Welcome to the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance
If you value practical experience, civic responsibility and academic excellence we invite you to explore our internationally-ranked graduate programs and pioneering work of our faculty and research centers.
Academic Programs
Graduate Programs
Accelerated Master's
Accelerated Master’s Programs (AMP)
Earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in as little as five years.
About Our Department
Want to improve the planet and help communities? We can help.
Learn to manage conflict, build security, and govern local and global organizations through our programs. Collaborate with our faculty who are internationally-recognized scholars and practitioners in fields spanning conflict resolution, human security and global governance. More about our research areas
Take a Class
Start earning credits by taking a class as a non-degree student. This allows you to assess the content and structure of the program before applying. These graduate-level credits can transfer to one of our graduate degrees (restrictions apply).
About Taking a Class
This is a great way to "sample" the programs before applying and evaluate whether it meets your goals and interests. You must have a bachelor's degree to enroll and if you earn a B or better, and are later admitted to one of the degree programs listed below, the credits will count towards degree (maximum of 6 credits allowed).
- Conflict Resolution MA
- Conflict Resolution graduate certificate (in person, online, hybrid)
- Global Governance and Human Security MA
- International Relations MA
Visit the Bursar’s website to research costs. All courses are subject to regular session rate and New England regional rate is not applicable for non-degree students.
Please visit the Registrar's website for more information regarding non-degree registration or contact conresglobal@umb.edu.
Virtual Summer Institute 2024
Virtual Summer Institute: Conflict Transformation Across Borders (open to undergrads and non-degree students).
Learn more and register here.
June 3-14, 2024, M-F: 10 a.m. - 1p.m. on zoom, plus an additional asynchronous week through June 21 to complete projects.
Info Session recording available here.
Learn about peacebuilding, border conflicts, migration, and conflict transformation together with participants and guest speakers from all over Latin America and the world! Offered by UMass Boston, in collaboration with Latin American partner universities in Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Uruguay. Students will enroll through their respective universities and participate virtual (Zoom) classes in June 2024.
The program includes the analysis of cases drawn from Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Haiti, Costa Rica, and the United States focusing on conflict, peacebuilding, refugees and border challenges, as well as practical skills training on conflict analysis, actor mapping, negotiation, mediation and proposal writing. Participants will design a proposal for a peacebuilding Intervention and will receive feedback from a panel of experienced experts in the field.
Co- facilitated by Dr. Jeffrey Pugh of UMass Boston's Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance, Dr. Cecile Mouly of FLACSO Ecuador, and Dr. Monica Herz of PUC de Rio, as well as other speakers.
Take a Class Options
Contact conresglobal@umb.edu for more information.
Fall 2024 take a class options (classes meet in person unless otherwise noted)
Introductory (Conflict Resolution) Theory. Offered both online and in person Tuesdays at 5:30 PM.
This course examines the theories and assumptions underpinning the practice of negotiation and mediation. It identifies the major schools of thought that influence models in practice and shape research agendas. It examines theories critically, with three aims-uncovering implicit assumptions of practice, testing those assumptions against empirical evidence or other theories, and gleaning insights to assist practitioners.
Theories of International Relations - Tuesdays at 5:30PM
This course provides students with an introduction to the major explanatory theories and core concepts that define international relations as a field of study. It identifies key agents, examines the historical evolution of international systems, and describes processes and institutions that contribute to various forms of international conflict and its resolution. This course provides a foundation for more specialized course in international relations.
Issues in World Politics - Mondays at 5:30 PM
This seminar focuses on contemporary policy problems relevant to world politics. A critical examination of these global policy problems permits the application of key concepts and theories of international relations from a variety of different perspectives at the domestic, national, and international levels. Typically, this course focuses on selected regions or issues as illustrations of broader themes in world affairs.
Global Governance Thursdays at 5:30 PM
'Global governance'' refers both to something empirical -- ''what (limited) world government we have'' -- and to an approach to the study of global problems, one that highlights the economic and cultural contexts of political globalization and foregrounds the questions of whether and how current processes can be made more effective. Students will become familiar with the variety of theoretical approaches to global governance and knowledgeable about its context, including the globalization of industrial capitalism in which global governance emerged, and about its empirics, what it is today. Students' final papers and in-class presentations will investigate the prospects for reform of global governance in an issue area of their choice.
African Conflict: Thursdays at 5:30 PM.
This class will review the problems of state development in Africa, and the extent to which democratic solutions and conflict resolution approaches can resolve those problems. We will do so by examining two broad themes in the literature on African politics: political structures and political cultures. Political structures are the formal systems and institutions created to govern these states, and we will spend most of our time looking at democratic institutions and the governance problems they face. Political cultures, on the other hand, are the informal patterns of political behavior shared by groups of people within these states, which reflect the values and experiences shared by these groups to some degree. Although formal institutions may democratize, the patterns of political behavior (political cultures) change more slowly, posing a number of dilemmas for proponents of democratic solutions to
Negotiation Mondays at 5:30 PM
The course focuses on examining the relationship between gender, violent conflict, security and peacebuilding. In this class, we will consider how do gender stereotypes influence the ways that we think about conflict and peacebuilding. How can gender as a relational category, among race, class nationality and others be used for the analysis of inequalities? The overall goal will be to gain an understanding of the gendered dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding and explore programmic approaches by working on case studies that elucidate.
these complexities.
Global Health and Development Tuesdays at 4:00 PM
The course examines the evolution, key concepts and practice of global health as an emergent field. It is concerned with engaging and exploring the dominant themes, key relationships, and central questions that radiate from the trans-disciplinary field of global health. The aim is for students to critically engage the global public health questions and concerns introduced in the course. Students will apply analytical thinking skills to understand a range of global public health and development problems and trends, implications, and responses.
International Development - Wednesdays at 5:30
This course examines the major concepts and theories necessary for a critical understanding of the social, political, and economic problems and possibilities facing countries in their quest for development. While exploring the domestic determinants of development, the course also considers the role of international institutions and the most powerful countries in shaping the policy options of developing countries, with particular attention to the process of globalization as a recent contributor to the problem of underdevelopment.
Third Party Intervention Online, asynchronous class
| A range of interventions can be used to try to de-escalate, manage, and resolve conflict, and to try to heal relationships and address structural problems that make ongoing conflict more destructive. In addition to individual/internal strategies like meditation and direct bilateral strategies like negotiation, many of the approaches in the conflict resolution field involve skilled third parties assisting those in conflict. This class surveys a range of third-party interventions, from arbitration and ombuds work to mediation, dialogue, and circle processes, among others. It explores the underlying logic and theories of change beneath the various third-party interventions as well as foundational questions of neutrality and positionality, and develops cross-cutting skills like conflict analysis, effective communication, and evaluation. It introduces how various interventions work in practice, and offers opportunities to explore cases, hear directly from practitioners, and practice through exercises and simulations in order to expose students to the strengths and drawbacks of different interventions for various contexts and types of conflict. |
Transform Learning into Action
Our centers and projects conduct innovative research and provide students with opportunities to gain hands on skills.
Resources
Summer Programs
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We offer academically rich summer programs focusing on Community Peace Building and Conflict Transformation Across Borders where you can earn up to 6 credits towards a master's degree. There are no prerequisites for these programs and advanced undergraduates will be considered. Contact conresglobal@umb.edu for more info.