Academic and Career Information
for Students

Information on Undergraduate Academic Programs
Information on Graduate Academic Programs
Mixed Lists Covering Undergraduate & Graduate Opportunities
International Program Information
Sample Syllabi from College Courses
Information on Careers & Areas of Professional Practice
Job & Scholarship Listings

The field of conflict resolution (also known as dispute resolution, conflict management, Alternative Dispute Resolution/ADR, peace and conflict studies, etc.) has grown tremendously in the last decade. Students are now majoring in conflict resolution as undergraduates, or getting graduate certificates or degrees specifically in the conflict studies area. This page is designed to help students (current or potential) learn more about the academic options they have if they are interested in the field, and to help them assess some of the various career options associated with this still relatively new area of professional practice. Bill Warters' broad overview of conflict resolution in academia might be a good place to start if you're new to the whole field. Otherwise, go ahead and dive into some of the online resources found below.

Information on Undergraduate Academic Programs

Undergraduate Education Guide to Peace and Conflict Studies from the The Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies (PAWSS) based at Hampshire College. Provides an overview of the field and then regional listings of available programs.

Robin's Directory of College and University Peace Studies Programs covers both undergraduate and graduate programs, and includes links to online course lists and syllabi. Developed and maintained by Robin Crews, hosted at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Information on Graduate Academic Programs

"Current Trends in Graduate ADR Programs: Preliminary Findings" is an article by Brian Polkinghorn and Ron Chenail that appeared in our quarterly publication the Conflict Management in Higher Education Report.

Graduate Conflict Resolution Program finder from Salisbury State University in Maryland. Uses a clickable world and U.S. map to help you focus in on programs in areas of the world you might want to spend time in.

Graduate Education Guide to Peace and Conflict Studies, also from PAWSS. Divides the graduate education field into 6 areas, briefly describing each focus area. Provides an alphabetical listing of graduate level programs, with an emphasis on peace studies.

A group of "experts" got together in Florida and explored the contours of dispute resolution graduate studies. Some of their shared assumptions and opinions about the state of the field are reported in Graduate Studies in Dispute Resolution: A Delphi Study of the Field's Present and Future by William C. Warters. Includes a listing of key journals and books.

Mixed Lists Covering Both Graduate and Undergraduate Opportunities

A list of links to Conflict Management in Higher Education Programs quite broadly defined has been maintained by Nova Southeastern University's Department of Dispute Resolution.

For a somewhat more commercial way to find programs, you can try Conflict Resolution Academic Programs list (from Looksmart.com).

International Program Information

"Conflict Resolution Training Opportunities in Canada" (online article) by David Last.

A "Directory of Courses on Conflict Resolution in Central and East European Universities" was developed by Partners for Democratic Change. It may still be available with some looking at the new site hosted International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX).

"Peace Studies/ Conflict Resolution Programmes in Australia and New Zealand"

Sample Syllabi from College Courses

Check out our syllabi sampler in the Campus-adr Classroom Building.

Information on Careers and Areas of Professional Practice

Alternative Dispute Resolution Careers is a page maintained by the conflict studies program at Fresno Pacific University, a Mennonite insititution. It provides links to job listing sites, with greater emphasis on international relief and peacebuilding work.

Can Mediation Be Your Day Job? is the first chapter of Forrest S. Mosten's book a Mediation Career Guide available from Jossey-Bass Press.

Peace Studies Careers and Internships Guide from PAWSS provides listings of various agencies that often hire or provide internships in the field.

Frequently Asked Questions about Becoming a Family Mediator
provides answers to frequently asked questions about coming a mediator.

An article Steep Path Awaits New Practitioners In Field by Jennifer Thomas-Larmer is from the January 1998 issue of Consensus, a newspaper published jointly by the Consensus Building Institute and the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program. It explores the less than direct career path of practitioners working in public policy and multiparty mediation settings.

Five Hot Business Fields for Women is a 1999 article from Black Enterprise magazine that declares labor law consulting and conflict resolution as one of the hot areas for women in the coming decade.

Job and Scholarship Opportunity Listing Sites

The Opportunities for Students page here at Campus-adr.org includes job listings related to campus conflict and conflict resolution more generally.

The Career Center at Action Without Borders site provides updated internship and job listings related to peace and conflict resolution. Choose Peace and Conflict Resolution as your "Area of Focus" to narrow your results.

The National Association for Community Mediation has a jobs listing page for folks interested in mediation positions.

For a list of links to sites posting mainly International Job and Scholarship Opportunities in peace and conflict transformation, visit the Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management links page.

See also the various job and volunteer links listed at PeaceNet