Conflict Management and Resolution

The Department of Public and International Affairs offers a multi-disciplinary M.A.in Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) for professionals, practitioners and students who wish to gain a greater understanding of a variety of conflict in both domestic and international settings. Domestic and international environmental and natural disasters have also placed individuals, professionals and officials in a position to respond to pending crises at several levels. The program is based on a dual-format, blended-course model which includes intensive instructional blocks utilizing face-to-face instruction, video teleconferencing and mobile access followed by self-paced but guided distance education. There is one instructional block a semester spanning two–to–four weeks at the beginning of the fall, spring and summer semesters. The program is designed to provide core knowledge, skills, and abilities through a set of modules focused on the theoretical and applied approaches to conflict management. Students acquire the tools to respond to a broad spectrum of scenarios including interpersonal conflict, third-party facilitation and mediation, larger group conflict as well as crisis and emergency management. Indeed, effective and immediate response to emergencies and disasters by both first responders and those coordinating teams in the field is a crucial element in managing emergencies and pending disasters.

The objective of the graduate degree is to give graduates the knowledge and skill set to assess, interpret and, manage conflict in contemporary and diverse domestic or international organizational and inter-organizational settings. Students will gain an understanding of the theoretical and practical processes involved with effectively negotiating and advocating in domestic or international settings and dealing with crises in several situations. Students will moreover gain the skills to identify the uses, strengths and weaknesses of bargaining at the theoretical and practical levels and analyze power sources in negotiations. In order to better address the various career goals of our students, the M. A. degree in Conflict Management and Resolution will have three tracks: (1) National and International Security, (2) Domestic, Social and Organizational Conflict Transformation, and (3) Emergency and Disaster Management. Students will be required to complete the capstone course in their chosen concentration.

Student Activity

Check out this article from Stars and Stripes on one of our very own students, Michael Poggi. He is currently a Master Sergeant in the Marines and a full-time student in our CMR Program. This article addresses how Michael is able to balance his life and how UNCW is preparing him for more opportunities.
Congratulations to several of our CMR graduates who have been published. Click the links below to read their articles.

Female Suicide Bombers: Coerced or Committed?

The Sunni Shia Split: Perplexing and Deadly International Intercultural Conflict

Climate Change and Security

Turkey and the Kurds: Conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and Implications for Turkey-United States Relations

Exploiting Vulnerabilities of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham: Policy Recommendations

Cyber Threats and Cyber Security: National Security Issues, Policy and Strategies

The Effects of the U.S. Death Penalty on International Relations

Vulnerabilities in the North American Power Grid

Securing Iran: Opportunities Presented with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

The Middle East Crisis, Rise of the Shia, Russian Growth, and the Loss of American Influence