Certificate Description
An Intensive Certificate in Conflict Studies (CCS) is designed for leaders who are interested in being exposed to:
(i) scriptural and related secular principles, practice and procedures in conflict resolution and conflict transformation (including conflict mediation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) applicable at work, in business, at home and in the church;
(ii) sustainable peace-building principles and strategies that prevent unmanageable conflicts and avoidable disputes; and
(iii) institutionalization of the peace process, which is critical for mainstreaming conflict resolution, early warning, peacekeeping, peace-building and peace works generally, at local, regional, and international levels; and incorporating the multi-track spectrum that ensures the buy-in of all sectors of society in the overarching holistic peace/shalom process.
Course Outcome
Proficiency in mediation; arbitration, negotiation, and peacebuilding.
Course Descriptions
The Graduate Certificate requires a total of 12 graduate credits. The student must take the following three courses for a total of 12 credits:
Course Name | Course Description | Term Offered | Cost |
BUS 712 Organization Business Dispute Resolution | January | $2,000 | |
BUS 714 Peace Building | April | $2,000 | |
Conflict Resolution | July | $2,000 |
Certificate Details
Total cost for all three courses | $6,000 |
Prerequisite Requirements | Undergraduate degree. Modified BGU Application Process |
Time | 3 courses, 12 weeks each. Typically completed in 1 year. |
Instruction Method | Online, Zoom. |
Level of Instructor Involvement | Instructor-led weekly assignments and discussions. |
Credit | 12 Graduate Credit Hours. Continuing Education Credit. Can be applied to graduate degree programs. Interested successful candidates can also apply for the university professional certification in mediation (Certified Mediator – CertMed) and in arbitration (Certified Arbitrator – CertArb) via formal registration for the desired professional certification, followed by an application for exemption addressed to the director of certificates, citing their successful completion of these courses. |
Facilitator
Olajide Olagunju, Ph.D., FCIArb, FICMC, Anthropologist and Peace Scholar; Attorney-at-Law, Chartered Arbitrator and Mediator, is a BGU Professor of Conflict Resolution. He has practiced law, arbitration, and mediation for three decades. His broad experience with government, academia, and Fortune 500 includes the United States, United Nations, World Bank, Harvard Law School, MIT, Brandeis, Chevron Corporation, and the Government of Nigeria. His 2012 counsel as federal ministerial adviser (Labor, Law and Conflict Management) broke the logjam to the privatization of the Nigerian electricity sector, thus impacting the 250 million people across West Africa who are served by the sector. Multilingual and fluent in French and English, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Conflict Studies (JOCS) published in ten languages. He is also the President of International Mediators Association (IMA) – publishers of JOCS and Workplace Spirituality. His other publications, in 27 languages, include How to Resolve a Conflict (2020); African Art as Hegemony (2023); and Legal Theft - Making Law for Underdevelopment and Conflict (2024). His current research is in the intersection of policy, poverty, and peace.
For inquiries, please contact the Program Director.