MANHATTAN — A first-time certificate-earning institute being offered at Kansas State University this summer is designed to meet the growing need in the workplace for individuals with conflict resolution abilities.
Kansas State University’s Summer Institute in Conflict Resolution will be offered June 6-July 29 on the Manhattan campus through the School of Family Studies and Human Services in the College of Human Ecology. Students successfully completing the institute will earn the university’s certificate in conflict resolution.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of conflict resolution has a projected growth rate of 14 percent from 2008-2018. With a growing need for conflict resolution abilities in the workplace, Kansas State University’s nationally award-winning conflict resolution certificate program provides valuable skills that can be applied to any profession.
“The skills and the knowledge in conflict resolution can translate to just about any degree, discipline or job,” said Terrie McCants, clinical associate professor of family studies and human services and conflict resolution program coordinator at Kansas State University. “I have personal financial planners, psychologists and teachers who use this in their work. I’ve had engineers come in and take the certificate. The list of professions goes on. Many students have told us how this program and the skills they have learned have impacted their careers and given them valuable opportunities.”
The Summer Institute in Conflict Resolution is a condensed version of the 12-month program offered during the school year. By offering the program in the summer, students have the opportunity to add a certificate to their degree without having to push back their graduation date. The summer session also is suitable for professionals who may work only nine or 10 months of the year or who have relaxed summer schedules.
This certificate spans two summer intersessions, with two courses per four-week term. The first half of the institute runs from June 6 through July 1 and includes the courses CNRES 531, Core Conflict Resolution; and CNRES 532, Conflict Resolution Across Cultures and Contexts. The second half, which includes the courses CNRES 533, Prevention and Intervention of Violence, and CNRES 535, Divorce and Child Custody Mediation, begins July 5 and runs through July 29. Classes will be Monday through Thursday, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending in the early afternoon, leaving plenty of time for several planned social activities that will accompany the summer institute.
The certificate can also contribute to the completion of several other programs at Kansas State University, including the leadership studies minor in the College of Education and the nonviolence certificate in the College of Arts & Sciences, McCants said. Two courses in the program can even count toward the training required to become a state-approved conflict resolution mediator.
Enrollment for the Summer Institute in Conflict Resolution will be limited and will start soon. Talk to your advisor about adding the conflict resolution certificate to your degree. To enroll in the summer institute, contact Jo Maseberg-Tomlinson, summer school coordinator, at 785-532-2570 or jam4545@k-state.edu. More information also is available at k-state.edu/summer/institutes/conflict-resolution/.