Dispute Resolution

Types of Degrees Dispute Resolution Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dispute resolution graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	292
Graduate Certificate	101
Doctor’s Degree	23

What Dispute Resolution Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to dispute resolution were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Dispute Resolution Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in dispute resolution should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Dispute Resolution Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to dispute resolution:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Abilities for Dispute Resolution Majors

As you progress with your dispute resolution degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Dispute Resolution Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dispute resolution:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators	11.5%	$62,270

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Dispute Resolution?

This major is dominated by women with about 66% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dispute resolution majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	9
Black or African American	67
Hispanic or Latino	29
White	102
International Students	48
Other Races/Ethnicities	37

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Dispute Resolution, too. About 16.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Saudi Arabia
• India
• Mexico
• Nigeria

How Much Do Dispute Resolution Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in dispute resolution have a median salary of $45,832 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,813 (25th percentile) and $54,734 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to dispute resolution so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Dispute Resolution majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $70,730 to $72,760 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Dispute Resolution

Some careers associated with dispute resolution require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dispute resolution careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	10.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.3%
Some College Courses	4.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	25.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	14.9%
Master’s Degree	19.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	8.5%
Doctoral Degree	2.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.1%

Online Dispute Resolution Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 42 schools offered some type of dispute resolution program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	19	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	20	4
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Dispute Resolution Worth It?

The median salary for a dispute resolution grad is $70,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 77% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $616,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Dispute Resolution

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dispute resolution.

Major	Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	2,491
Sustainability Science	1,547
Nutrition Science	1,496
Behavioral Science	1,358
Computational Science	1,063
International Studies	918
Human Computer Interaction	822
Data Analytics	793
Museum Studies	696
Gerontology	655
Biological & Physical Science	639
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	522
Systems Theory	461
Interdisciplinary Studies	402
Data Science	373
Mathematics & Computer Science	290
Historic Preservation	266
Science, Technology & Society	198
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	176
Cultural Studies & Analysis	161
Cognitive Science	123
Marine Science	104
Natural Sciences	76
Holocaust Studies	54
Medieval Studies	46
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	28
Human Biology	18
Classical & Ancient Studies	17
Earth Systems Science	13
Maritime Studies	9
Accounting & Computer Science	8
Linguistics and Computer Science	6
Environmental Geosciences	6
Linguistics and Anthropology	2
Thanatology	0
Biopsychology	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.