The Graduate Institute of Peace Studies (GIP) was established in 1984 with the aim of training potential world leaders who possess a vision of a new global civil society and are committed to the promotion of peace and human welfare. The GIP is determined to establish a new global society that will be spiritually, beautiful, materially affluent, and humanly rewarding. In recognition of the GIP's contribution to international peace promotion, the GIP was awarded the 1993 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. Envisioned in the founding goal of the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies is the establishment of a just, peaceful, secure, and affluent human society for the 21st century. The academic program is designed to meet future leadership demands by training students to be well-rounded leaders of the future with a focus on the following: Modern civilization has indeed come a long way in establishing material affluence through unprecedented scientific and technological advancement. Despite this, problems of human nature and alienation remain. To solve these problems, both a new paradigm of societal structure and a restructuring of subjects, based on the comprehensive understanding of humans and societies, are needed. To this end, the GIP studies and researches intensively cultures, civilization and human nature. All global problems including conflicts, human rights and environmental protection are very much interwoven making it impossible to understand or analyze them based on any single discipline and calling for an integrated thinking. Thus the GIP searches for new methods and concepts for learning, based on a comprehensive understanding of different civilizations and through interdisciplinary studies. While globalization has encouraged an increase in mutual cooperation and exchanges, economic competition, political hegemony and violence in the name of religion still play their part in triggering tensions and conflicts. As a result, the making of a new world order adapted to the global village is still a pressing task. The GIP, therefore, pursues practical methods to build a peaceful future society which encourages trust and cooperation. In order to fully understand mankind and the diverse cultures, one needs to be able to identify with oneself and ultimately to pursue a state of self-realization. Individual maturity is an important element in creating trust and order for peaceful coexistence. To this end, the GIP helps create a pece-oriented human nature that is fundamental to constructing a peaceful cooperative society.