Doctoral Program in Dispute Resolution at Nova Southeastern University
Dear Colleague,
I am writing to encourage you to apply to one of our residential or online format graduate programs, and/or to kindly share this letter with those you know who may be interested in pursuing one of our degrees. The Department of Dispute Resolution at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) offers a Ph.D., M.S., and Graduate Certificate in dispute resolution. In addition, there is a specialization track available in Health Care Conflict Resolution for graduate and post-graduate students. All programs are available in residential and online formats.
Our programs have a history of excellence, providing highly challenging, cutting edge training, and education in conflict resolution and peacemaking. Full-time and part-time options of study are available, with most of our residential classes offered in the evenings. Our programs are fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges in Higher Education.
The Department of Dispute Resolution is committed to academic excellence, social responsibility, cultural diversity, and reflective practice in the fields of peacemaking and conflict resolution. It takes a holistic, learner-centered approach, encouraging students and professionals to define and shape their intellectual and practice paths in a creative, rigorous, informed, and structured fashion.
NSU has a fine national reputation for its innovative academic programs. In 1972, NSU pioneered distance learning. In 1983, it was the first university in the U.S. to offer online courses, and was recently recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the nation's top 20 cyber-universities. Our department is the only one in the U.S. offering both a residential and online format doctoral degree in dispute resolution. The distance programs employ an optimal combination of dynamic learning models and flexible interactive media (i.e., week-long institutes on campus, on-line seminars, and individualized studies) so that mid-career working adults do not have to relocate for their graduate studies.
The eight Dispute Resolution faculty members are nationally known in their individual areas of expertise, including cross cultural conflict resolution, family based interventions, peace education, environmental and public disputes, development and peace studies, gender and conflict, school mediation programs, violence prevention, and ethnic and international conflict resolution. Our faculty works closely with students to develop productive mentoring relationships, which aid students in their ongoing professional and scholarly development. Faculty/student collaborations in the areas of teaching, supervision, consultation, conference presentations, and writing/publishing efforts are the norm, as we seek to prepare our graduates to contribute to the field in a wide range of multidisciplinary pursuits.
I encourage you to visit our website: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/DR. You may also wish to learn about external scholarships and fellowships to fund your graduate studies. Our on-line scholarship search, which you may find at http://www.nova.edu/ssss/SFSP, provides a wealth of information in this regard. In addition to these external funding opportunities, we make a strong effort to offer partial scholarships to students enrolled full-time in our program.
The department has rolling admissions for the summer term beginning in April and the fall term beginning in September. Since space is limited, applicants are encouraged to submit their applications by March 1st for the summer term and May 31st for the fall term.
Please feel free to contact us at (800) 262-7978.
Sean Byrne, Ph.D., Director Doctoral Programs
Email: sjbyrne@nova.edu
Marcia Sweedler, Ph.D., Director Master's and Graduate Certificate
Programs
Email: msweedle@nova.edu
DISPUTE RESOLUTION FACULTY
Thomas Boudreau, Assistant Professor Ph.D. in Social Science
Teaching and research interests: International law; world politics; interpersonal communications; nonviolence in America Douglas Buck, Associate Vice President of Human Resources/Assistant Professor Ph.D. in Public Administration Teaching and research interests: Community mediation, commercial arbitration, personnel management, labor management negotiations
Sean Byrne, Director of Ph.D. Programs/Assistant Professor Ph.D. in International Relations
Teaching and research interests: Foundations of conflict resolution; international conflict management; institutional and organizational analysis; theories of conflict and conflict resolution; ethnic and intergroup conflict; qualitative research methods; and children, education, and conflict
Brian D. Polkinghorn, Assistant Professor (On Leave) Ph.D. in Social Science
Teaching and research interests: Environmental/public policy dispute resolution; multiparty conflict intervention; negotiation theory and practice; ethics of third-party intervention
Ruzica Rosandic, Assistant Professor Ph.D. in Psychology
Teaching and research interests: Violence and violence prevention; peace education; reconciliation; ethnic conflicts; research methods
Marcia Sweedler, Director of Master's Programs/Assistant Professor Ph.D. in Education Policy, Planning, and Administration
Teaching and research interests: Developing a systemic approach to conflict resolution through training, ADR, and workplace/school climate
Hamdesa Tuso, Ph.D. in Sociology
Teaching and research interests: Cultural issues of conflict resolution; indigenous peacemaking practices; interdisciplinary models and theories; immigrant communities; refugee communities; African American communities; African studies; critical and historical analyses; challenges of sustainable development; political economic perspectives
Margo Weiss, Director of Health Conflict Resolution Program/Assistant Professor of Family Therapy Ph.D. in Family Therapy
Teaching and research interests: Medical family therapy; chronic illness and families; autism; brief interventions in health care settings; bereavement and loss across cultures
Cathie J. Witty, Assistant Professor Ph.D. in Anthropology
Teaching and research interests: Cross-cultural and comparative dispute resolution; qualitative research; gerontology; trauma and violence Honggang Yang, Dean/Associate Professor Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology Teaching and research interests: Political anthropology; comparative conflict/peace research; ethnographic/qualitative research methods; graduate distance learning
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
Jessica Senehi, NSU Postdoctoral Fellow of Conflict Resolution Ph.D. in Social Science
Teaching and research interests: Analysis and resolution of conflicts; women's studies; gender studies; research design and methods; folklore; social inequality
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TEAM
Ann Booth, Director of Enrollment and Student Affairs Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology
Yolanda Hankerson, Program Coordinator
James Hibel, Executive Director of Academic Affairs/Assistant Professor of Family Therapy Ph.D. in Child and Family Studies
Judith McKay, Director of Practicum and The Academy of Dispute Resolution J.D., M.A. in Education with specialty in student services and counseling
Richard Ryal, Communications Coordinator, The Academy of Dispute Resolution
Cody W. Smith, Computer Applications Coordinator and Webmaster
For questions, suggestions, or comments e-mail Volker Franke
