Conflict Analysis and Resolution, PhD

Contact Info

Conflict Analysis and Resolution Graduate Programs
3434 Washington Blvd, Suite 5000
Arlington, VA 22201
703-993-1300
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S-CAR's renowned PhD program provides you an opportunity to become a professional scholar practitioner. You will apply the cutting edge theory, research and practice learned in your classes to local and global issues. At S-CAR, we encourage you to teach and publish, establishing yourself as a key voice in your area of specialization. Leverage the PhD program and your networks of colleagues as you establish an academic career path for yourself or build your own business or career by developing your skills and applying them in a multitude of careers as a holistic analyst and conflict resolution practitioner. Utilize S-CAR to network with current and future leaders in the field among your faculty, classmates, and beyond, to establish a stronger more peaceful world.

Find degree requirements in the university catalog.

Program Requirements

Please see the University Catalog for complete program requirements and policies, and discuss all program plans with an academic advisor.  Certain courses may fulfill multiple requirements across the Mason Core general education program, the college or school, and/or the specific program.

Admission Requirements

A master's or equivalent degree is required for admission to the PhD program.  In addition to meeting all admission requirements for graduate study, applicants must submit:

  • All undergraduate and graduate transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation, one of which should be from a faculty member in the applicant's undergraduate or graduate major field
  • A 750 to 1,000 word essay on goals and reasons for seeking admission to the program
  • A written sample of work that shows the applicant's potential for completing dissertation research in a doctoral program
  • A resume or curriculum vitae. 

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or other standardized test scores are not required but may be submitted.  The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of international students. 

For more information, see the Admission of International Students section in the Admission section of this catalog.  Although students may enroll on a full- or part-time basis, entry into the program is in the fall semester only.

Transfer of Non-Degree Credit A maximum of 12 credits of S-CAR graduate courses taken at George Mason as a non-degree graduate student, or as part of S-CAR's graduate certificate program may be transferred into the PhD program.  How credit will be counted will be determined in consultation with the student's advisor and the Doctoral Program Director. A maximum of 6 credits of non-S-CAR courses taken as non-degree credit can be counted toward the PhD program.  Courses counted toward another degree cannot be transferred.

Adding a S-CAR Certificate Program Students may elect to complete a S-CAR graduate certificate in addition to the PhD program. Graduate certificates are opportunities for students to further tailor their academic program and specialize in a specific area of Conflict Resolution practice.  Certain graduate certificate courses can be used to fulfill PhD program requirements.  Students should consult with the Certificate Program Director and Doctoral Program Director for policies on counting certificate courses toward the PhD degree.

Degree Requirements

The PhD in conflict analysis and resolution requires completion of 72 credits.

Since a master's degree or equivalent is required for admission, students will automatically receive a 15 credit reduction of the number of credits required.

Students may have the required number of credits reduced by up to 15 additional credits based on relevant previous coursework. The actual number of applied credits is determined in consultation with the student's advisor and the program director after a review of courses taken, subsequent to a student's admission to the program.

Students must satisfactorily complete their coursework, comprehensive paper, advance to candidacy, and complete the dissertation within 9 years of admission to the program.  Students are expected to have advanced to candidacy within 6 years of admission to the program.

All doctoral students should meet with their faculty advisor before starting classes to develop a plan of study. This plan should show the sequence of courses anticipated. It should be based on a discussion between the student and the advisor about the student's interest and goals. The plan should ensure that the student completes coursework efficiently and is able to build toward candidacy. The student and the advisor should then meet at least once each semester thereafter to review and amend the plan. The Program Director should receive a copy of each new or revised plan of study.

Foreign Language Requirement At the point of application to fulfill the comprehensive paper, students will indicate to the Director of the Doctoral Program the membership of their dissertation committee.  This committee will determine, based on the scope and nature of the student's research, the specific language requirement a student must meet.  This will be conveyed to the Director of the Doctoral Program.  This language requirement must be completed prior to graduation.

Doctoral Course Work (45 credits)

Two courses are required for all students.  Students take 15 credits of foundation coursework in the areas of theory, research and practice.  Students also take 9 credits of specialization courses approved by the Program Director. Elective courses will allow students to complete the course work credit requirement.

Two required courses (6 credits)

Foundation courses (15 credits)

Students complete 15 credits of foundation courses distributed as follows:

Theoretical foundations

Choose two courses (6 credits) from the following:

Research foundations

Choose two courses (6 credits) from the following:

Practice foundations

Choose one course (3 credits) from the following:

Specialization courses (9 credits)

Students will take three courses (9 credits) of specialization courses evenly distributed across the areas of theory, research, and practice. The Doctoral Program Director must approve courses.

Elective Courses (15 credits)

Electives are any 500-, 600-, and 700-level CONF courses that are not required. With the advisor’s approval, each student may include a maximum of 6 credits of electives from outside the S-CAR Program, including courses in other Mason departments, consortium courses, and transfer courses from other universities. The intent is to allow students to have maximum flexibility in selecting courses to build skills and knowledge needed in dissertation work.  CONF 897 - Directed Reading may be taken to meet the requirement. Only two directed readings classes (6 credits) can be applied toward doctoral elective requirements.

Comprehensive Paper Students are eligible to complete the comprehensive paper when they have completed all the requirements of course work in the doctoral program with the exception of CONF 998 and 999 and the language requirement. A student is advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the comprehensive paper. Papers can be submitted for evaluation twice each year, once in the winter and once in the summer. Students who do not pass initially should form a plan of study with the chair of their dissertation committee and the Director of the Doctoral Program that will prepare them to resubmit. The comprehensive paper may be resubmitted two times for a total of three attempts.  After three unsuccessful attempts, the student should consult with the Doctoral and Master's Directors about the possibility of transferring to the MS program.

Advancement to Candidacy Upon successfully completing course work (except dissertation) listed on the Plan of Study and passing the comprehensive paper, students will be advanced to candidacy and will be personally notified of this by the Dean of S-CAR.  Students are expected to advance to candidacy within 6 years of admission to the program. Students have a total of 9 years from admission to complete all course requirements, including the dissertation.

Dissertation Research (12 credits)

Students are required to complete 12 combined credits of CONF 998 (Doctoral Dissertation Proposal) and CONF 999 (Doctoral Dissertation Research), including at least 3 credits of CONF 999.  Students must have a signed dissertation proposal in order to register for CONF 999.

  • CONF 998 - Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Credits: 1-6
    • (All CONF 998 courses are graded In Progress until completion of the proposal. At that time, a grade of Satisfactory is issued.)
  • CONF 999 - Doctoral Dissertation Research Credits: 1-12
    • (All CONF 999 courses are graded In Progress until the dissertation defense is successfully complete.)
    • (All CONF 999 courses are graded In Progress until the dissertation defense is successfully completed. At that time, a grade of Satisfactory is issued.)

Dissertation Committee Students should propose a Dissertation Committee to the Director of the Doctoral Program and the Dean who then formally appoint the committee. This must be done prior to taking the comprehensive exam. The Dissertation Committee must include a chairperson from among S-CAR graduate faculty and at least two other members of the graduate faculty, one of whom must be a non-S-CAR Mason faculty member. The Dean will inform the student, committee members, and Director of the Doctoral Program when the committee has been appointed.

Dissertation Proposal After the student passes the comprehensive exam and advances to candidacy, the next job of the committee is to approve the candidate's dissertation proposal.  The proposal is the candidate's description (in some detail) of his/her dissertation project, reflecting the successful work of the comprehensive examination paper.  It will include an argument about the hypothesis/theory question being tackled and the specific methods of research to be used. It should be prepared in consultation with the chair of the committee, and must be approved by all committee members. After receiving permission from the full committee, the candidate makes an oral presentation of the dissertation proposal before the committee and the Director of the Doctoral Program that is also open to other S-CAR faculty, fellow students, and other scholars. In scheduling the defense, it is the student's responsibility to ensure that all members of the committee are available and will be present for the defense.

A signed cover page from that proposal must be filed with the Doctoral Director. Failure to complete the formation of a committee and an approved proposal by the end of the 12-month period will result in the candidate's dismissal from the doctoral program. (Candidates may appeal to the Dean a further extension of this dissertation preparation period, but such appeals will be allowed only on grounds of documented illness, family emergency, or military deployment). Candidates should consult thesis.gmu.edu/ to ensure the proposal is in the correct format and has been submitted to all the appropriate offices.

Writing the Dissertation and its Defense The chair of the dissertation committee usually takes most of the responsibility for guiding the overall project and the writing of the dissertation, although all members (and other useful persons) should be consulted as appropriate. It is the committee's responsibility to ensure a quality piece of work. When advanced to candidacy, the Guide for Preparing Graduate Thesis, Dissertation and Projects tells exactly how to prepare an acceptable dissertation.  Please visit thesis.gmu.edu/ to ensure formatting guidelines are met and submission procedures followed.

It is essential that doctoral committee members have sufficient time to read and evaluate dissertation drafts with care prior to the dissertation defense date. The committee may require no more than one month to read the final draft and provide feedback.  It is also essential that students have sufficient time after the defense to do final revisions, editing and formatting. If the University determines the deadlines for final library submission deadline is May 1, for example, the defense must take place prior to April 1 and the full draft dissertation must be delivered to the full committee before March 1.

The dissertation is to be orally defended in public, minimally with the entire committee present.  The S-CAR faculty and students must receive public notice of the defense at least two weeks prior.  Students are welcome to invite family and friends.  The University may also send a representative. The public defense helps ensure that the University's standards are met, and offers an opportunity to learn from the students' research. After a successful defense, the cover page is signed by the members of the Dissertation Committee, PhD Program Director and Dean; and the dissertation is filed with the University. An additional signed copy should be delivered to the S-CAR Burton Library.

Dissertations must be presented to the library in the proper format or they will not be accepted. Please visit the University Dissertation & Thesis Services web site at thesis.gmu.edu/ for dissertation formatting requirements and submission deadlines. Mason's Dissertation and Thesis Coordinator may be reached at udts@gmu.edu or 703-993-2222.

Total: 72 credits

Opportunities

Scholarly and Academic Contributions

S-CAR PhD students leave our program prepared to contribute as scholars, teachers, and practitioners. Opportunities abound during your program for engaged research and meaningful practice.

Publish and Present

Tailor your work in your classes and the dissertation itself for publication. Undertake your research, attend or organize your own conferences and presentations and explore and discuss the discipline's latest issues.

Develop a Research Portfolio

Partner with and support faculty, your PhD colleagues and Center staff members on specific projects or long term research agendas or develop your own grants and projects with faculty, utilizing their years of experience and knowledge.

Build Your Teaching Portfolio

S-CAR provides a tiered teaching preparation for our PhD students to support the development of skilled teachers. Teaching opportunities include:

  • Serving as a discussion section leader for a small section of a faculty led course
  • Working with faculty or program directors on curriculum development
  • Instructor for a section with faculty mentoring
  • Individual teaching of a course section

Further information about teaching can be found on here, on the graduate student funding page. 

Distinguished Grants and Fellowships

George Mason and S-CAR support students as they apply for prestigious awards. Apply through the University for Fulbright, Boren, and many other grants, scholarships and fellowships. More information can be found here: http://provost.gmu.edu/graduate-fellowships/

Develop your skills

Take your education to the Field

S-CAR offers a robust assortment of opportunities to get out and do research and intervention in the field. Our travel courses take you to areas impacted by conflict in the US and globally. Active trips include to Colombia, the Balkans, Indonesia, Jordan, Israel-Palestine, N. Ireland, West Virginia and many more.

We also offer CONF 625 courses called Engaging Conflicts. These are semester long opportunities to engage around a particular issue in either research and practice. Recent courses have traveled to Malta to look at migration issues and fostered dialogue across political divides here in the U.S.

Add a S-CAR Certificate Program

Students may elect to complete a S-CAR graduate certificate in addition to the PhD program. Graduate certificates are opportunities for students to further tailor their academic program and specialize in a specific area of Conflict Resolution practice. Certain graduate certificate courses can be used to fulfill PhD program requirements. Students should consult with the Certificate Program Director and Doctoral Program Director for policies on counting certificate courses toward the PhD degree.

Networking and Career Development

Our vibrant community brings distinguished guests and speakers to campus and provides opportunities to network with professionals, both within the academic community and in other sectors. These events along with student events (dissertation defenses, research presentations, etc.) are moments to connect and forge connections for the future.

S-CAR's dedicated Career Services office is available to help with resume and CV preparation as well as job search strategies.

This information is being provided here for your planning purposes only. For official catalog information, please refer instead to the official George Mason University Catalog Website at http://catalog.gmu.edu.