The Kroc (as in Ray Kroc, of McDonald’s fame)Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame has established a Ph.D. program in peace studies, according to a press release.

The program welcomes applications from scholars of all religious and secular traditions for its first doctoral class in fall 2008. Students can pursue a Ph.D. in history and peace studies, political science and peace studies, psychology and peace studies, or sociology and peace studies, the release says.

“As an academic discipline, peace studies is not tied to any faith, yet major principles of Catholic teaching – the preferential option for the poor, human solidarity, the common good, and the dignity of each person-are at the heart of peace studies. As part of its research and education agenda, Kroc engages in conversation with the Church’s longstanding teachings on war and peace, ethics and the use of force, and the connection between justice and peace,”

says R. Scott Appleby, professor of history and the John M. Regan Jr. director of the Kroc Institute.