Overview
NSU Prepares Committed Professionals to Help People Live Better Lives, Improve Relationships, and Find Fulfillment
Nova Southeastern University is a private, coeducational research university located on three Florida campuses. It is the largest independent institution of higher education in the southeastern U.S., and the sixth-largest non-profit independent university in the nation. Nova has Educational Service Centers (Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach) and also offers courses online in a sophisticated distance-learning program. NSU has produced over 110,000 alumni since its founding in 1964.
NSU's 18 colleges and schools offer in excess of 175 programs of study with more than 250 majors, and award professional degrees in law, business, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, nursing, and the field of psychological studies.
Graduate student applicants are required to present evidence of scholastic ability, serious interest in psychology and counseling, personal stability, and strong, responsible character. Minimum requirements include a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution. Students may seek admission to main campus programs for fall, winter, or summer sessions. Studies undertaken in NSU's "field-based clusters" start on various dates, with flexible schedules.
NSU Offers M.S. Degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution to Help Students Reduce Public and Private Problems Globally
The M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution has been developed to train effective, reflective professionals in ways to conceive, design, and evaluate a range of conflict resolution approaches. The M.S. program emphasizes pragmatic means of solving those problems that are found in all human social relations, including the innate and inborn human weaknesses that contribute to conflicts that are large and small, personal and national.
Students investigate a wide range of techniques, tactics, and strategies to help individuals and groups achieve nonviolent, non-litigious resolutions for conflicts that arise in various personal, professional, bureaucratic, organizational, territorial, cultural, and social environments.
The M.S. program includes a 15-course (45 credits) sequence covering conflict resolution theory, practice skills, field placement, research design, and program evaluation. Students may elect to complete a general course of studies or pursue a concentration in conflict and crisis management, culture and ethnic conflict, health care conflict resolution, international peace and conflict, and organizational and school conflict. Students opting for a concentration must take 6 additional credits beyond the standard degree requirements.
The M.S. program is offered both on campus and in an online format, and the program uses the latter, flexible format to help mid-career working adults, and others unable to attend on-campus classes, to study conflict resolution in a rigorous and structured fashion. Students enrolled in the online program participate in Residential Institutes on the Fort Lauderdale campus twice per year in addition to the required Web-based courses.
Doctoral Program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution Advances the Practice of the Specialty by Creating New Leaders
The Ph.D. program in conflict analysis and resolution trains students in the skills and techniques of policy and program development, historical critique, interdisciplinary research, cultural analysis, and the theoretical foundations of the field. The specific mission of the Ph.D. program is to advance the study and practice of conflict analysis and resolution by mentoring practitioners trained in theory and practice, as well as training them in research, teaching, and enlightened leadership.
Students pursue in-depth studies of conflict resolution and refer to a variety of theoretical perspectives. They benefit as well from the knowledge of an experienced, interdisciplinary faculty.
The 82-credit-hour Ph.D. degree program prepares graduate students for careers as college and university educators, researchers, advanced practitioners, theoreticians, consultants, program evaluators, and organization administrators.
Like the M.S. program, the Ph.D. program is offered in both on-campus and online formats, allowing flexibility for working professionals. Students enrolled in this online program -- the only online Ph.D. program in the fields of peacemaking and conflict resolution -- participate in Residential Institutes on the Fort Lauderdale campus twice each year, as well as take all assigned Web-based courses.
Marriage and Family Therapy Doctoral Program Is Yet Another Way in Which Nova Offers Help to the World at Large
The doctorate in marriage and family therapy (DMFT) program is committed, like all of NSU's programs, to academic and clinical innovation and excellence. The aim is to prepare students to be leaders in offering therapy, consultation, and high-quality clinical services to the community. Applying a systemic perspective to both instruction and clinical supervision, the program focuses on the relational strengths and resources of students and clients.
The goals of the DMFT program are to reflect the diversity of Nova's surrounding communities, while demonstrating integrity and ethical practice. The overarching aim is to collaborate with other public and private organizations in providing clinical service to the community, and this means communities as near as Ft. Lauderdale's neighborhoods or as far as Eastern Europe. Wherever there are people in need, there are graduates of NSU to be found there, working to make things better.
Students in the DMFT program will learn how to communicate at a professional level, verbally and in writing, so they can then present their clinical work in professional settings with maximum impact and clarity. They will learn how to teach, supervise, and consult, and will demonstrate skills as competent marriage and family therapists during their student tenure. This is how they will develop their abilities so that, after completion of the program, they can enter the community as productive, effective leaders in their fields.
