To earn the Certificate in Dispute Resolution, a student must both earn 15 semester hours of course work related to the development of expertise in dispute resolution and complete the non-credit externship requirement. Moritz alumnus Magistrate David S. Jump hands Moritz mediation clinic student Matt Finston a small claims case file for mediation. In reaching the required 15 credit hours each student must take either the Mediation Clinic or the Multiparty Mediation Practicum Both courses have both a classroom component and a clinical component, in which the students mediating actual disputes with feedback and analysis by the faculty. The practica are co-taught by a regular faculty member and the Langdon Fellow, with a one to eight faculty-student ratio. Each student must also earn credit in an approved dispute resolution seminar, in which the student completes a substantial and high-quality scholarly paper in the dispute resolution field. Those who hold the Certificate should be prepared to make innovative contributions to the field.
In addition to the courses identified above, the following courses are available to satisfy the Certificate requirements:
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Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Work Place
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Commercial and Labor Arbitration
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Comparative Dispute Resolution (Semester in Oxford Program)
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Dispute Resolution Processes: Theory & Practice
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Dispute System Design
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Ethics and ADR Seminar (satisfies professional responsibility requirement)
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Inter-Ethnic Conflict Resolution Seminar
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International Business Arbitrations
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International Dispute Resolution
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Issues in Arbitration
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Jurisprudence and ADR Seminar
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Labor Law, Labor Arbitration and Collective Bargaining Negotiation (2 credits county toward the Certificate)
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Law and Psychology (3 credits count toward the Certificate if certain requirements met)
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Law and Social Science
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Law of Disability Discrimination (2 credits count toward the Certificate)
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Lawyers as Leaders (1 or 3 credits count toward the Certificate)
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Legal Negotiation
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Litigation and ADR Research
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Middle East Conflict Seminar
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Negotiation and Mediation Advocacy (Fall break course)
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Special Education Advocacy (1 credit counts toward the Certificate)
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Students can also receive credit toward the Certificate for three of the up to five credit hours that can be earned for work on the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution.
Finally, each student must complete 112 hours of approved externship work in the field. Although a student may be compensated for this work externship, no academic credit will be given. The student will work with faculty and local practitioners to accumulate the required hours. There are numerous existing placements and opportunities in many areas of the law, ranging from family to commercial, in which students mediate conflicts, conduct research, help administer programs, and teach dispute resolution. Through the externship hours, students will gain experience beyond that of the required clinical course in mediation, while still under the guidance of law faculty.