Conflict between individuals, groups, organizations, and nations is inevitable and universal. In business, law, government, social services, and education, conflict takes time, costs money and uses human resources, often in destructive ways. Academicians in many disciplines study conflict and everyone addresses conflict in some way.

The graduate program in Human Behavior and Conflict Management is one of an increasing number of academic programs to focus on developing scholarship and professional practice in conflict management. The premise of the program is that conflict in most arenas presents opportunities for learning, for creativity and constructive work, and for conciliation and moving forward.

The Conflict Management Field

Since the early 1970’s, the practice of conflict resolution has grown rapidly in the United States and now includes dispute resolution systems in business and industry, public dispute resolution processes, peer mediation in schools and colleges, community settlement centers, and mediation of family conflicts. The increasing complexity, costs, and delays of litigation have overburdened courts and led to court-connected mediation and arbitration programs in South Carolina and most other states.

Graduate program courses balance scholarship and practice skills to prepare students to be in-house and independent consultants, managers, and practitioners in their chosen fields or to pursue further academic degrees.

Graduate Program Design

This part-time graduate program is designed for working women and men who may enroll in the Master’s program, a 15-hour graduate certificate program, or in selected courses. Classes are scheduled on five weekends each fall and spring semester. For the summer semester, classes are also scheduled on weekends in Maymester and in two summer terms.

To complete the 36 hours required for the Master’s degree, a two-year course rotation is recommended, with most students taking two courses each semester. Each Master’s student completes a practicum project near the end of the program, which may be a practice skills placement, a program design, a case analysis, or an action research project. Students may move from one program to another, with full course credit.

Exemption from Required Courses

The graduate program is designed to introduce the student to the field and to guide the students development through a sequenced and internally consistent set of courses. Generally, taking all required courses in the Columbia College program is preferred. To accommodate special circumstances, a student in the degree program may request exemption from selected course requirements based on significant professional experience, undergraduate coursework, or professional trainings which appear to duplicate the work of the required course.

The students advisor and program director may approve the exemption of a student from a particular required course based on a department exam for the course prepared by department faculty. If the student obtains a satisfactory grade on this exam, the student may be exempt from the course requirement and may substitute a second elective for the required course. To be considered for this exemption, a student must request exemption from a course before the student begins the Masters program and must take the department exam no later than the end of classes for the first semester of graduate work A student may not transfer or substitute credit for undergraduate courses, work experience, or professional trainings for graduate credit. A student may transfer graduate credit and receive exemptions for no more than a combined total of nine hours course work in the Masters program.

Program Students and Graduates

Our students are women and men from diverse backgrounds who work in insurance and communication industries, business, health care, social services, law and law enforcement, government, education, non-profits, and family counseling. Students and graduates use their work here to expand and enrich their primary professional work, to qualify for promotions and for new positions related to conflict management, and to develop their own businesses as conflict management consultants, trainers, and practitioners.