About the College
The College of Education and Human Development is the largest provider of undergraduate and
graduate professional education programs and educational policy research in Maine. The
College’s graduate programs prepare teachers and other specialists to apply research-based
knowledge, field-tested experience and the latest technology to help address the changing needs
of schools, colleges, children and families. As the home of statewide, regional and national
research and professional development programs, the College’s work is informed and innovative.
Graduate programs are designed to enrich and extend theory, practice and leadership. The
hallmark of graduate work at the College is mentoring-working closely with a faculty advisor
whose goal is to ensure that student programs meet unique needs. Small classes, led by widely
recognized faculty, encourage debate, inquiry, and discussion based on real experiences and
current issues. Flexibility is built into individual programs to allow the greatest impact in specific
areas of need. This same commitment to individual growth and inquiry is ingrained in outreach
and distance education. Faculty members travel around the state each year to teach graduate
courses and consult with cohorts of students who live too far from campus for a reasonable
commute, and offer many courses using distance formats.

Accreditation
The College’s educator preparation programs are fully accredited by the National Council for
Accreditation of Teacher Education and approved by the Maine Department of Education.

Financial Aid
A number of College of Education and Human Development graduate assistantships are
available for qualified students from the master through the doctoral levels. A decision on
financial aid is made only after a completed application for admission has been received and
approved. The College administers the Linda N. Lancaster Fund, which is designated to help
cover some professional development expenses of graduate students, such as travel to
conferences. Graduate Assistantships in various student affairs offices, based on application to
the specific office, serve a number of students especially in our programs in Higher Education
and Student Development. This catalog describes other financial aid opportunities elsewhere.

Overview of Degrees
The College offers a variety of graduate programs leading to the Master of Education, Master of
Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Science, the Education Specialist, Doctor of
Education, and Doctor of Philosophy. The Doctor of Education and Doctor of Philosophy
degrees require a dissertation. The Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees require a thesis;
the Education Specialist, Master of Education, and Master of Arts in Teaching are non-thesis
programs. A number of specialty areas or concentrations are available for each degree program.
Graduate students, in consultation with their advisors, plan their programs based on Graduate
School and College requirements, certification guidelines, professional association
recommendations, and individual goals. More information about specific graduate programs is
available on the College of Education and Human Development website
https://umaine.edu/edhd/graduate/

Master of Education
The Master of Education (M.Ed.) is intended to enhance the preparation of educational
professionals in specialty areas. The degree is granted on completion of a planned program of
study that includes a minimum of 33-36 semester hours, depending on the discipline. Those
semester hours may include up to 6 hours of approved transfer coursework from a fully
accredited college or university which would be acceptable at that institution in partial
fulfillment of its requirements for a graduate degree, or up to 12 hours of approved transfer
coursework from the University of Maine. In lieu of a thesis, M.Ed. programs require completion
of a comprehensive paper, project, portfolio, or oral examination, generally during the final
semester or year of study. The purpose of this requirement is to enable demonstration of learning
that has taken place across the program as a whole. All work for the M.Ed. program must be
completed within six years of matriculation.

Eligibility for admission to M.Ed. programs is based on completion of prerequisites for the
specific program. Some PreK-12 programs require prior teacher certification. However, an
applicant from another undergraduate program may establish eligibility by meeting essential
prerequisites. Applicants may be required to take the the Miller Analogies Test or the Graduate
Records Exam, if required by their specific program. Applicants should allow up to six weeks for
scores to be sent to the Graduate School.
 

Education Specialist
The Education Specialist (Ed. S.) provides a cohesive program of professional development
beyond the master’s level for educational specialists. A master’s degree in the Ed.S. subject
matter or related area is required for admission. The program of study is individually planned by
the student and the student’s advisor. For candidates with a master’s degree in the subject matter,
a minimum of 30 credit hours of work beyond the master’s level is required to earn the Ed.S..
Candidates without a master’s degree in the subject matter will be required to complete
additional credits beyond the program’s minimum degree requirements. Candidates must
complete a minimum of 12 semester hours in professional education coursework at the 500-
and/or 600-level at the University of Maine. All work for the Ed.S.. must be completed within
six years.
 

Master of Arts
The Master of Arts degree requires a thesis and a minimum of 30 credit hours including credit
given for the thesis. The minimum amount of credit for the thesis is 6 hours and in no case may it
exceed 15 hours. A graduate student working toward a Master of Arts degree must successfully
complete a minimum of 12 hours (exclusive of thesis) of 500- and/or 600- level coursework.
 

Master of Science
The Master of Science degree requires a thesis and a minimum of 30 credit hours including
credit given for the thesis. The minimum amount of credit for the thesis is 6 hours and in no case
may it exceed 15 hours. A graduate student working toward a Master of Science degree must
successfully complete a minimum of 12 hours (exclusive of thesis) of 500- and/or 600- level
coursework.
 

Master of Arts in Teaching
The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree is an accelerated teacher licensure program in
secondary education that leads to initial teacher certification in a designated content area and a
master’s degree. It is designed for those already holding an undergraduate degree in a relevant
content area and interested in becoming a secondary school teacher. Content areas include: Math,
Life Science, Physical Science, English, Social Studies, and World Languages.

Doctor of Education and Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in and/or concentrations within the Doctor of Philosophy in
Education (Ph.D.) are offered in the specialty areas of, Educational Leadership (Ph.D), Higher
Education (Ph.D.), Literacy (Ph.D.), Prevention and Intervention Studies (Ph.D.), and STEM
Education (Ph.D.). Standardized test scores, such as the graduate records exam, are determined
by the faculty of each program and meet other admissions requirements of the Graduate School
and the specific program. Potential candidates should contact the Program Coordinator for each
concentration or the Department Chair prior to submitting an application because some programs
are offered only to cohorts and are not open to new students every year. In addition, program
requirements, application deadlines, and admissions criteria vary by area (see program
descriptions below). Candidates wishing to be considered for Graduate School awards should
apply no later than January 15.

Graduate Faculty

Richard Ackerman, Ed.D. (Harvard, 1989). Professor, Educational Leadership. Leadership
formation, school organization, professional development.

Elizabeth J. Allan, Ph.D. (The Ohio State University, 1999). Professor, Higher Education.
Equity policy, gender and education, policy discourse analysis.
Courtney Angelosante, M.S., BCBA, (University of Southern Maine, 2011). Lecturer, Special
Education. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, School-wide climate.

A. James Artesani, Ed.D. (West Virginia University, 1992). Associate Dean of Graduate
Education, Research, and Outreach and Associate Professor, Special Education. Positive
Behavior Interventions and Supports, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and Autism
Spectrum Disorders.

Victoria Bennett-Armistead, Ph.D. (Michigan State University, 2006). Associate Professor,
Early Literacy. Language and literacy acquisition in young children; Literacy instruction in Pre-
K and kindergarten; Informational text.

Catherine Biddle, Ph.D.  (Pennsylvania State University, 2015). Associate Professor,
Educational Leadership. Rural school and community response to social and economic change.

Margo Brown, M.Ed., CAS (University of Maine, 2001). Lecturer, Human Development and
Family Relations and Coordinator, Katherine Miles Durst Child Development Learning Center.

Rebecca Buchanan, Ph.D. (University of California Santa Cruz, 2017). Assistant Professor,
Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction. Intersection of personal identity, professional
development, school reform, literacy, and language.

Ian Cameron, M.S. Lecturer, Human Development and Family Studies. Adolescence and
emerging adulthood. Adult development and aging.

Sandra Caron, Ph.D. (Syracuse, 1986). Professor, Family Relations. Human sexuality, AIDS
and families, sexuality education and curriculum development.

Theodore Coladarci, Ph.D. (Stanford, 1980). Professor Emeritus, Educational Psychology.
Statistics, research methodology.

Julie DellaMattera, Ed.D. (University of Maine, 2006). Associate Professor, Early Childhood
Education. Leadership in early education and policies affecting early education teachers.

Justin Dimmel, Ph.D. (University of Michigan, 2015). Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Education and Instructional Technology. Communication practices in mathematics education;
virtual reality in mathematics education.

Janet Fairman, Ph.D. (Rutgers, 1999), Associate Professor, Public policy, school reform, and
assessment.

Sara Flanagan, Ph.D. (Purdue University, 2012). Assistant Professor, Special Education.
Literacy and secondary students with and without high incidence disabilities, with a specific
focus on written expression.

Maria Frankland, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 2020). Lecturer, Educational Leadership.

Kathleen Gillon, Ph.D. (Iowa State University, 2015). Assistant Professor, Higher Education.
Access and equity in higher education. Role of geography in the facilitation of college-going for
marginalized student populations.

Leah Hakkola, Ph.D. (University of Minnesota, 2015). Assistant Professor, Higher Education.
Diversity discourses in higher education; recruitment and admissions

Sarah Howorth, Ph.D., BCBA (State University of New York at Buffalo, 2015). Assistant
Professor, Special Education.

Elizabeth Hufnagel, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University, 2014). Assistant Professor,
Science Education. Emotional expressions and teaching and learning about science topics in
classrooms and other science settings. Climate change and other environmental topics.

Diane Jackson, Ed.D. (University of Maine, 2000). Lecturer, Special Education. Adapting
instruction for students with special needs, math methods in special education.

Lauren Jacobs, M.S. (University of Maine, 2017). Lecturer, Kinesiology and Physical
Education. Outdoor sport opportunities.

Jesse Kaye-Schiess, M.Ed. (University of Maine, 2016). Lecturer, Kinesiology and Physical
Education and Academic Advisor.

Richard Kent, Ph.D. (Claremont, 2002). Professor, Literacy. Portfolio pedagogy, adolescent
male underachievement in literacy, innovative middle school and high school classrooms.

Vanessa Klein, Ph.D. (Kent State University, 2015). Assistant Extension Professor, 4-H STEM
Specialist, and Assistant Professor, Education. Educational programming, leadership for applied
research focused 4-H STEM programming, environmental education, and teacher education.

Robert A. Lehnhard, Ph.D. (Ohio State, 1984). Professor, Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Exercise physiology. Cardiovascular physiology; metabolic support of exercise and growth.

Mary Ellin Logue, Ed.D. (University of Massachusetts, 1984). Associate Professor Emerita,
Early Childhood Education. Parent involvement in children’s learning and schooling, prevention
of learning and social difficulties, teacher education, and application of child development
research to practice.
Mary Mahoney-O’Neil, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 2010). Associate Dean for Academic
Services. Educational psychology; elementary school methods.

Craig Mason, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 1993). Professor,  Education and Applied
Quantitative Methods. Research methodology, developmental epidemiology, behavioral
informatics.

Jennifer McNulty, M.Ed. (University of Maine, 2010). Lecturer, Kinesiology and Physical
Education. Health methodology and curriculum development.

Ian Mette, Ph.D. (University of Missouri, 2012). Associate Professor, Educational Leadership.
School reform; instructional leadership; educational supervision.

Tammy Mills, Ph.D. (Montclair State University, 2016). Assistant Professor of Curriculum,
Assessment, and Instruction. Explore the complexities of teaching and learning and using non-
linear theoretical perspectives of teaching and learning to better understand practice.

Sidney Mitchell, Ph.D. (McGill, 2001). Associate Professor, Educational Psychology. Child
development, childhood socialization, family violence, and trauma and resilience.

Mia Morrison, M.Ed. (University of Maine, 2014). Lecturer, Instructional Technology.

William Dee Nichols, Ph.D. (Texas A&M University, 1995). Professor, Literacy Education.
Literacy; comprehension; vocabulary; fluency

Christopher Nightingale, Ed.D. (Boston University, 2009). Assistant Professor, Kinesiology
and Physical Education. Athletic training; mentoring; physical education pedagogy.

Eric A. Pandiscio, Ph.D. (University of Texas at Austin, 1994). Associate Professor, Math
Education. Secondary math education, geometric construction software.

Daniel Puhlman, Ph.D. (Florida State University, 2013). Assistant Professor, Family Studies.

Timothy Reagan, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 1982). Professor, Literacy
Education. Educational and applied linguistics, educational policy studies, educational reform,
comparative education, and philosophy of education.

Deborah L. Rooks-Ellis, Ph.D. (University of Arizona, 2009). Assistant Professor, Early
intervention, visual impairment, autism spectrum disorders, severe disabilities, inquiry-based
approaches to teaching.

Asli Sezen-Barrie, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University, 2011). Associate Professor,
Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction. Goal of improving science teacher education.

Bryan Silverman, Ph.D. (Kent State University, 2014). Lecturer, Curriculum, Assessment, and
Instruction. Education and identity, specifically how culture, in a broad understanding, operates
on identity. Ideas of rooted cosmopolitanism.

Shihfen Tu, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 1994). Professor, Education and Applied
Quantitative Methods. Cognition and perception, cognitive development, research methodology

Sherrie Weeks, Ed.S. (Liberty University). Instructor, Athletic Training. Program Director for
the University of Maine’s bachelor of science program in Athletic Training. Electrotherapy,ultrasound;
musculoskeletal anatomy; thermotherapies; functional assessments; corrective
exercise training.

Jane Wellman-Little, CAS (University of Maine, 1997). Lecturer, Teacher Education.
Developmental reading, Reading Recovery.