Philosophy of Program

The MS in Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies program strives to educate professionals in conflict engagement and resolution. The program is an intensive exploration of the skills and theory of the continuum of response to conflict, including mediation, facilitation, conflict analysis, consultation and negotiation. The program serves as a crossroads for leading-edge reflection on the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) field by emphasizing rigorous competency- and inquiry-based learning, a relevant theoretical foundation, integration of the person with the practice, and the opportunity for professional specialization under the supervision of a faculty of seasoned practitioners.

Through its four categories of competencies: structure, skills, self and theory, the program seeks to provide students with an integrated learning approach to mediator education. The integrated learning experience is best demonstrated with the following visual:

Like the four legs of a stool, each competency is integral in forming the final product:

• First is structure, a way of navigating and organizing information during mediation processes. The focus of this component is on the understanding and use of mediation processes and structures, as well as understanding the ways that structures can be adapted to serve different contexts.


• Second is skills, the artful use of the mediator’s toolbox. The focus of this component is on developing general capacities to perform as a mediator and the practical ability to apply theoretical knowledge and process knowledge to particular situations.


• Third is self, bringing self-awareness to the table and using self as instrument. The focus of this component is on developing a deep self knowledge, including mediators’ knowledge of their own presence or way of being at the table; awareness of their deepest beliefs about conflict and its resolution and how those influence their choice of words and actions; consciousness of the ways we influence the unfolding of events during the mediation; and attentiveness to the intuitive signals we are experiencing.


• Fourth is theory, a foundation for understanding and engaging conflict. The focus of this component is gaining knowledge of the conceptual basis of practice, the multidisciplinary theoretical foundations of the mediators’ work and the connection between theory and practice.