College of Education

Education of Students with Exceptionalities (Ph.D.)

Program Theme: Leadership and Scholarship Focused on Learning and Development

PhD in Education of Students with Exceptionalities Handbook

Concentration Areas: Behavior Disorders; Learning Disabilities; Mental Retardation; Orthopedic Impairments; Sensory Impairments; Special Education/Early Childhood Education

The Ph.D. major in Education of Students with Exceptionalities provides graduates with the skills necessary to perform university teaching and research 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 education and general special education and with advanced skills in group and single subject research.
Evaluation of a student’s performance is continuous and involves consideration of the student’s performance in all academic settings. Failure to make progress in a timely manner or inappropriate or unprofessional conduct by a student may result in the student being withdrawn from a course or the program.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.

Program Degree Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy in Education of Students with Exceptionalities
A. Core Area (18)
The students must meet all general core area requirements.

B. Major Area (27-36)
Required (15):
EXC 8010 Advanced Study of Exceptional Students (3)
EXC 8961 Professional Development Seminar in Special Education (4)
EXC 9910 Research Seminar in Learning Disabilities (3)
EXC 9920 Research Seminar in Behavior Disorders (3)
EXC 9930 Research Seminar in Mental Retardation (3)

Select (12-21): Students complete additional semester hours of coursework depending on their background and career goals. 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.

C. Cognate (18)
Required (6):
EPY 9000 Facilitating College Teaching (3)
EXC 9660 Internship in Special Education I (3)
The remaining cognate coursework must be taken outside student’s major field of study.

D. Dissertation (9)
Required (9):
EXC 9990 Dissertation (9)

Program total: minimum of 72 semester hours