The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Law, one of the world’s premier schools in the field of conflict and dispute resolution, recently announced that it will deliver its Master of Dispute Resolution (MDR) degree online. The degree will be delivered in partnership with 2U, Inc., a leader in global education technology, and is a part of the Pepperdine Law graduate program.
“As one of the world’s leading institutions in the field of dispute resolution, we’re thrilled to extend access to our renowned dispute resolution program to working professionals around the world, through a digital format that includes live classes and in-person residencies. Pepperdine’s online Master of Dispute Resolution will provide students with the transformative, values-centered legal education for which we are known,” says Dean Paul Caron.
Pepperdine Law’s Straus Institute, ranked number one in Best Dispute Resolution Programs by U.S. News and World Report for 2019, will offer the online MDR to help professionals across a variety of industries to tactfully resolve conflicts between parties and artfully negotiate complex transactions.
More than 95 percent of cases filed in courts are handled under alternative dispute resolution processes, according to the Pepperdine Law release. The need for conflict resolution stretches across businesses and organizations in a number of industries. The online MDR is designed to prepare students to apply the negotiation, mediation, and arbitration skills needed to mitigate and successfully resolve conflict with clients, employees, and community members in various scenarios.
The curriculum will provide students with insight into the legal, psychological, and cultural factors that affect conflict and complex negotiations. Foundational coursework includes an introduction to U.S. law, legal research and writing, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, cross-cultural conflict, conflict communication, and employment disputes. Students can also customize their studies with elective courses for a deeper study of specific industries, such as entertainment, health law, intellectual property, and public policy.
The digital format is ideal for mid-career professionals and executives who aim for career advancement and new leadership roles and wish to remain employed while pursuing graduate studies, the press release stated.
Students will receive the same degree and experience equivalent quality and rigor as students enrolled in Pepperdine’s on-campus Master of Dispute Resolution program, the school says. Students will be taught by Pepperdine Law faculty through weekly live classes and faculty-developed interactive coursework on an online platform that works seamlessly on mobile devices, allowing students to complete their assignments from nearly anywhere. Program participants will also attend two in-person residencies at the law school’s campus in Malibu.
The program, which is 32 units, and can be completed on a part-time basis in as few as 28 months or on a full-time basis in as few as 16 months. The next application deadline for the online MDR is June 15, 2018, with classes beginning in September 2018.
