MBA Alternative Dispute Resolution (online)
Course Overview
Whatever area of business and management you currently work in, this enriching part-time MBA (Alternative Dispute Resolution) programme will help you understand the challenges and opportunities facing organisations, and support you in developing realistic and well-thought-out strategies and solutions to capitalise on these. Your specialist knowledge and understanding of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) will be developed throughout the course, woven into the business disciplines that traditionally form the core of an MBA and which make it such an iconic and highly valued qualification. Our dedicated team will also support you in developing your specialism to greater depth through two dedicated ADR modules.The programme seeks to develop and enhance management competencies in order for you to excel in new areas of potential responsibility. The syllabus incorporates the development of essential business, management and life skills, including communication, leadership, advanced analysis, creativity and problem-solving techniques.
Contemporary issues, strategies, and practices are explored within each core and optional business-specialism module using live case studies and guest speakers from industry, and benefitting from the latest research study evidence, as identified from relevant management journals.
We have carefully planned this MBA to ensure that modules provide a scaffolded approach to learning, with earlier modules underpinning later ones and the contents of one module complementing another taught in the academic year.
Within some modules, you'll have the opportunity to choose the specific topic for your assessment. The professional project is completely tailored to your experience and specialism, in agreement with your supervisor.
Highlights
- We'll support you in developing a critical understanding of business organisations, their management and the complex issues they face.
- We'll focus on helping you develop a strategic understanding of risk, mitigation and dispute resolution in a worldwide context.
- Our expert team will help build your ability to appraise and evaluate the applicability of arbitration and mediation approaches to alternative dispute resolution in a range of commercial and investment settings.
- This course supports the development of your academic and professional skills, including your commitment to lifelong learning and personal development, fostering personal growth and enhancing your contribution to society at large.
- The programme has been developed in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Hume Institute for Postgraduate Studies (HUME).
Key Features
- This postgraduate course is delivered online and with an in-person Swiss residential experience. You will observe and engage with agencies of the United Nations, including participating in sessions and workshops facilitated by ADR practitioners as part of the Specialist Module. While we strongly recommend you take up this residential experience opportunity, an online alternative is available for those unable to travel to Geneva.
- We'll support you in developing the key intellectual capabilities of research, critique, synthesis, innovation and creative thinking, culminating in a professional project.
- The main aim of this course is to prepare you for progression into a career at the senior management level. Completing this postgraduate degree will develop your knowledge and skills in strategic thinking and effective leadership appropriate to the contemporary global economy.
- Studying this course allows you to develop systematic knowledge and a thorough understanding of complex contemporary, global business issues. You'll gain the capacity to consider such issues and potential solutions systematically and creatively to improve business and management practices.
Entry Requirements
- You're normally expected to have successfully completed an honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject and have appropriate work experience.
- An interview (face-to-face or via phone/online) is typically part of the application process, and a portfolio of your written work may be required.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.5 with normally no less than 6.0 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
The MBA in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) prepares graduates for senior management roles, focusing on strategic thinking and leadership skills essential for the global economy. This course integrates business disciplines with ADR specialisation, covering mediation, arbitration, and negotiation in commercial disputes.
What can I do with this qualification?
Potential careers for graduates include:
- ADR Specialist: Managing internal disputes to prevent legal actions.
- Conflict Resolution Consultant: Advising businesses on conflict resolution strategies.
- Corporate Counsel: Guiding on legal and ADR strategies to reduce risks.
- International Arbitrator: Resolving international disputes through arbitration.
- Mediator: Leading negotiation and mediation to achieve mutual agreements.
- Risk Management Advisor: Identifying and mitigating business risks.
- Senior Manager in NGOs or International Organisations: Applying ADR in non-profit and international contexts.
Alternative career options
Here are some further career options you can pursue with this qualification. Please bear in mind that some of these options may require prior experience and/or additional qualifications).
- Legal Consultant
- Human Resources Manager
- Compliance Officer
- Court Mediator
- Government Policy Analyst
- Insurance Claims Adjuster
- Educator/Trainer
- Community Mediator
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:
You should have to hand:
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Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
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Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
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Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
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Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
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Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference
Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.
Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.
If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk
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Apply online: Hume Institute of Postgraduate Studies MBA Alternative Dispute Resolution (online) - 27 January 2025
International Applicants
The University welcomes applications from international students from all over the world. We try to make the application process as simple and as fast as possible for our international applicants.
How you apply is determined by your current location and what you are choosing to study:
- Apply direct to the University. Links for the next available intakes of this course are shown below. Please click the link which will direct you to the online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this.
- Apply via one of our approved in-country referral partners. A list of our partners may be found on the International pages of this website.
- Apply via UCAS for courses starting in September only – visit www.ucas.com.
Should you have any queries please contact the International Team on +44 (0) 1204 903110 or email international@bolton.ac.uk
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Apply online: Hume Institute of Postgraduate Studies MBA Alternative Dispute Resolution (online) - 27 January 2025
Teaching & Assessment
The course aims to combine the general business disciplines that form the core of an MBA with a specialism in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). ADR provides ways of settling complaints out of court with the assistance of an impartial dispute resolution body, including mediation and arbitration, and is increasingly used within commercial disputes.
The programme is delivered online, part-time over two years. Teaching and supervision is delivered by a dedicated team of experienced and well-qualified staff drawn from the Hume Institute for Postgraduate Studies, the University of Bolton and UNITAR and draws on expertise from the both business and diplomacy domains.
One specialist module is delivered in person during the Swiss Residential Experience*, during which you'll spend a week in Geneva developing your practical experience of dispute resolution through role plays and other in-person activities. You will also observe and engage with agencies of the United Nations.
*An online alternative to the residential visit is available to those unable to travel to Geneva.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Academic Skills and Professional Practice
- The Resolution of International Disputes Through International Arbitration: Theory and Practice
- Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation and Negotiation
- Leadership and Management
- Marketing and Operations
- Strategy
- Financial Management and Decision Making
- Professional Project
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 79% Practical exams 21% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 79% Placement/study abroad 2% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 19% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
