Program Theme: Leadership and Scholarship Focused on Learning and Development
PhD in Education of Students with Exceptionalities Handbook
Concentration Areas: Autism Spectrum Disorders; Behavior Disorders; Communication Disorders; Early Childhood Special Education; Learning Disabilities; Intellectual Disabilities; Orthopedic Impairments; Deaf/Hard of Hearing
The Ph.D. major in Education of Students with Exceptionalities provides graduates with the skills necessary to succeed in university positions as they perform the roles of teaching, research, and grant writing; and/or to provide a high level of competence for leadership in a variety of community, state, or national service agencies. The program is designed to educate future special education leaders in greater knowledge, understanding, and expertise in one area of concentration in special education, while at the same time making sure that they are fully equipped with a broad knowledge of general special education and with advanced skills in research and design methods.
Evaluation of a student's performance is continuous and involves consideration of the student's performance in all academic settings. Students who fail to make progress in a timely manner or who demonstrate inappropriate or unprofessional conduct may be withdrawn from a course or the program. If such removal from a course is necessary, the student will receive the grade of "F" and may be judged ineligible to reenroll in the course.
Students complete coursework depending on their background and concentration. These could be special education (EXC) courses or any university courses that support the major area of study and are approved by the student’s Doctoral Advisory Committee.
Program Degree Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy in Education of Students with Exceptionalities
A. Core Area (18)
The Core Area consists of 15 semester hours of research coursework and 3 semester hours of Social Foundation of Education and Psychology of Learning coursework.
Research Core (15 hours)
Choose one course (3):
EPRS 8500 Qualitative/Interpretive Research in Education (3)
EPRS 8530 Quantitative Methods and Analysis in Education (3)
Required (12):
A two course sequence (6 hours) in research methodology (for specific tracks/courses: http://education.gsu.edu/main/phd_requirement.htm)
Two courses (6 hours) in advanced research methods as identified by the Doctoral Advisory Committee
Social Foundations of Education and Psychology of Learning course (3) [for specific courses: http://education.gsu.edu/main/phd_requirement.htm]
B. Major Area (19)
Required (16):
EXC 8961 Professional Development Seminar in Special Education (4)
EXC 8980 Professional Investigation and Writing in Special Education (3)
EXC 9900 Research Seminar in Special Education (3)
EXC 9981 Grant Proposal Writing in Special Education (3)
EXC 9985 Ethics and the Advancement of Research (3)
Select (3): Course will be selected and approved by the student’s Doctoral Advisory Committee.
C. University Teaching Cognate (6)
Required (6):
EPY 9000 Facilitating College Teaching (3)
EXC 9660 Internship in Special Education I (3)
D. Dissertation (15)
Required (15):
EXC 9990 Dissertation (15)
Program total: minimum of 58 semester hours