Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution

Current faculty advisors to the Dispute Resolution Concentration include:  

● Professor Patrick Chapin;  
● Professor Thomas Main;  
● Professor Lydia Nussbaum;  
● Professor Aparna Polavarapu; and  
● Professor Jeff Stempel

You can make an appointment with any of these faculty to discuss your interest in pursuing a Dispute Resolution Concentration.  Please note that meeting with a faculty member to explore this Concentration does not lock you in to completing the Concentration; we understand that plans and priorities shift throughout law school.

Upon meeting with a faculty advisor, you will be added to an email list of potential Dispute Resolution Concentration students so that you can be informed of events and opportunities. 

Credit Requirement:
Students must complete a total of 12 credit hours from the courses listed below. At least 6 credit hours must come from the list of litigation courses and at least 6 credit hours must come from the list of non-litigation courses. 
 
GPA Requirement:  
Students must achieve an average of 3.0 across the courses being used to fulfill the concentration requirement. In addition, students must achieve a minimum of 2.7 in each course being used to fulfill the concentration.

If a student obtains a lower grade in a dispute resolution course, they are not precluded from completing the concentration but must take another course in which they get at least a 2.7 to meet the concentration requirements.

The Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and the Dispute Resolution Society organize and promote a variety of events throughout the year.  These events include, for example, faculty and student lectures and presentations, workshops, CLE programs, conferences, symposia, and networking events. 

Students must attend at least four (4) events over the course of their time at Boyd in order to meet this Dispute Resolution Concentration requirement.  Qualifying events will be announced in advance.  Students are expected to track and record their attendance when they submit their Concentration applications.

The capstone project and presentation for the Dispute Resolution Concentration is an opportunity for students to synthesize all the dispute resolution knowledge and experience they have gained over the course of their J.D. studies at Boyd. Students can design a capstone project as part of a course or as an independent study. 

Students should work with their Dispute Resolution Concentration faculty advisor to identify a topic or area of interest and establish a timeline with realistic deadlines.  After identifying a topic of interest, students should draft a short (no more than 1-page) prospectus 1) describing the proposed project in as much detail as possible; 2) outlining actionable tasks; and 3) establishing deadlines, including a target semester for presenting the capstone project.

What is a Capstone Project? 
Capstone projects consist of a written work product and a presentation that conducts a critical analysis of a significant issue in dispute resolution or conflict prevention and connects theory with real-world practice.  Projects can take many forms, but must draw on the student's own, original, independent research from academic sources and insights gained through externship or other work experiences.  Students may choose to base their capstone project on a paper or other project completed for an academic course, but this is not required. 

• Written component: Students will share drafts of their capstone project with faculty advisors for feedback and should expect to make revisions before their faculty advisor will approve the project as completed.
• Oral presentation: After students have completed their written work product for their capstone, they will present their projects to faculty and fellow dispute resolution students.  These presentations will occur once a year, most likely at the end of the spring semester.