Doctoral Programs
Special Education Doctorate
Program Objectives
The doctoral program in Special Education is designed for candidates who desire to continue their education as educators and scholars prepared for leadership roles in the area of special education in public or private institutions. This program develops special education experts who can design, implement, evaluate, and manage programs in a variety of public and private settings. The goals of doctoral study in this program are to develop the abilities for research and critical thinking in the field of special education, with a theoretical and practical knowledge; to develop competency in special education leadership, curriculum modification and program evaluation; to improve understanding of the needs of families as it relates to special services; to understand the role of advocacy in supporting key stakeholders; and to support and lead reform and change efforts related to teacher development in special education.
Program Requirements
- Application to and admission into the Special Education doctoral program
- Successful completion of 61 credit hours (Ed.D) or 67 credit hours (Ph.D)
- Comprehensive Examination
- Dissertation
Areas of Study
Ed.D. Course Track
| Course | Title |
| EDL 6250 | Special Education Law and Policy |
| EDL 7140 | Organizational Change |
| EDL 7120 | Research Based Decision Making |
| SPED 6375 | Supervision of Programs for Children with Disabilities |
| FPR 7011 | Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of Leadership |
| EDL 7210 | Policy Analysis |
| EDL 6310 | Schools, Families and Trends in Special Education |
| SPED 7XXX | Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis |
| EDL 7300 | Ethics for Educational Leaders |
| SPED 7XXX | Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities |
| SPED 7XXX | Current Issues and Trends in Special Education |
| GME 6300 | Introduction to Grants |
| RES 7605 | Quantitative Analysis |
| RES 7700 | Qualitative Analysis |
| SPED 7XXX | Seminar in Low Incidence Disabilities |
| SPED 7XXX | Seminar in High Incidence Disabilities |
| RES 7900 | Research Design |
| COMP 7000 | Comprehensive Examination (fee-based) |
| DISS 7010 | Dissertation |
| DISS 7020 | Dissertation |
| DISS 7030 | Dissertation |
| DISS 8000* | Dissertation Supervision (as needed, fee-based)* |
Ph.D. Course Track
| Course | Title |
| EDL 6250 | Special Education Law and Policy |
| EDL 7140 | Organizational Change/td> |
| EDL 7120 | Research Based Decision Making |
| SPED 6375 | Supervision of Programs for Children with Disabilities |
| FPR 7300 | Philosophy of Scientific Knowledge |
| EDL 7210 | Policy Analysis |
| EDL 6310 | Schools, Families and Trends in Special Education |
| SPED 7XXX | Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis |
| EDL 7300 | Ethics for Educational Leaders |
| SPED 7XXX | Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities |
| SPED 7XXX | Current Issues and Trends in Special Education |
| GME 6300 | Introduction to Grants |
| RES 7605 | Quantitative Analysis |
| RES 7700 | Qualitative Analysis |
| SPED 7XXX | Seminar in Low Incidence Disabilities |
| SPED 7XXX | Seminar in High Incidence Disabilities |
| RES 7800 | Mixed Methods Research |
| RES 7600 OR RES 7620 OR RES 7710 | Survey Research OR Advanced Topics in Statistics OR Advanced Topics in Qualitative Analysis |
| RES 7900 | Research Design |
| COMP 7000 | Comprehensive Examination (fee-based) |
| DISS 7010 | Dissertation |
| DISS 7020 | Dissertation |
| DISS 7030 | Dissertation |
| DISS 8000* | Dissertation Supervision (as needed, fee-based)* |
* Students must register for DISS 8000 repeatedly (as needed) to maintain continuous enrollment until program completion.
