Frederick C. Cuny Peace & Conflict Summer Program

Named after American humanitarian and disaster relief specialist Frederick C. Cuny, and based at RIT’s Kosovo campus in the heart of Europe's Balkan region, this is a premier international leadership program.

• Participate in a one-week study tour to Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia, where students meet officials and activists and visit historical and recreational areas in the beautiful Balkans.
• Live what you are learning: Kosovo is a ‘living laboratory' of history in the heart of the Balkans, and an ideal location to explore the origins and resolution of armed conflict, reconstruction, and institution-building at the end of wars.
• Courses are taught by senior civilian and military officials, NGO activists, and academics with hands-on experience in the Balkans, the Middle East, and other regions.
• You will meet senior officials from the Kosovo Government, activists, and representatives from diplomatic and international missions. 
• Visit historically significant sites in Kosovo, participate in informal late-afternoon seminars on current issues, and engage in workshops/simulations of peacekeeping operations.

Program Overview:
Explore the history, politics, and economics of conflict situations in an environment that serves as a living example of the subject. You'll learn about the background of the Kosovo conflict of the late 20th century, the dynamic nature of security in the period following the fighting, and continuing challenges to conflict transformation and development. Courses in areas such as war and peace in the Balkans, the role of the international community in conflict resolution, and economic development in post-conflict areas will be taught by renowned experts who have hands-on experience in the crises of the Balkans and elsewhere. Classes include students from around the world sharing one thing in common: an interest in learning about the timeless issues of war and peace in a newly-born country. Your classroom experience will be further enhanced by day trips across the region, highlighting the rich cultural diversity of the Balkans.

Upcoming Student Info. Meetings

• Friday, November 7th, 11:00 am, Zoom link & registration
• Friday, December 5th, 11:00 am, Zoom link & registration

Program Term: Summer
Location: Pristina, Kosovo (RIT Kosovo Campus)
Program Dates: June 19th-July 26, 2026 (estimated) (optional internships run until August 23rd (estimated))

Courses

Students will learn to think strategically about the challenges of establishing the rule of law in a society emerging from conflict. They will also understand and analyze international and regional issues from various theoretical and practical frameworks and perspectives.

Undergraduate students can take either two or three courses. Graduate students must take all three courses (9 credits total) and will receive an advanced graduate certificate from RIT Kosovo.

No pre-requisites. Program open to all majors. 2.5 GPA or higher

Undergraduate Courses (students take 2 courses)

• ANTH 345: Genocide and Transitional Justice (3 credits)+
• POLS  370: Cyber War, Robots, and Conflict (3 credits) *
• POLS 445: Terrorism and Political Violence (3 credits) ^
• POLS 542: War, Diplomacy and State Building (3 credits) ^
• POLS 541: Peacekeeping and Conflict Transformation (3 credits) ^
• An option to apply for an internship is also available (undergraduate internships are not for credit; a limited number of internships are available)

+ This course can count towards an immersion in Global Justice; an immersion or minor in Globalization; an immersion in Cultural Anthropology; or a minor in Anthropology/Sociology
* This course can count towards an immersion or minor in Cyberpolitics or a minor/immersion in International Relations
^ This course can count towards an immersion or minor in Political Science, or minor/immersion in International Relations

Graduate Courses (must take all three)
Graduate students would earn a Graduate Certificate (9 credits), which is fully transferable towards a master's degree

• POLS 641: Peacekeeping and Conflict Transformation (3 credits)
• POLS 642: War, Diplomacy, and Statebuilding (3 credits)
• POLS 615: Political Science Practicum/Experiential Learning (3 credits)

Application deadline: February 15, 2026

To Apply:

RIT Students
1) Make an appointment to meet with the study abroad advisor for this program, Myles Chalue - choose date and time
2) Start an application in the RIT Study Abroad Compass
Before starting an application, you will be prompted to fill out a Compass profile. After completing your profile information, you must search for the "Kosovo Peace & Conflict" program under "Search Programs" to complete an application.

Students from other colleges/universities
Apply directly through RIT Kosovo

Program Cost & Financial Aid

Program Cost for RIT students:
Student Budget Worksheets are below - OUTDATED - based on summer 2025 program. Updated budget worksheets will be available here soon. Once the updated budgets are available, students can take a copy of the budget worksheet to a meeting with RIT financial aid to determine how their aid may apply toward program costs.

• Undergraduate, 2 courses
• Undergraduate, 2 courses + internship
• Graduate students, 3 courses

Financial Aid - meet with RIT Financial Aid BEFORE the application deadline:
Financial aid may cover some program costs. As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied. 

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting, so they have time to prepare) 
  • Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)
  • Choose “Other Financial Aid Forms and Documentation” as your document type in the Financial Aid portal.

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

We recommend you meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline so you understand how your aid will apply. The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125.

Scholarships:
RIT scholarships and national scholarships for study abroad are good options to explore for scholarship funding. Make sure you are checking scholarship eligibility requirements and take note of scholarship deadlines. More about undergraduate scholarships for study abroad

Contact

Myles Chalue
Global Programs Manager
Study Abroad Advisor - Global Campus & Exchange Programs
RIT Education Abroad
myles.chalue@rit.edu

Make an advising appointment with Myles: https://calendly.com/m_chalue