FSU offers a graduate certificate in Dispute Resolution which provides an opportunity for graduate students and post-graduate practitioners in urban planning and other public-policy related professions to develop expertise useful to moving public policy communities toward consensus and at helping stakeholders resolve impasse. Skills covered include bargaining, negotiation, facilitation, mediation, and the design of programs for consensus building, all oriented toward the creation and implementation of plans and public policies. The expectation is that Dispute Resolution Certificate studies will enhance the professional abilities of those working in planning and related professions. The Certificate is not intended to qualify students for licensed or regulated work as mediators or arbitrators, although course content may be useful to those who later wish to pursue such possibilities.

The Certificate program is open to students matriculated in graduate degree programs in urban and regional planning and related fields (such as environmental/land use law, geography, international affairs, public administration, and real estate), as well as to non-matriculates studying under Special Student status. Applicants may be, but are not required to be, currently pursuing the M.S.P. or Ph.D. degree in urban and regional planning. Those pursuing a graduate degree at FSU must be in good academic standing (Grade Point Average equal to or greater than 3.0) to be admitted. There are no admission requirements for current FSU graduate degree students other than good academic standing.

Non-matriculated applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

• Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States or the equivalent from an institution abroad. No specific major is required.

• Applicants must have a prior Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for previous study, or a combined verbal and quantitative score for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) of 1000. The GRE is optional for applicants who meet the minimum GPA requirement.

• Applicants whose native language is not English and who have not received a degree from a college of university in an English-speaking country, must submit an official transcript of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) showing a minimum score of 213 (computer-based), 550 (paper-based), or 80 (internet-based).

Applicants may apply to the Graduate Certificate in Dispute Resolution program by contacting:

Program Overview

Students are required to complete a minimum of eighteen (18) credit hours of dispute resolution related coursework, including six (6) hours of required courses, three to six (3-6) hours of Theory courses, three to six (3-6) hours of Practice/Skills Development courses, and a Capstone course (3 hours) as shown below. Substitutions may be permitted at the discretion of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

Required Courses (6 credit hours):

URP 5122. Planning Dispute Resolution (3).
URP 5123. Collective Governance: Consensus Building for Planners (3).

Theory Courses (choose at least three (3) credit hours):

GEO 5358. Environmental Conflict and Economic Development (3).
INR 5088. International Conflict (3).
MAN 5245. Organizational Behavior (3). [Note: Dispute Resolution Certificate credit will be given for either MAN5245 or PAD5106, but not both.]
PAD 5106. Public Organizations (3). Note: Dispute Resolution Certificate credit will be given for either MAN5245 or PAD5106, but not both.]
POS 5723r. Game Theory (3).
PUP 5005. Public Policy: Institutions and Processes (3).
URP5101. Planning Theory and Practice (3).

Practice/Skills Development Courses (at least three (3) credit hours):

EDP 5285. Group Processes in Instruction (3).
LAW 6310. Alternative Dispute Resolution (2–3).
LAW 6312. Mediation (3).
MAN 5285. Organizational Change and Development (3). Prerequisite: MAN5245.
PAD 5335. Strategic Leadership for Communities (3).

Capstone Course (at least three (3) credit hours):

URP 5944. Dispute Resolution Practicum (3). Prerequisite: URP 5122.
URP 5910r. Directed Individual Research (3).

The Certificate requires a minimum of 18 semester credit hours. Transfer credit will not be permitted. Matriculated, degree-seeking students must complete the Certificate within the time frame allowed for their degree; others must complete Certificate requirements within five years from the time they begin Certificate studies. A final GPA of 3.0 or higher in Certificate courses will be required in order to receive the Certificate.

A degree-seeking student matriculated in the MSP degree program may use Certificate courses toward that degree. With careful choice of electives, such students may be able to graduate with both the MSP degree and the Dispute Resolution Certificate with no more than the minimum 48 hours required for the MSP, but this requires careful planning and may not be possible for all students in all specialties. Students matriculated in other graduate degree programs at Florida State may only use Certificate courses toward those degrees if the Program administration of the degree approves.