Graduate & Professional Studies Courses
Graduate Courses by Term
Our Graduate and Professional Studies Division offers small classes and personal advising. Our instructors have real-world experience and expertise in their academic disciplines. Master of Business Administration programs are offered with focus areas in Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity, Human Resources, and Project Management so that students may find the best fit for their personal and professional goals. Master of Science programs are offered in an online format in Criminology, Cybersecurity, and Education.
Spring II
March 16 – May 8, 2026
Registration Window: February 2, 2026 – May 1, 2026
Business Courses
MS552 Applied Analytics for Business
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Leland
This course concentrates on the application of quantitative decision-making to business problems. Emphasis will be placed on the use of model formulation and interpretation using realistic business problems that will be analyzed by a managerial perspective. Prerequisite: Undergrad statistics and understanding of computers.
HR561 Compensation and Benefits
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Nedik
This course introduces students to the planning, administration, and design of compensation programs, including legal compliance fundamentals. The course also provides a comprehensive overview of the design and administration of private-sector benefit programs.
HR562 Recruiting and Retention
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Wheaton
This course introduces students to the recruitment and selection process. Beginning with work force and job analysis, students will learn how to develop a total selection process. Students will develop selection criteria and participate in the selection process for a model organization.
MG532 Managerial Risk analysis and Decision Making
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Appunn
Managers need to understand how they personally value risk in order to recognize the potential impact their behavior may have on organizations and stakeholders. They need to be able to foster sound processes in group environments. The course will include approaches to optimize decision-making and risk analysis to solve problems in different operating environments. This is a qualitative course covering a framework for making decisions, as well as understanding how these decisions can be used to manage risk. Contemporary techniques such as TRIZ, KT, McMaster, and others are explored. Prerequisite: Graduate Standing permission of the instructor.
CR650 Organizational Policy and Change
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Marcello
This course focuses on the process of organizational planned change. Students will learn about how planned change is proposed and implemented through policy development and/or change in criminal justice agencies. They will also learn that implementation of change involves acceptance by employees, clients and the agency as a whole. They will then assess evaluative research on the effects and longevity of change.
CS550 Technology Management and Integration
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Appunn
This course is designed to provide a graduate-level introduction of corporate information systems, including investigations in the role of technology for communications, decision making, management, and planning. Students will demonstrate competency in utilizing information technologies on the managerial level and adapt technology to business scenarios and leadership decisions.
Criminology
CR610 Critical Issues in Criminology
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dyer
This course examines the current critical issues in criminology and the methods to analyze those issues in relation to the various theories that exist in the field of criminology. By their nature, the critical issues will change from time to time, depending upon the public sentiment, scientific discoveries, and technological advances. The criminological theories will be consistent with those examined in Criminological Theory Prerequisite: CR500
CR650 Organizational Policy and Change
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Marcello
This course focuses on the process of organizational planned change. Students will learn about how planned change is proposed and implemented through policy development and/or change in criminal justice agencies. They will also learn that implementation of change involves acceptance by employees, clients and the agency as a whole. They will then assess evaluative research on the effects and longevity of change.
Cybersecurity
CS550 Technology Management and Integration
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Appunn
This course is designed to provide a graduate-level introduction of corporate information systems, including investigations in the role of technology for communications, decision making, management, and planning. Students will demonstrate competency in utilizing information technologies on the managerial level and adapt technology to business scenarios and leadership decisions.
CY645 Cybersecurity Operations
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Marcello
Addresses the delivery of ongoing protection of the organization by deploying appropriate planning,
processes, and tactics. Operations integrates controls relating to events, provisioning, maintaining, changes, and updates to systems from internal and external sources. It includes the systems and processes needed to monitor, inform, respond to outages, and restore operations. Content includes related incident response, crisis management, business continuity, and disaster recovery.
Education Courses
ED530 Special Education Law
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Morin
Participants will gain an understanding of federal and Maine special education law. This course is designed and intended for teachers and special education administrators, principals, assistant superintendents and superintendents. The course includes review of current cases and trends in special education law with an opportunity for case analysis.
ED698 Capstone in Education
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Rybakova
This capstone course is designed to give students opportunities to take on the role of researcher by reflecting and applying theory to practice, a process known as action research. According to Sapp, action research is a practical experience in systematic problem solving designed to result in positive change (1994). This type of research method requires the student to identify and document the existence of a problem in his/her own setting. Based on a scholarly review of current literature, the student must then propose and implement a plan to solve or improve the problem. This results in the researcher developing a system to evaluate the effectiveness of his/her solution. All core classes must be completed, and this must be one of the last three courses. Prerequisite: ED550
ED599 Topics in Education: Neuro-Aesthetics
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dearani
This course explores how the brain responds to art and aesthetic experiences and how this knowledge can be applied to enhance learning and well-being. Students will investigate how the brain processes beauty, art, and other aesthetic stimuli, as well as grasp cognitive processes involved in aesthetic appreciation. Throughout the course, students will examine and engage in the complex interplay of sensory, emotional, and cognitive processes involving art, nature, or even everyday objects. Students will integrate the insight of neuro-aesthetics to improve their classroom environments, enhance student engagement, and promote well-being.
ED620 School Culture Transformation
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Morin
This course will guide the participant in creating an equitable success plan for their school. By incorporating core values for academic and behavioral standards the participant will create the vision, mission, and goals that align to a child-centered approach that include competencies for equity, inclusiveness, and social justice. Moreover, the course will include organizational leadership strategies that will increase teacher commitment and collaboration to the shared success plan.
Summer I
May 11 – July 3, 2026
Registration opens March 30, 2026
Business Courses
AC551 Accounting for Management Decisions
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Brown
This course analyzes the use of accounting as a managerial tool. Topics include budgeting, systems building and evaluation, inventory valuation, fixed asset valuation, and analysis and interpretation of financial reports from internal and external sources.
HR563 Labor Relations
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Wheaton
Students are exposed to the principles and techniques of collective bargaining. Topics include references to national and state statutes and cases of precedential value, preparation for bargaining, scope of the bargaining process, use of impasse procedures, unfair labor practices, and the role of the grievance procedure under a collective bargaining agreement.
MG530 Teams: Authority, Influence, and Power
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Appunn
This course builds leadership and management skills that facilitate the effective execution of objectives where stakeholders and resources come from multiple areas, locations, budgets, and organizational substructures. To facilitate the execution of projects and processes to achieve objectives, the topics include the use of persuasion, motivation, emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, and influence to ensure the delivery of resources and processes. Students will demonstrate leadership and management of teams and groups across multiple locations, structures, and multiple levels of formal authority. The control, communication, and interaction of data, information, knowledge, and learning lead to an introduction of range of associated meta-topics.
MG599 Leadership of People and Organizations
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Leland
The purpose of this course is to study leadership behavior and its effects on employee motivation and productivity.
MG695 Strategic Plan Analysis
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Cragen
This course will investigate complex business situations. The analysis will be centered on five areas: financial health, marketing effectiveness, internal environment of the organization, external environment of the organization and industry outlook. The company and industry analysis conducted will culminate in a set of recommended strategies to be presented in an executive report format. Various industry and company analytical tools will be utilized such as a PESTLE analysis, Porter’s Five forces.
Criminology Courses
CR663 Corrections in the 21st Century
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Ochs
This course focuses on the agencies and processes of the corrections system. Students will learn about community and institutional corrections. They will also learn about organizational structure and management. Current issues in corrections will be considered, as will the effects of technology on correctional agencies, personnel and offenders. Students will explore current research and methods within the fields of community-based and institutional corrections to determine their efficacy. Students will work on policy improvement initiative to inform the future of corrections stakeholders.
CR664 Security in the 21st Century
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dyer
This course examines the important issues and challenges in security today. Students will explore the history of private security and its interconnectedness with public law enforcement and private industry. Students will examine current security threats and challenges including financial, physical, or cyber-threats, in practical and theoretical terms. Based on their research and active involvement with professionals in the security industry, students will evaluate the efficacy of current and emerging practices to determine best practices for the future of security in its various forms.
Cybersecurity Courses
CY656 Cyber Integration and Assurance
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Appunn
Provides knowledge and capabilities to extend general risk postures of an organization to the cyber areas. It aligns enterprise views, policy formulation, together with legal compliance, acquisition considerations, and principles relating to integration with external parties. In addition, the course integrates technology and strategy within the cybersecurity arena with threat modeling, with all other areas of the firm, and extended information stakeholders beyond the firm’s boundaries.
IS544 Information Systems Project Management
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Backus
This course addresses the needs of technology managers and leaders to cope with complex systems that continue to evolve while under development and during deployment. Unlike traditional project management, technology projects require one to incorporate continuous change and accept scope creep. Sound processes have greater flexibility, include a stronger focus on teams, efficiency, and better communication.
Education Courses
ED571 Organizational Theory, Planning, and Change
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Dearani
This course is about understanding schools as organizations and how to change them to improve learning for all. It draws on literature about organization theory, organizational behavior, culture, change, leadership, and professional learning communities. It is designed to promote critical thinking about and planful action toward creating schools that are true learning organizations. The course begins with an overview of diverse models of organizations and moves to a focused examination of culture and its impact on organizational behavior. Frameworks for understanding organization change and resistance to change are then explored, followed by critical examination of leadership capabilities and skills necessary to lead successful school change efforts, including shared vision, inquiry-based use of data, and broad-based involvement and collaboration.
ED572 School Law for Administrators
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Blair
This course provides a working knowledge of Maine and Federal school law as it applies to major issues that have affected and continue to impact public education. Discrimination, first amendment rights, due process, and academic freedom will be addressed. Through classroom activities, conversations, weekly assignments and research of relevant case law, students will explore the theoretical underpinnings of social reform and public policy. School law students will consider their rights and responsibilities as educators, the rights of students and families, as well as the scope and limitations relating to public policy relating to public schooling in the U.S.
ED598 Screens, AI, and Youth: Implications for Education
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Rybakova
This course prepares graduate students to explore research considering the impacts of excess screen time and artificial intelligence on youth ages 0-17. Participants will come away with an understanding of the research landscape as well as implications of the scholarship on education, educational policy, and practice, as well as what they can do to alleviate some of the pain points of excessive screentime and unsupervised and unethical AI use when it comes to teaching and learning. This is a broadly applicable class for those working in the field of education.
Summer II
July 6 – August 28, 2026
Registration opens May 23, 2026
Business Courses
HR564 Training and Development
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Wheaton
A major function of human resource departments is to ensure that employees are properly trained to perform their assigned tasks. This course introduces students to the training and development process. Additionally, performance review and evaluation are discussed as part of the overall career development plan.
MG533 Innovation, Change, and Agile Projects
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: TBD
This course provides an overview of concepts and strategies used to select optimal options for change. Management and leadership skills are employed to build broad support for change, diffuse innovation, and achieve successful execution through solid project management practices. Topics include organizational culture, innovation processes, technology forecasting, organizational development, use of technology, service-oriented architecture, joint process change, reengineering, diffusion of innovations theory, social epidemic theory, learning organizations, and change implementation strategies.
MG535 Complex and Advanced Projects*
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: TBD
This course intends to build on a thorough project management foundation to include detailed insight into large projects, projects with diversified stakeholders, multi-location, and international projects. Topics including portfolio theory and information economics are designed to enhance previous learning and extend to project portfolio management and project management office functions.
* This course requires a pre-requisite.
MG610 Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Appunn
This course is designed to strengthen the students’ skills in business leadership as related to the confluence of innovation, enterprise development and entrepreneurism. This course will provide a framework for understanding organizational issues underlying creative and entrepreneurial success. Students will critically analyze leadership characteristics of entrepreneurs and investigate means of adding value to organizations. Students will develop skills leading to effective communication and management for an evolving organization, including patent management, recognition of potential funding sources, target markets, and other challenges in the entrepreneurial environment. Students will explore entrepreneurial theory and business principles in order to maximize the chances of a successful new business start-up.
MG545 Creative Decision-Making: Analytical Solution-Based Approach
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Cragen
This graduate-level course is an interactive business “think tank” designed to enhance your decision-making skills through engagement with experts and peers. Creativity is a skill that can be developed, and this course emphasizes its cultivation in the context of business problem-solving. Through an in-depth examination of decision-making theories and contemporary literature, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of creative thinking. The structured framework provided will enable you to swiftly identify issues, generate innovative ideas, and implement effective solutions. By the end of the course, you will be equipped to analyze business problems, evaluate alternatives, and propose actionable solutions.
Education Courses
ED642 Financial and Budget Management of Schools
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Moody
This course considers the key dimensions of a school’s financial manager as well as the principles and practices associated with school budgets. The generation of financial statements and the management of inflows and expenses, line items, payroll, and the appropriate management of key budget personnel are discussed. The role of the school budget in yearly planning and control is explored within the context of the leadership function of a school’s chief financial officer.
ED573 Supervision & Evaluation of Personnel
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Batchelor
This course provides an overview of supervisory practice in public schools and includes a review of Maine State Law regarding hiring and dismissal practices, just cause, contract issues, dismissal, non-renewal, progressive discipline, and compliance investigation. Additionally, we explore how leaders can promote growth in teachers and improve student achievement through formative supervision and evaluation. We will examine the foundations of a teacher supervision and evaluation system which includes emphasis on adult learning theory, classroom supervision/coaching, supervision which promotes professional growth, principles/standards for effective teacher evaluation and performance-based approaches to teacher development/school improvement.
ED516 Teaching English as a Second Language
Format: Online, Asynchronous
Instructor: Rybakova
This course acts as an introduction to concepts and teaching practices associated with teaching English as a second language across the K-12 grade span in the mainstream classroom. Concepts covered include theories and applications of best practice in working with those who are learning English as a second language, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and applied linguistics. Students will take away theoretical foundations in what works with ELLs in the classroom that can be applied to the classroom settings.
Phone Numbers
- Admissions (Undergrad): 207-859-1101
- Admissions (Grad): 207-859-1255
- Advancement: 207-859-1118
- Counseling: 207-859-1245
- Financial Aid: 207-859-1110
- Health Services: 207-859-1401
- Health Svcs. Fax: 207-859-1126
- Main Fax Number: 207-859-1114
- Registrar: 207-859-1108
- Safety & Security: 207-859-1399