Conflict is Everywhere. Opportunity is Here.

U.S. News & World Report has cited dispute resolution as one of the fastest-growing academic disciplines of the new millennium. Organizations are increasingly aware of the importance of positive interactions to enhance productivity, financial success, and personal satisfaction in the context of any professional or personal endeavor or relationship. All of these factors indicate that dispute resolution is one of the most marketable skills in today’s world of business and commerce.

SMU's Dispute Resolution Graduate Certificate Program provides its students with theoretical and practical knowledge, useful in all social and psychological environments. In this 21-credit hour program, students learn the art of negotiation, problem-solving, mediation, arbitration, team-building, group facilitation, and many other applications of dispute resolution. The program actively incorporates role-plays from varied aspects of human relationships to engage the student in class participation and to provide the skill and training necessary to become adept at the art of conflict resolution.

Required Coursework (9 credit hours)

HDDR 6319 Psychology of Conflict
HDDR 6302 Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
HDDR 6303 Mediation and Dispute Resolution
HDDR 6305 Law, Ethics, and Morality
HDDR 6315 Communication and Dispute Resolution
HDDR 6361 Gender & Culture in Negotiation
HDDR 6310 Research Methods
HDDR 6308 Capstone (Internship or Independent Study)

Elective Coursework (12 credit hours)

The concentration areas offered within the Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management Program cover a broad spectrum of applications and topics. Students select four HDDR courses based on interests. Course are offered on a rotation, therefore all courses may not be offered every term or year.

Law, Ethics, and Morality
Communication and Dispute Resolution
Gender & Culture in Negotiation
Research Methods
Executive and Leadership Coaching: Essentials
Executive and Leadership Coaching: Theory and Practice
Executive and Leadership Coaching: Performance in ContextArbitration 
Domestic Relations (Family Mediation)
Conflict Coaching
Online Mediation
Facilitation
Workplace Conflict
Employment Law
Facilitation
Role of the Ombudsman in Organizational Conflict
Organizational Change Management
Designing Dispute Resolution Systems for Organizations
Family Conflict: The 21st Century Family
Engaging in Conflict 
Neuroscience: The Role of the Brain in Emotion, Collaboration and Conflict 
International Conflict Management 
Organizational Consulting Skills 
Generational Conflict

“Think of the knowledge and skills you acquire in the Dispute Resolution program as keys that open doors to many and varied career positions.”

– Dr. Betty Snyder, Clinical Adjunct Instructor

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