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College of Health and Human Services

Certificate in Conflict Resolution for Health Professionals

Points of Contact
Dr. Carlos Sluzki
College of Health and Human Services
Phone: 703-993-1920
Email: csluzki@gmu.edu
The Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Phone: 703-993-1300

This is a joint graduate certificate program offered through the College of Health and Human Services and the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The certificate allows students to enrich their understanding of disputes that are specific to the health care arena through a series of courses with topics such as leadership, violence, health and conflict, organizational conflict, and the links between conflict resolution theory and practice.

Certificate Requirements

Students applying to the certificate program must hold a bachelor's degree. This is a graduate certificate program. Application to this program is made through the George Mason University CHHS graduate HHS Admissions Processing Center, MSN 5A8, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444.

Students must complete all required courses and two electives with a 3.0 GPA to earn the certificate. If students have already taken the regular section of CONF501, this can be applied toward the certificate.

Program of Study

Please refer to the GMU Catalog for Course Descriptions.

  • Required Courses (9)
    • CONF 501 (3:3:0)
      Introduction to Conflict Analysis and Resolution
      Prerequisite or corequisite for all MS CONF majors. Introduction to field of conflict analysis and resolution. Examines definitions of conflict and diverse views of its Òresolution.Ó Explores thinking about human behavior and social systems as they relate to the origins of conflict and the role of conflict in violent and peaceful social change. Considers appropriate responses to conflict at inter-personal, intergroup, industrial, communal, and international levels.
    • CONF 713
      Lab and Simulation 1: Interpersonal and Inter-group Conflict
    • CONF 738/GCH 635 (3:3:0)
      Research Seminar in Health and Conflict Analysis (final course)
      Capstone seminar; final course in the graduate certificate program in conflict resolution for health professionals. Involves conducting research and analyzing a specific conflict situation in depth. Builds on theory, research, and practice learned in previous courses for this certificate.
  • Suggested Electives (6)
    • ANTH 631 (3:3:0)
      Refugees in the Contemporary World
      Prerequisite: graduate standing. Seminar on the major refugee flows since the middle of the 20th century, with emphasis on mechanisms for providing assistance, asylum, and resettlement.
    • CONF 703 (3:3:0)
      Conceptions of Practice
      Prerequisites: CONF 501, 601, 713. Provides framework for integrating theory and practice in conflict resolution. Reviews types of practice and theories of intervention and change, discusses analytic process of assessment and diagnosis before intervention. Considers how research can be incorporated into practice, and how thoughtful practice generates research questions. Includes methods of program evaluation and action research. Students encouraged to identify or develop their own theories of practice.
    • CONF 709 (3:3:0)
      War, Violence and Conflict Resolution
      Prerequisite: CONF 501 or 801. Considers various theories of violence, causes and conditions, and applies them to a variety of cases: family abuse, religious and ethnic violence; terrorism, revolution, and warfare. Insights gained from study of initiation, escalation, management, resolution, and prevention of violence are applied to theories about the resolution of deep-rooted conflicts.
    • CONF 731 (3:3:0)
      Conflict in Organizations
      Prerequisite: CONF 501 or 801. Explores intersection and dynam-ics of organizational behavior and dimensions of conflict. Theoretical perspectives and cases examine issues involved in conflict analysis and resolution. Strategies for prevention and intervention are practiced. Students conduct field research in the greater metropolitan area to help integrate course content.
    • CONF 745 (3:3:0)
      Leadership Roles in Conflict and Conflict Resolution
      Prerequisite: CONF 501 or 801 or permission of the instructor. Leadership responses to conflict are affected by several variables, including race, ethnicity, and gender. Explores roles of leadership decision-making styles as agents of conflict across a range of conflict scenarios at the interpersonal, community, organizational, and international levels.
    • GCH 680 (3:3:0)
      International Health Research and Ethics
    • HAP/NURS 542 (3:2:1)
      Health Policy
      Explores development of public health policy, and influence healthcare delivery, nursing, and other health professions. Classroom and field experience.
  • Total = 15 credits

Explanation of Credit Hours
Course titles are followed by numbers in parentheses (0:0:0), separated by colons. The numbers have the following significance:

  • First Number: credits for the course
  • Second Number: hours of lecture or seminar per week for the course
  • Third Number: hours of laboratory for the course

For independent study, readings, topics, or similar courses, individual instructors set hours.