Graduate Course Schedule

Students in this course will learn about the foundations of restorative practices as an evolving field of study. They will explore the emotional, relational, and ecological theories underpinning restorative principles, and the importance of engaging with others in equity-oriented relationships. Students will develop explicit restorative practices skills for application in their own personal and professional lives.

Students may choose either RP 500 or RP 504, but may not take both, to fulfill the program requirements. 

In this experiential course, students will use and assess explicit actions modeling restorative practices in the setting of their choice. They will examine ethical and cultural issues related to implementing restorative practices with individuals and communities. Students will practice reflection as a critical competency of restorative practices. Within a professional learning community, classmates will provide reciprocal feedback to assist each other in assessing their individual progress.

Students create a synthesizing multimedia project that describes how the field of restorative practices has the potential to impact communities and relationships in a setting of their choice. Projects are developed in a highly engaging and interactive professional learning community. Faculty and students discuss research, practice, processes, and implications that support claims made within the capstone projects. This process supports students as they prepare and present their projects.

*Before taking this course, students will need to have attended the IIRP professional development experience: IIRP World Conference immediately preceding this course. 

In this course students gain credits based on participation and engagement at an IIRP world restorative practices conference. They supplement this direct experience with related readings, writing assignments and online discussions. Students actively evaluate, discuss and critique presentations using restorative practices principles. Students will complete coursework online after attending the conference.

This course is an approved elective for the Education Specialization and the Community Engagement Specialization.

Students who have completed RP 535 Restorative Responses to Adversity and Trauma may not register for RP 550 Transforming Relational Harm. 

This course explores a deeper application of restorative practices as it relates to emotion and harm. Students will use group process, emotional dynamics, compassionate witnessing and mindful practice to address a wide continuum of harm. Students will explore neuroscience and how harm impacts the brain. Through the learning process, students will begin to understand how harm, human neuroscience and emotional experiences affect relationships.

This course requires participation in weekly synchronous skill-building experiences with the instructor and a willing participant with whom to practice compassionate witnessing.

Note: People have been exposed to various levels of trauma in their lives. This course considers the use of restorative practices in cases of grief, trauma and adversity. We advise students to consider establishing an emotional support system for themselves while taking this course.

This course is an approved elective for the Community Engagement Specialization. 

Students in this course will learn about the synergy between restorative practices and the field of community health. They will explore how restorative practices can help create supportive environments that facilitate well-being by prioritizing and strengthening a sense of community, connectedness, equity, belonging, and collective efficacy. Students will learn how restorative practices can strengthen community-focused efforts by fostering meaningful and sustainable cross-sector collaborations and developing the community’s capacity to advance the well-being of its members. Individual plans will be created to use restorative practices to address the social determinants of health within a community of the student’s choice.

In this elective, students explore topics in the field of restorative practices through faculty-designed courses not regularly offered in the curriculum.

In Spring 2026, this course is for anyone who wants to bring more creativity into their life and work, including educators, scholar-practitioners, community leaders, and others. Whether or not you call yourself an artist, you already speak the language of creativity and can use that to open pathways to belonging, healing, and justice.

Together, we will examine how accessible creative practices (such as writing, movement, theatre, music, and visual arts) can transform relationships, classrooms, organizations, and communities. We’ll explore the Harlem Renaissance, the psychology of creativity, and the science of the brain. We’ll consider case studies, such as Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour, which turned stadiums into global communities, and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, which fused hip hop, storytelling, and cultural critique into a public ritual of identity and resilience.

Students will also learn by doing as they delve into individual projects that bridge artistic expression and restorative practices in an area of interest to them. No art background is required – you only need curiosity and the willingness to discover how creative expression can change you, your relationships, and your community.

This course is an approved elective for the Community Engagement Specialization. 

In this course, students will develop an understanding of social construction theory and narrative theories that empower the facilitation of decision making.  Students will learn to organize and maintain conversations with others to address their needs and enhance their potential, through enriched narrative conversations that acknowledge the individual or group.

This course requires participation in weekly synchronous skill-building experiences with the instructor and a willing individual with whom to practice six different narrative maps.

Students in this course will develop skills and competencies to work with data in restorative practices and social sciences research. Students will learn about qualitative and quantitative data analysis, data interpretation, and how to communicate data-driven results. There is an emphasis on qualitative data analysis techniques, however students also will be introduced to statistical software to perform descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. This course will prepare students to pursue an independent research project.