The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) is now offering a 3- course asynchronous online Graduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies http://ccids.umaine.edu/interedu/graduate-certificate/. The three online Graduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies provides individuals from a variety of disciplines and professional backgrounds specialized knowledge in disability theory, policy, and research. This program can lead to valuable knowledge and credentials for those currently working or desiring to work with disability as an element of human diversity such as the design of accessible environments and products, disability and human rights policy, or fashion for those who navigate using wheeled mobility.

The program is open to students who have obtained a baccalaureate degree, including those who seek only the certificate; students who want to study in one or more of the courses without seeking the certificate; and students currently matriculated in masters and doctoral programs.

 

DIS 500: Contemporary Disability Theory (3 credits).

Critically examines historical and contemporary context of disability and analyzes

the emergence of disability as a contemporary category of human diversity.

Identification and analysis of the political, social, economic, intellectual, and

technological trends relevant to disability rights. Analyzes universal principles as

the next paradigmatic framework for the promotion of socially just community

responses to diversity and difference. 

DIS 520: Disability: Advanced Interaction of Human Diversity and Global Environments (3 credits).

Examination and analysis of the service, support, and community contexts in

which people with disabilities live, work, and participate. Distinction between and

analysis of the concepts of accommodation and universal design/access. Critical

examination of service and community responses to diversity and difference.

Collaborative leadership strategies to improve inclusion and social justice for all

people including those with disabilities.

DIS 530: Disability Policy (3 credits).

Analyze the historical context of current disability policy. Critically examine the

major federal legislative policies that guide disability responses. Apply, compare,

and contrast multiple models of policy analysis to the examination of policy and

identification of needed policy change and policy advocacy.