Mediation Certificate

Certificate Overview

Mediation is a rapidly growing field of study. An alternative to the legal system, therapy, or counseling, the facilitative mediation process empowers people to resolve conflict in a wide variety of areas including divorce/child custody, health care, workplace, and arbitration.

Colorado State University's School of Social Work has developed courses that train professionals to negotiate and resolve disputes. The program provides you with outstanding faculty and a challenging and practice-based curriculum that enhances and advances any career, including those in the field of social work.

Upon completing the certificate, you are prepared to solve disputes and manage conflict in a wide range of employment settings. You will have gained communication, negotiation, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills that are transferable to a variety of fields and will enhance and advance any career. Due to the nature of interpersonal conflicts, the skills of mediation enhance teamwork and collaboration in everyday life.

Curriculum

The graduate certificate requires 9 credits and consists of two phases of courses. Phase I is foundational and consists of the Fundamentals of Mediation course. This course provides 40 hours of foundation material recommended by many mediation organizations including the Colorado Council of Mediators. If you have already completed a 40-hour foundational mediation course, you can apply for a waiver of this requirement.

Phase II includes advanced skills courses, and you select two skills classes to earn the full certificate of completion.

Phase I — Foundation Mediation Skills (required course)

Phase II — Advanced Mediation Skills (select 6 credits)

If you have completed a 40-hour foundational mediation course, you are free to take any of the advanced mediation skills classes as stand-alone courses.

Admission to the University is not required to earn the Certificate of Completion in Mediation. You can register for any course in the certificate program as long as you meet the course prerequisites. Prior CSU coursework can be applied toward this certificate, though transfer courses are not accepted.

Check out the mediation FAQ (pdf) for answers to commonly asked questions about the program and the mediation field.