GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION COURSES
The Graduate Certificate is a 15 credit hour program that can be taken alone, as a specialization in the Master's of Public Service, or with another Master's degree pending approval by the Graduate School.
DIRS 203 Mediation - (70% Theory, 30% Skills) This course establishes the fundamental concepts, vocabulary, and models in the discipline. This course also introduces and reviews the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators, the primary ethical standards in the field.
Graduate Bulletin Description - Mediation as facilitated negotiation, three-party processes vs. two-party processes, interest-based bargaining vs. positional or adversarial bargaining. Concepts will be explored through the use of class role plays, which will be videotaped and critiqued as a part of mediation training.
DIRS 207 Advanced Mediation – (80% skills, 20% Theory) This course requires the students to apply principles learned in DIRS 203 to case studies in each class. Ethical principles involving neutrality, confidentiality, and conflicts of interests are woven throughout the case studies.
Graduate Bulletin Description - An exploration of more advanced issues in the practice of mediation, including brokering, emotions in mediation, agenda, joint session, caucuses, agreements and multi-party/multi issue cases. Prereq: DIRS 203.
DIRS 200 Dispute Resolution Theory – (100% Theory) This course critically examines the underlying principles of the field of dispute resolution. It focuses on what advocates and critics have said about the process of mediation.
Graduate Bulletin Description - The development of conflict between and among individuals, organizations, and governmental units; various models for conflict and types of conflict resolution will also be surveyed. Prereq: DIRS 203.
DIRS 201 Advanced Issues in Dispute Resolution - (Theory to skills ratio varies) This course keeps students abreast of current topics in dispute resolution; the curriculum changes for semester to semester depending upon the expertise of the instructor and developments in the discipline. Recent topics have included: the unauthorized practice of law for non-lawyer mediators; professional liability for lawyer mediators; the design of REDRESS, the U.S. Postal Service mediation system, and dual professional licensures’ effect on mediator practice.
Graduate Bulletin Description - Explores current theoretical and applied issues in mediation. These issues may include: communication theories and models, legislative enactments, dispute resolution systems design, and court-connected dispute resolution systems. Case studies provide an opportunity to examine the theory through an applied approach. Prerequisite: DIRS 203.
DIRS 210 Practicum (90% Skills, 10% Theory) This course requires the student to mediate two to three mediations in civil court or a comparable setting under supervision of a faculty member. The faculty member then meets with the student and reviews the student’s performance from a practical, theoretical, and ethical point of view. Students enrolled in this course usually meet twice during the course of the semester to review and share case experiences.
Graduate Bulletin Description - Required of all students; for example, an internship may be established with a community mediation center, a court system, a hospital peer review committee, or a public school teachers' collective bargaining unit. Placements will be arranged on an individual basis. S/U grade assessment. Prerequisite: DIRS 203 and DIRS 207.
