Regulatory Ethics Minor

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The Regulatory Ethics Minor is open to students in any degree program at USM.

This minor presents an interdisciplinary approach to understanding regulation, an enterprise that cuts across a wide array of domains ranging from health and social services, to education, business, energy, environment, and more. Thus, it can benefit a broad range of students including but not limited to those interested in pursuing a career in law. The minor provides an understanding of the sociocultural bases of the need to regulate and the relationship between regulation and ethics, as well as the psychological processes that impact policy-making and drive reactions to regulation. Students will gain an overview of the social underpinnings and structure of regulation; become familiar with where to find relevant information and how to navigate through it; and understand when to call in legal expertise. They will select a specific regulatory domain to learn about in more depth, and complete a supervised internship experience. Regulatory expertise is highly desirable in an increasingly complex world of intersecting rules and requirements.

Important: This page describes the Regulatory Ethics Minor. This minor can be completed fully online if the student does an independent study instead of the internship. Regulatory Ethics is also available as a Certificate, which is open to anyone.

** Students should complete the necessary paperwork so that the Regulatory Ethics Minor appears on their MaineStreet academic plan. **

Program Requirements

For all USM students, a total of six courses is required for the Regulatory Ethics Minor. A minimum grade of C- in each SBS course is required to earn the Regulatory Ethics minor. Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) majors must also take four additional SBS courses (in any SBS elective area) beyond the six courses listed below:

The following four courses are required:

SBS 362 - Understanding Regulation: Applying Scissors to Red Tape Credits: 3
SBS 363 - Human Factors in Regulation Credits: 3
SBS 370 - Toward a Global Ethics Credits: 3
SBS 447 - Internship Credits: 3-6
or
SBS 398 - Independent Study Credits: 3 An individualized internship experience can be coordinated through the Maine Regulatory Training and Ethics Center (MeRTEC)

In addition, two of the following elective courses must be completed (any prefix, not necessarily from the same domain):

* Please note: Asterisked courses numbered 600 through 699 are restricted to graduate students or undergraduate students who have been formally accepted into an accelerated graduate pathway, OR need permission of instructor.

Health and Human Services

ADS 300 - Ethics and Youth with Exceptionalities
EDU 659 - Special Education Law for School Leaders*
EDU 691 - Sports Law and Regulation Compliance*
LOS 316 - Diversity in Organizations Credits: 3 or
SBS 316 - Diversity in Organizations Credits: 3
MPH 425 - American Health Systems or
MPH 525 - American Health Systems
SBS 315 - Social Psychology of Disability Credits: 3
SBS 335 - Legal Issues in Health and Human Services Credits: 3
SBS 339 - Immigration, Ethnicity, and Identity Credits: 3
SBS 345 - Diversity: Many Voices Credits: 3
SED 235 - Students with Exceptionalities in General Education Credits: 3
SED 682 - Special Education Regulations, Procedures and IEP team*

Policy and planning

ESP 200 - Environmental Planning Credits: 3
LOS 322 - Leadership in the Public/Nonprofit Sectors
LOS 325 - State and Local Government
LOS 436 - Risk, Public Policy, and Society Credits: 3 or
SBS 436 - Risk, Public Policy, and Society Credits: 3
MPH 635 - Health Law and Ethics*
PSY 375 - Psychology in the Public Interest Credits: 3
SBS 430 - Applied Social and Public Policy Credits: 3
SWO 350 - Social Welfare Policy Credits: 3

Permissible Substitutions

Online training modules on subtopics in regulatory compliance are currently in development through the Cutler Institute, including Clean Tech, Food Regulations and the FDA, International Importing/Exporting, Manufacturing, Shipping, and Transportation, OSHA, and Research Regulation. Students may take any three of these modules, and then work individually with a supervisor from MeRTEC (the Maine Regulatory Training and Ethics Center) in an Independent Study to integrate across domains and deepen their understanding, to earn the equivalent of one 3-credit elective course. This is allowed for one, but not both, of the required electives.
Alternative courses may be accepted by individual approval. Any graduate course in a relevant content domain will be accepted with instructor and advisor approval.
Students whose career will focus on educational contexts may substitute EDU 310 - Education, Schooling, and Democracy for SBS 370 - Toward a Global Ethics .