The Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Disability Studies provides the opportunity for advanced study of theory, research, policy, and practice relevant to the lives of individuals and groups with disabilities. Located within the larger discourse of human diversity, disability is analyzed as an economic, social, cultural, political, and individual phenomenon.

Disability Studies curricula are offered at the University of Maine through the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS), Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (See Research Resources page). Graduate students may obtain a specialization in Disability Studies in conjunction with several master’s degree programs across campus, or in conjunction with the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Through coursework, independent studies, or research, and in collaboration with the students’ disciplinary departments, students examine a range of issues confronting local, state, national and global communities in which people with disabilities live. The faculty involved in curriculum development represent diverse departments and academic disciplines at the University of Maine.

 

Master’s Specialization in Disability Studies

Master’s level students would enroll and successfully complete the following courses:

• DIS 500 Contemporary Disability Theory
• DIS 520 Disability:  Advanced Interaction of Human Diversity and Global Environments
• DIS 530 Disability Policy
• DIS 550 Research Seminar in Disability Studies (or a course in student’s discipline considered under collaborative guidance of interdisciplinary disability studies faculty and student’s home discipline faculty, approved by disability studies coordinator)
• DIS 570 Master’s Interdisciplinary Project in Disability Studies (or a course in student’s discipline considered under collaborative guidance of interdisciplinary disability studies faculty and student’s home discipline faculty, approved by disability studies coordinator)

Doctoral Specialization in Disability Studies

Doctoral level students would enroll in specialization courses: DIS 500, DIS 520, DIS 530, and DIS 500, which may also be taken in their departments if cross-listed. Doctoral students would complete the following:

DIS 670 Interdisciplinary Project in Disability Studies (or a course in student’s discipline considered under collaborative guidance of interdisciplinary disability studies faculty and student’s home discipline faculty, approved by disability studies coordinator).

Graduate Faculty