Admission Requirements

The Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution seek applicants who can successfully demonstrate:

Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution - View from UMass Boston Campus Building
  • An interest in the dynamics and outcomes of conflict, and conflict intervention
  • A desire to acquire the skills necessary for the resolution of disputes
  • A BA or BS degree from an accredited college or university [minimum GPA 2.75]
  • The ability to complete coursework at the graduate level

The Master’s Program in Dispute resolution also requires appropriate scoring on either the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT).

Note:This requirement is waived for applicants who hold a graduate degree from a US university.

International students whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and achieve a score of 550 (213 on the computer-based version).

This may be waived if you have attended a US college or university for at least two academic years.

In addition, an interview, though not required, is strongly encouraged.

Current Students

 

Dispute Resolution Program StudentManouchka Jacques

Manouchka Jacques is a Masters student in the Dispute Resolution Program. Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Manouchka has lived in Massachusetts for many years where she graduated from Westfield State College with a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science. She completed an internship with the US Department of Justice Office for Civil Rights in Washington, DC and currently works in Human Resources for a major scientific department at MIT. Manouchka wishes to use her skills developed in the program to pursue her goals of working with the United Nations to promote and facilitate peaceful negotiations between nations in conflict, particularly Third World countries.

 

Dispute Resolution Masters Degree StudentRobin Escobar

Robin Escobar is a Masters student in the Dispute Resolution Program. She comes with a family studies and sociology background from Brigham Young University. As an undergraduate she was involved with BYU law school's community mediation program where she became certified in basic and domestic mediation and volunteered for the program. Her interests in dispute resolution range from family issues to terrorism. She is currently working as a research assistant to Professor Sascha Sheehan. In her free time she enjoys running, playing tennis, and being part of the city life in Boston.

 

Masters Degree Dispute Resolution StudentScott Spiegler

Scott Spiegler is a masters student in the Dispute Resolution program. Scott graduated summa cum laude from Brown University and has spent the vast majority of his career as a software engineer working in the private sector. He recently decided to do something "for the greater good of people living and conflicting on this planet." Scott's interest in this discipline stems from his training and experience in Interfaith Dialog. As he has become more involved with conflict resolution, Scott's interest has grown to encompass conflict analysis- the pre-resolution phase, the circumstances that surround a conflict and how this conflict came to be in the first place. In his spare time, he is a classical cellist and also plays a number of folk guitars from the Latin American countries.