2021-2022 Academic Catalog

Offered in: Chicago

Program description

The MA in Conflict and Mediation prepares students to work as professional mediators or to work in job positions where conflict resolution skills are utilized. The program includes Mediation Certification from the Chicago Center for Conflict Resolution, a non-profit partner of Roosevelt, and real-world mediation experience. Coursework includes the full range of societal conflict, from familial and interpersonal conflict to public and community conflict.

Mediators work in many areas, including social services, government, education, health care, human resources, project management, customer service, politics, insurance, and sales. Common employers include corporations, educational institutions, health care organizations, insurance companies, and banks. The degree will enhance a professional's ability to manage conflict in their current organization. Professionals in the fields of organizational development, human resources, law, and criminal justice can make ready use of the variety of skills learned in this program. Recent college graduates will gain marketable skills to add to their resume.

Roosevelt's is the only such degree in Conflict and Mediation in the Chicago region that embeds the Chicago Center for Conflict Resolution's Certification, as well as practicums with real mediation clients. That means students have the opportunity to perform actual supervised mediation during the program. The university's longstanding dedication to social justice principles provides a helpful ethical framework for the curriculum.

Program objectives

From an over-arching perspective, the Conflict and Mediation Master’s program is grounded on three central ideas: 

1. Managing conflict is a construct that can be learned and developed.
2. Managing conflict and mediating assertively is rooted in the ability to communicate purposefully, to evaluate situations, reflect back both facts and feelings, and to adjust one's style to manage the realities of the given conflictual situation. 
3. The ability to de-escalate conflict and move toward resolution is a skill that enhances the personal, familial, organizational, and social good. 

Admission

A personal statement and an interview with the program director or a faculty member is required of all applicants.  For additional admission information, please refer to the Graduate Admission requirements on the university's web site.

Course requirements

The MA in Conflict and Mediation is offered in a combination of online and in-person classes at the Chicago Campus, most lasting eight weeks. Students take 10 courses; the program can be completed in two years, taking one class at a time. The Conflict Simulation course (CNMN 480), which is taught by professionals from the Center for Conflict Resolution, is offered in part at the organization's office in Chicago.

Your degree map is a general guide suggesting courses to complete each term on the academic pathway to your degree. It is based on the most current scheduling information from your academic program. Your program’s degree map is reviewed annually and updated as schedules change (although you retain the same course requirements as long as you are continuously enrolled in your degree program).

Always work closely with your academic advisor to understand curriculum requirements and scheduling, as each student’s academic plan can look slightly different. No more than two grades lower than B- may be applied toward the 30 hours used for the degree. A graduate course can only be repeated once; no more than two courses can be repeated.