of the UNESCO * Giving scientific and educational support to global peace * Promoting a "world domestic policy" based on sustainable development, cooperative responsibility and ecological security * Contributing to the development of a global peace culture * Training and improving individual capabilities in peace-making and

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...

References

UNESCO Universities and colleges in Austria Private universities and colleges in Austria {{Austria-university-stub