StudyQA — Master: Human Development

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Description Contents Requirements

Degree overview

The master’s degree (M.S.) in human development at the University of Maine is designed to provide advanced training, with special emphasis on child development and family relations. The curriculum is designed to:

Train students in the fundamentals of professional practice in agencies serving children, adolescents, adults and families
Provide students with advanced content in one or more research areas (e.g., early childhood, human sexuality, family relationships)
Provide students with internship opportunities in human service programs or in applied research mentored by a faculty member

Careers in human development

The program is designed for those interested in leadership positions in the human development field, such as center director, program coordinator, director of services, case manager or project manager.

The M.S. degree in human development requires a minimum of 30 credit hours:

Six core courses (18 credits): Fundamentals of Human Development; Professional Practices; Program Planning and Evaluation; Legislation and Policy; Grant Development; and Research Methods
Two electives (6 credits)
Internship in human development (6 credits)

The internship entails high-quality, professional placement with an agency or work on a research project with a faculty member in human development.

Option A: HUD 601 Leadership in an Agency. This option is for students with an interest in a variety of career settings, including federal, state or local governments, and public or private agencies that directly service the needs of children, adolescents, adults or families. In addition to the formal course requirements, students complete a 300-hour internship in a public or private agency in their last semester. If currently employed in the human development field, the employer would need to add new leadership responsibilities to the position.
Option B: HUD 699 Thesis/Applied Research. This option is for students with an interest in pursuing a doctoral degree (typically in human development and family studies) or those otherwise interested in a career in research. In addition to the formal course requirements, students complete a project based on original research supervised by a faculty member. By the end of the project, students will complete a research article suitable for submission to an academic journal. Students in this option are encouraged to take one class in statistics or qualitative research design.

The curriculum is designed to:

train students in the fundamentals of professional practice in agencies serving children, adolescents, adults and families
provide students with advanced content in one or more research areas (e.g., early childhood, humansexuality, family relationships)
provide students with internship opportunities in human service programs or in applied research mentored by a faculty member

Applications are processed through the University of Maine Graduate School on a rolling basis for fall admission. It is recommended that you complete your application by June for the fall start date. However, applicants wishing to be considered for nomination for assistantships and fellowships should have a completed application on file by Jan. 15. A limited number of graduate assistantships are available on a competitive basis each year.

Applicants are evaluated on a number of criteria, including undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation and matching program interests.