Forty-five students from diverse multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multilingual backgrounds with diverse career plans comprise ICAR's entering cohort; emphasis is placed upon academic excellence, early career achievement, and research and writing skills. ICAR's total graduate enrollment, including students at varying stages of degree completion, is about 145. Total University enrollment is 24,368.

ICAR graduates are employed in academic, governmental, and nongovernmental careers. ICAR alumni are on staff at the U.S. Institute of Peace, the U.S. Department of State, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and Voice of America; they serve in the U.S. Peace Corps, the U.N., and international relief agencies; many are in private practice or in local agencies, providing dispute resolution and mediation services; they hold faculty or administrative positions at institutions here and abroad, including the University of Virginia, American University, University of North Carolina, McMaster University, Bilkent University in Turkey, and Yerevan State University in Armenia.

George Mason University was established in 1957 as an extension center of the University of Virginia; in 1972 it was separated from the University and renamed George Mason University. The 583-acre campus, 35 minutes from metropolitan Washington, D.C., has a 10,000-seat sports arena and 2,000-seat concert hall theater.

The Community
The Institute is located two blocks from the University's main campus at 4260 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Virginia, sixteen miles (by car or metro) from Washington, D.C.

Programs of study and degree requirements
The Institute for Conflict Analysis (ICAR) is the first graduate degree program in the United States to offer the Ph.D. (since 1988) and the M.S. (since 1981) in conflict studies; it introduced courses at the undergraduate level in 1997. Both graduate degree programs reflect the mission of the Institute; to advance the understanding and resolution of significant and persistent social conflicts. An interdisciplinary and international program, ICAR draws its faculty from a wide range of professional and academic disciplines; they hold degrees in sociology, law, literature, religion, anthropology, international relations, statistics, political science, psychology, and communications. The ICAR program, encompassing a number of disciplines, specializes in the study of serious, deep-rooted social conflicts and the development of processes leading to their peaceful resolution or transformation. ICAR conducts research, third party facilitation, and conflict resolution practices locally, nationally, and internationally. The program integrates theory and methodology and prepares students for practice through ICAR's Applied Practice and Theory Program and internships in the Washington metropolitan area, in other U.S. localities, and overseas.

ICAR's master's degree requires the completion of courses in conflict theory, methods of conflict resolution, research, practice, and analytical problem solving along with laboratory-simulation courses.

The Ph.D. degree requires completion of courses in the theory and methods of conflict resolution, qualitative and quantitative research methodology, processes, and practice, with focus on a substantive area of specialization. Degree requirements include comprehensive exams, demonstrated competence in a foreign language, and the completion and defense of a doctoral dissertation reflecting the candidate's ability to conduct original interdisciplinary research.

Facilities & Resources
George Mason's Fenwick Library houses more than 600,000 volumes and electronic global access to research materials. ICAR is linked to the University's fiber-optic network; students have use of multimedia, state-of-the-art computer labs, and facilities, including a virtual reality lab. ICAR students, as members of the Washington Area Consortium of Colleges and Universities, have access to 4 million volumes and all consortium services, as well as the more than 11 million volumes and other services available at the Library of Congress.

Expenses and Aid
Tuition is $241 per credit hour for in-state students and $629 per hour for out-of-state students. The normal full-time load is 9 credit hours per semester.

Housing
Room and board costs for students living on campus are approximately $4700 per year. Most graduate students live off campus and the cost of living is comparable to other large metropolitan areas.

Financial Aid
Fellowship aid and research assistantships are available on a limited basis to qualified applicants. Most ICAR courses are offered in the afternoon and evening to allow students to coordinate work and study schedules.

How to Apply
Application deadlines are February 1 for overseas applicants and March 1 for U.S. applicants for fall entry. Applicants must meet all University requirements for admission and must submit all undergraduate and graduate level transcripts.

Who to contact
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444
Telephone: 703-993-1300
Fax: 703-993-1302
E-mail: icarinfo@gmu.edu
World Wide Web: http://www.gmu.edu/departments/ICAR

Admissions Office
George Mason University
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444
Telephone: 703-993-2400
Fax: 703-993-2392
World Wide Web: http://www.admissions.gmu.edu

The Faculty

• Sara Cobb, Director; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst. Qualitative research methods, organizational change processes, the role of narrative in ethnic conflicts and coexistence processes.
  
• Kevin Avruch, Professor of Anthropology; Ph.D., California, San Diego. Cultural and ethnic conflict, peacekeeping, Middle East regional issues.
  
• Frank O. Blechman, Clinical Faculty, Field Program Coordinator, Applied Practice and Theory Program; B.A., Virginia. Conflict resolution skills, investigation, intervention.
  
• Sandra I. Cheldelin, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution; Ed.D., Florida. Intraorganizational, public sector, and multiparty conflict.
  
• Tamra Pearson d'Estrée, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution; Ph.D., Harvard. Identity and intergroup relations; ethnic conflict; environmental and public policy; evaluation and theories of practice; group dynamics, social psychology, and communication.
  
• Daniel Druckman, Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution; Ph.D., Northwestern. Negotiations, empirical research, social/psychological perspective.
  
• Ho-Won Jeong, Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution and Coordinator, Undergraduate Program; Ph.D., Ohio State. Conflict theory and dynamics, ethnic and international conflict, global political economy.
  
• Michelle LeBaron, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution; M.A., Simon Fraser; LL.B., British Columbia. Family, intercultural conflict, spirituality and reconciliation, creativity and conflict, psychological and physical aspects of conflict resolution.
  
• Terrence Lyons, Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins. Regional dimensions of conflict, conflict management, political transitions, and peace keeping.
  
• Christopher R. Mitchell, French-Cumbie Professor of Conflict Resolution; Ph.D., London. Structure and dynamics of conflict, international conflict resolution.
  
• Richard A. Rubenstein, Professor of Conflict Resolution and Public Affairs; M.A., Oxford; J.D., Harvard. Political violence, terrorism, religious conflict, law and dispute resolution.
  
• Dennis J. D. Sandole, Professor of Conflict Resolution and International Relations; Ph.D., Strathclyde (Scotland). Generic theory and practice, ethnic conflict and resolution, post–Cold War peace and security systems.
  
• Wallace Warfield, Clinical Faculty, Practicum Coordinator, Applied Practice and Theory Program; Ph.D., George Mason. Conflict resolution and public policy, community, intercultural and organizational conflict.
  

ADJUNCT FACULTY

• Peter Black, Professor of Anthropology; Ph.D., California, San Diego.
  
• Brack Brown, Assistant Professor of Public Administration; Ph.D., Syracuse.
  
• Harold F. Gortner, Professor of Government and Politics; Ph.D., Indiana.
  
• Mark Katz, Associate Professor of Government and Politics; Ph.D., MIT.
  
• Hazel McFerson, Associate Professor of Government and Politics; Ph.D., Brandeis.
  
• John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies; Ph.D., Harvard.
  
• Joseph Scimecca, Professor of Sociology; Ph.D., NYU.
  
• John P. Soder Jr., Associate Professor of History; Ph.D., Georgetown.
  
• John Stone, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology; D.Phil., Oxford.
  
• Anita Taylor, Professor of Communication; Ph.D., Missouri.
  
• Roger Wilkins, Robinson Professor of American History and Culture; LL.B., Michigan.

DISTINGUISHED SENIOR FELLOW

• Hizkias Assefa, LL.M., Northwestern, Ph.D., Pittsburgh.
  

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