Ph.D. Program in Peace Studies

The Kroc Institute’s interdisciplinary doctoral program in Peace Studies attracts stellar students from around the world who bring with them a wide range of research and peacebuilding experience. The program is a partnership between the Kroc Institute, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, and the College of Arts and Letters Departments of Anthropology, History, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, and Theology.

In fall 2022, the Kroc Institute welcomed five new Ph.D. students selected from a highly competitive pool of nearly 270 applicants. This cohort represents four disciplines of the program’s partner departments:

Edward Z. Ablang (peace studies and history) has research interests rooted in his experience as a missionary cleric. Through this work, he facilitated a reconciliation process in the United States, at the request of Vatican prelature; expanded community networks in Spain; and carried out operations in Belgium, France, and Italy. He is a Notre Dame Presidential Fellow, and his doctoral research aims to advance the public understanding of religion.

Francesca Freeman (peace studies and history) studies rescuing narratives during and after mass atrocities, with a particular focus on regional and international state actors in the modern Middle East. Previously, she worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) supporting randomized evaluations of social interventions to address poverty, and at the Social Science Research Council, supporting a fellowship for African Ph.D. students studying peace and security. Freeman is a Notre Dame Presidential Fellow.

Joryán Hernández (peace studies and theology) holds an M.Div. and Certificate in Latinx Studies from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in Religion from the University of Florida. As a Ph.D. student, Hernández is building on his Master’s work and exploring how theologies of resistance can actualize radical changes to repressive conditions in authoritarian regimes. Hernández is a recipient of the Joseph Gaia Distinguished Fellowship in Latino Studies.

Patrick McQuestion (peace studies and political science) holds a Master’s in Development Management and Policy from Georgetown University, in combination with Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina. Prior to joining the Ph.D. Program in Peace Studies, he worked as a research associate for the Kroc Institute’s Peace Accords Matrix. McQuestion is concentrating his studies on comparative politics and methods.

Adedoyin Okanlawon (peace studies and psychology) holds a Master’s in Research Psychology from the University of Massachusetts. Okanlawon’s initial interest in peace studies began during her experience working with a church organization in Nigeria, helping youth reintegrate into the community after being recruited by gang members in various areas of Lagos. Her research focuses on understanding how societal structures contribute to stigma, and the implications for the development of war-affected youth and their families. Okanlawon is a Richard and Peggy Notebaert Premier Fellow.

Commencement

With the conferral of two degrees in 2023, the Ph.D. Program in Peace Studies now has graduated 28 interdisciplinary peace studies scholars. This year’s program graduates were Angela Chesler (peace studies and political science) and Mary Tarsha (peace studies and psychology).

The Institute also celebrated the graduation of 13 students who completed a graduate minor in peace studies. The minor is open to any current Notre Dame student pursuing a terminal master’s or doctoral degree.

Placements

Recent doctoral program graduates continue to secure strong job placements with well-known academic and peacebuilding institutions. This year’s placements included:

• Ruth Carmi (peace studies and sociology, ‘23), tenure track Assistant Professor of Sociology at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC;

• Angela Chesler (peace studies and political science, ’23), tenure track Assistant Professor of Political Science at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK; and

• Mary Tarsha (peace studies and psychology, ‘23), as an Analyst and Consultant at the Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research at the University of Notre Dame.

Honors, Awards, and Advisory Board Fellowships

During the 2022–23 academic year, Kroc Institute Ph.D. students garnered numerous honors and awards, as well as fellowships generously funded by the Institute’s Advisory Board.

• Honors/Awards:

  • Francesca Freeman was tapped as an alternate for the Critical Language Scholarship, a program of the US Department of State, for the summer 2023.

  • Josephine Lechartre won a semester in residence at the Centre d’Études et de Recherches Internationales, based at the University of Montréal, Québec, for the spring 2023 semester, where she participated in the intellectual life of the institute while working on her project, "From Survival to Assertiveness: Civilian Political Engagement in the Shadow of War."

  • Isabel Güiza-Gómez and Sehrazat G. Mart were honored by the Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) organization as part of its prestigious, highly competitive National Fellowship Program. Mart won an Honorable Mention notice in this year’s competition, while Güiza-Gómez was awarded a national fellowship for her dissertation project, "Landing Peace: Rural-poor mobilization and land redistribution in civil war political transitions."

  • Jeremi (Jem) Panganiban won a Women, Peace, and Security Fellowship in fall 2022, from the Pacific Forum, a policy research institute that works with the US Indo-Pacific Command and other national security actors and civil society in Asia/Pacific.

• This year’s Advisory Board awards:

  • Darby Fellow: Benjamin Francis (peace studies and political science)

  • Mullen Family Fellows: Jeremi Panganiban (peace studies and anthropology), Joachim Ozonze (peace studies and theology), and Maria (Cat) Gargano (peace studies and psychology)

  • Steven D. Pepe Ph.D. Fellow in Peace Studies: Debora Rogo (peace studies and history)

  • John and Judy Scully Fellow in Peace Studies (a five-year fellowship through May 2025): Flora Tang (peace studies and theology)

Ph.D. Student Spotlight

Current peace studies and sociology Ph.D. student Sehrazat G. Mart co-authored a sobering analysis of the aftermath of Turkey’s earthquake disaster this year, which was published in the March 28 issue of Foreign Policy. Following this, she reviewed a book – The Fall of the Turkish Model: How the Arab Uprisings Brought Down Islamic Liberalism, by Cihan Tugal – which ran April 30 as part of Foreign Policy’s list of must-read books to understand Turkey ahead of the country’s presidential election.

Mart’s research focuses on identifying political and cultural factors that empower people against authoritarian regimes. She previously studied when and how public officials in Turkey consider the demands of marginalized communities in urban transformation projects implemented under authoritarian conditions. Currently, she examines how various historical and contemporary influences shape the strategic and moral decision-making of young activists in anti-authoritarian struggle through the case of a recent movement in Turkey.