Werner Institute: Earn M.S. in Negotiation & Dispute Resolution Online
From time to time, I interview professionals in the conflict resolution world. I was fortunate to catch up with Bryan J. Hanson, the Assistant Director of the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton University. The Werner Institute has established a fascinating online program for a Master’s of Science in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution. Here are Bryan’s answers to my questions.
1. Your online program offers diverse teaching methods such as distance learning, two 5-day residency programs at Creighton with hands-on role plays, simulations and group exercises, guided research projects and a practicum. What skills do you hope students will learn and how does the design of the program support and enhance their learning experience?
Our online program provides an innovative curriculum that heavily relies on virtual platforms to replicate the dialogue and activities that take place in a classroom environment. For example, students engage in weekly discussion forums, participate in group projects via online collaboration tools, and can participate in live discussions via web-conferencing platforms. (Here’s our website.) The online program also runs on a cohort model with a predetermined flow to the curriculum. Students will start in the foundations of conflict courses and proceed in a linear manner until they complete their practicum experience as the capstone to the program. We also have a residential degree program. You can find a list of our campus-based courses here.
2. You have a stellar faculty. How much students will be able to interact with them?
Our department is small, yet provides access to some very experienced and well -connected faculty members. We provide great value to the ability for our students to feel well connected with the entire staff and faculty at the Werner Institute. When in Omaha, our doors are always open, and when students are unable to meet in Omaha, we are available via phone, email and Skype.
Our online courses allow for constant engagement with our faculty. Dialogue that typically takes place in a classroom is replicated by weekly discussion forums that are led off by an initial line of inquiry provided by the faculty member. All students must participate to receive credit for the course and the faculty member has the opportunity to connect with each and every student this way.
Our online program also entails two 5-day residencies that bring students to Omaha to meet our faculty and engage in skill-building activities, practice negotiation, practice mediation skills, attend live lectures, and participate in networking opportunities that will increase the students’ ability for success once they enter the field.
3. The program offers some subspecialties--what are they and how can they be useful in the real world?
We offer the opportunity to diversify your education via four different specializations. They are
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Organizational Conflict Management: In today’s competitive environment, organizations increasingly must cope with complexities, uncertainties, and conflict. Students will learn techniques and approaches for organizational teambuilding, conflict management, and process facilitation and consulting.
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Collaboration and Conflict Resolution in Health Care: Conflicts in health care occur on a daily basis, many of which involve poor clinical outcomes that may result in lawsuits, licensure disputes, credentialing and employment claims, and more simply, a general breakdown in trust of the healthcare system as a whole. With a focus on practical application of process tools and systems design strategies, students will learn effective techniques that can be integrated into clinical settings and expand options for managing legal and ethical issues that arise within healthcare organizations.
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Collaborative Practice and Conflict Resolution in Education: In areas from special needs to student services, and administration to campus life, conflict is an ever growing part of the landscape. Students will learn how to collaborate with colleagues, students, parents, and community members to assist and develop strategies to accommodate diverse learners so that they can succeed and fulfill their potential.
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International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: Disputes increasingly occur with an international dimension, including conflicts involving states, corporations, peoples, and political factions. With applications from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including international law, business, anthropology, and political science, students will learn conflict resolution techniques in the context of globalization with a focus on the implications of growing interconnectedness as both a source and solution for disputes.
4. What kind of career can an M.S. in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution launch? Where can students use the expertise they gain from this program?
The skills and concepts learned can lead to an exciting career as a practitioner in the field as a mediator, facilitator, trainer, or systems design consultant. A graduate will also be prepared to work in training and development.
One vitally important aspect of our interdisciplinary degree is that the skills and concepts learned in this program will lead our graduates down a path for success in any leadership position within an industry that aligns well with their interests and previous experiences. The graduates will be able to leverage their increased leadership skills, decision-making abilities, team development insights and understanding of conflict dynamics to succeed as program directors, business executives, and leaders of many non-profit and for-profit organizations.