Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance

Faculty

J. Samuel Barkin, PhD, Columbia University

International relations theory
International organization
International environmental politics

Maria Ivanova, PhD, Yale University

Global governance
International organizations
Climate change governance
United Nations reform

Paul A. Kowert, PhD, Cornell University

International relations theory
US-Japan relations
Foreign policy analysis
Political psychology
Research design

Darren Kew, PhD, Tufts University

Culture and Religion
Conflict and Democracy in Africa (especially Nigeria)
Civil Society and Transnational Civil Society Development
International Security and Crisis Intervention in Africa
International Negotiation

David E. Matz, JD, Harvard University

Mediation
Negotiation
Organizational Conflict
International Judicial System Integration of ADR
Arab-Israeli Negotiations

Craig Murphy, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

International governance
Global inequalities
United Nations reform
Globalization

B. Jane Parpart, PhD, Boston University

Development
Gender studies
Social policy
Conflict and human security

Jeffrey Pugh, PhD, Johns Hopkins Univeristy

Peace and Conflict Studies
Social Movements
Latin American Politics
Refugee and Migration Issues

Karen Ross, PhD, Indiana University

Peace Education
Dialogue
Research Methodology

Timothy M. Shaw, PhD, Princeton University

International political economy
Human development and human security
African and Caribbean regions

Courtenay Sprague, PhD, University of the Witwatersrand

Global health and human development
Health policy
Health equity, HIV

Eben Weitzman, PhD, Columbia University

Cross-Cultural Mediation
Intra-Group Conflict
Organizational Conflict
Computer-aided Data Analysis in Qualitative Research

The Programs

The conflict resolution graduate programs are designed to provide students with the ability to understand, effectively manage, and intervene in conflict situations that arise among individuals and groups, locally and globally. Students explore the causes, dynamics, and consequences of conflict in a variety of settings; they learn techniques of conflict analysis and resolution, problem solving, and collaborative decision making; and develop skills in negotiation, mediation, dialogue, and facilitation.

Increasingly, nonprofit, government, and business sector employers recognize the value of conflict management expertise and experience. People are applying conflict resolution approaches in a wide range of settings, from the workplace to public policy decision making, in community disputes, in schools, in international humanitarian and relief work, and within the courts and other sectors of legal practice.

Within UMass Boston, the conflict resolution programs are part of the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance located within the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies. The McCormack School is a dynamic environment that houses three academic departments as well as numerous centers and institutes. These provide opportunities for students to participate in research and field projects locally and globally. Conferences and lectureships allow students to network with outstanding scholars and practitioners from a variety of fields.

The Master of Arts (MA) program offers a comprehensive 36-credit curriculum encompassing conflict resolution skills, practice, analysis, theory, and research. Specialization areas offered in the MA program include organizational conflict and international conflict. In addition, students have the flexibility to pursue specific areas of conflict of particular interest to them — for example, conflict in health care, restorative justice, or inter-religious conflict. This can be accomplished through taking elective courses in other departments, participating in faculty research and community projects, and designing independent study projects. Students may also design their capstone final projects to further their individual interests and goals.

The graduate certificate program offers a choice of curriculum options focusing on conflict resolution skills for professionals who manage conflict in their work. The certificate programs (with the exception of the dual-specialization options) can be completed in one year (2 semesters) of part-time study. Dual-specialization options can be completed in one year of full-time study or 3 semesters of part-time study.

Students in both the MA and the graduate certificate programs are eligible to participate in a mediation internship where students mediate small-claims cases in Boston-area district courts. Students in these internships are closely supervised by part-time faculty members who are conflict resolution professionals strongly committed to sharing their knowledge and skills with those entering the field.

Graduates of the certificate program may apply for entry into the MA program, but their admission is not guaranteed. Upon a student’s admission to the MA program, credits earned in the certificate program are counted toward the requirements of the MA program. Students who have not yet completed the certificate program may also apply to transfer into the MA program, but not until they have completed at least three courses (9-12 credits).

Classes in both programs are scheduled to accommodate schedules of working professionals, meeting during late afternoon and evening hours and on Saturdays.

Applicants are admitted into both programs to begin their studies in either the fall or spring semester. Students may enroll in either program as full-time or part-time students.

Faculty and staff welcome inquiries from prospective students who need assistance determining which program better suits their needs.

In addition to the MA and graduate certificate programs, UMass Boston also offers a doctoral program in global governance and human security is an interdisciplinary program that seeks to address global issues from multiple perspectives and methodological approaches. Its goal is to prepare scholars and analysts to provide intellectual leadership as academics, researchers, or practitioners in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental agencies, media, national governments, think tanks, and private companies.

The curriculum focuses on the outcomes that matter most to individuals: secure forms of economic welfare and human development; environmental stewardship and sustainability; public health; human rights; human security; political freedom; and the interrelationships among them. Each newly admitted cohort completes a set of core courses during their first year in the program, after which they pursue their area of specialization. The program’s primary tracks mirror the interconnected strands of a set of global issues: conflict resolution, the environment, gender, human rights and human security, global political economy, human development, and global public health. Students who wish to explore a new area of inquiry may develop their own track and course of study.

In addition to the program coursework, research, and collaboration opportunities, students have the opportunity to participate in the activities of two centers within the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance–the Center for Governance and Sustainability and the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development.

Accepted students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible to participate in the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Coasts and Communities Fellowship Program, a transdisciplinary program focusing on environmental issues. IGERT courses and activities are in addition to the requirements of the Global Governance program. A separate application is required; see www.umb.edu/igert for details.

A limited number of accepted students may be offered financial support for up to three years in the form of research and teaching assistantships. Assistantships typically include waivers of tuition and most fees, and a cash stipend to help defray living expenses. Recipients of assistantships spend 18 hours per week supporting faculty research and/or serving as teaching assistants, enhancing academic and professional development.