Do you want to help resolve conflict in your workplace?
The Conflict Resolution and Negotiation graduate certificate can help you better understand the sources of conflict in all organizations, learn mediation techniques to reduce differences between individuals or groups, facilitate better group processes, use negotiation techniques to resolve and reduce conflict, and understand how both nonunion and union workplaces deal with individuals who have grievances.
You can earn the certificate either with a mix of in-person and online courses or with online courses only. Our online courses are highly interactive, involve serious examination of important issues based on recent scholarship, and take place over the course of a semester. All classes include assignments designed to enhance skills and broaden perspectives.
For current Rutgers graduate students, the Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Certificate allows you to enhance your course of study with additional skills and practical knowledge. For those not already in a graduate program at the university, you can start as a non-degree student in the certificate program either fully online or with a mix of online and in-person courses. All courses count toward the Rutgers Master’s in Labor and Employment Relations (MLER) should you choose to go on to complete a graduate degree.
The Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Certificate is open to those who have already completed a bachelor’s degree. The program consists of four (4) graduate-level courses offered through the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) or other university partner programs. The Rutgers school offering each course is indicated below if it is not SMLR.
Required:
- Conflict & Conflict Resolution in the Workplace (38:578:515) – Offered Summer 2025 synchronous online and Fall 2025 asynchronous online
AND three electives selected from courses the MLER program or other Rutgers partner programs:
- Mediation Processes and Techniques (38:578:569)
- Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace (38:578:511) – Offered Fall 2025
- Group Processes & Team Dynamics (38:578:508)
- Employment Arbitration Today (38:578:575)
- Negotiation (38:578:505) – Offered Summer 2025 synchronous online and Fall 2025 in person
- Inter-Personal Conflict Resolution (38:624:516) – Offered Spring 2026 asynchronous online
- Collective Bargaining (38:578:560) – Offered Fall 2025 asynchronous online
- Persuasion and Advocacy (SC&I)
- Negotiation, Law & Policy: Managing Conflict in Public Contexts (EJBSPP)
- Negotiations (RBS)
- Other related & approved courses or independent study
How to Apply
For current Rutgers graduate students:
For application related questions and registration guidance, please contact Ann Marie Fiorella-Mullen, MLER Graduate Student Advisor.
For students not currently enrolled at Rutgers:
For more information on the certificate program and options for your academic future, contact Professor Francis Ryan, MLER Program Director.
If you wish to complete a Certificate on a fully online basis, please contact Professor Ryan before applying because special application instructions are required.
To apply to complete a certificate, on a mixed in-person and online basis, as a non-degree student, apply to Rutgers Graduate Admissions. Click here to begin an application for admission.
All students:
Once you begin your application and have questions, please contact Ann Marie Fiorella-Mullen, MLER Graduate Student Advisor.
