[1] The university offers postgraduate, doctoral, and executive[2] programmes related to the study of peace and conflict, environment and development, and international law.

[5] The University for Peace was set in motion by a treaty endorsed by resolution 34/111 of 14 December 1979 of the United Nations General Assembly.

[1]d In 1999, Secretary-General Kofi Annan took further steps to revitalize the University for Peace by changing its focus from that of a local and regional institution to a more globally-focussed perspective.

[13] The main campus of the University for Peace hosts the International Secretariat of the Earth Charter Initiative, whose stated mission is "to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace."

[14] The work related to this UNESCO chair is carried out at the 'Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development',[15] which opened at the UPEACE main campus in 2014.

The programme aims to stimulate and strengthen the capacities in Africa to teach, train and conduct research in areas of peace and conflict studies.

[18] The first five years of the program focused on the development of curricula and teaching materials and the delivery of a range of short courses, workshops, conferences and seminars in various parts of Africa.

The principal aim of this endeavour is to further strengthen the African capacity and build a wide expertise for a better understanding of conflicts in Africa, their prevention and the creation of the environment favourable to lasting peace and development in the region.

In partnership with the Institute for Peace, Security and Development, UPEACE offers master's and PhD programmes related to the university's academic profile in Somalia.

It promotes the activities of the university in Europe and works on education and research in peace studies, cooperating with academic and policy-oriented institutions in The Hague region.

As the resolution to establish the University for Peace was taken by consensus in the General Assembly, the authorisation to award degrees is in theory legally valid in all countries.

The centre carries out this objective through human rights education, training, research, capacity building, and awareness-raising activities.