Dispute Resolution

Types of Degrees Dispute Resolution Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dispute resolution graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	313
Graduate Certificate	145
Doctor’s Degree	13

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?

People with a dispute resolution degree often go into the following careers:

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 68% 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	14
Black or African American	47
Hispanic or Latino	28
White	114
International Students	71
Other Races/Ethnicities	39

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Dispute Resolution, too. About 22.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Dispute Resolution

Some degrees associated with dispute resolution may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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

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	5
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	15	4
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	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.