The academic portion of the program consists of one three-credit course entitled Intercultural Negotiation and Mediation. The course will be conducted entirely in English. There are no prerequisites.  The class is taught in a workshop setting.

There will be additional lectures, presentations and panel discussions featuring internationally renowned scholars and practitioners.  The program includes many cultural and social events.

Intercultural Negotiation and Mediation (three credits) 

This course involves a combination of workshops, role-play exercises, lectures and other presentations. Most of the course is conducted in a workshop setting with role-play exercises done in small groups of 24 students and two or three faculty members. The first week focuses on negotiation and the second week on mediation. These sessions will provide the standard training in both the theory and basic skills of negotiation and mediation. One major objective is to develop negotiation and mediation skills in cross-cultural business transactions involving participants of different nationalities and diverging expectations. Even experienced mediators in the U.S., where the use of mediation has advanced rapidly in recent years, encounter unexpected pitfalls when applying their skills in mediations between parties from different countries and cultures. Students who complete the course will qualify for mediator certification in many American states. Optional afternoon and evening sessions will focus on arbitration and other dispute resolution topics. (Professors Eidenmüller, Pitts, Schmidt, Sherman and Dr. Nelle).