Special Education Systems

Department of Special Education

The Department of Special Education offers a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree with a concentration in Special Education Systems (SES). This concentration prepares scholars to examine how special education is shaped by — and interacts with — larger systems such as law, health care, public policy and community organizations. Students will investigate how these systems influence service access, educational outcomes and family experiences across different populations.

The program emphasizes training in range of research methods, including qualitative, quantitative and legal policy analysis. Students will develop expertise in areas such as:

Service access and delivery across education, health and social sectors
Patterns and outcomes in special education placement
Legal and policy frameworks shaping special education practice
International and comparative perspectives on special education systems

The program encourages interdisciplinary collaboration across academic fields and applied contexts. Students may pursue specialization in a specific disability area, service domain or policy topic. Graduates will be prepared to teach in higher education, conduct rigorous and policy-relevant research and contribute to the improvement of local, national and global special education systems.

Program Overview

The Ph.D. degree in Special Education Systems generally takes four years of full-time study to complete. Students develop their own individualized program of study in consultation with their academic advisor and the graduate advisor.

The program of study includes work in core areas. In addition to content and research coursework, Ph.D. students will complete a dissertation and professional activities beyond coursework. This can include supervision of student teachers, presentation at professional conferences, submitting manuscripts for publication and teaching at the undergraduate level.

Doctoral Degree Components – 54-57 hours minimum

Specialization Core: 12 hours
Professional Core: 18 hours
Research Core: 18-21 hours
Dissertation: 6 hours minimum

Specialization Core Courses (12 hours)

SED 396C Trends and Issues in Special Education Systems
SED 380 International and Comparative Special Education
SED 380 Addressing Critical Research Questions in Special Education Using National Datasets
SED 380 Disability and Society

To gain breadth of knowledge, students must take at least one course outside their concentration area or in another department.

Professional Core Courses (18 hours)

SED 695S A & B Professional Seminar (taken over the fall and spring semesters of Year 1)
SED 398T College Teaching (Year 2)
SED 380 Disability and Society
SED 696 A and B Research Mentoring (taken over two semesters)

Research Core Courses (18-21 hours)

EDP 380C Fundamental Statistics – prerequisite as needed

Additional coursework must include at least two of the following three courses:

Qualitative Research Design and Data Analysis
Quantitative Research Design and Data Analysis
Single-Subject Research Design

Coursework must include:

SED 395D Grant Writing in Education

Additional research courses selected in consultation with the academic advisor to ensure the concentration area’s research requirements are fulfilled.

Dissertation (6 hours minimum)

All doctoral students are required to complete a dissertation. This includes conducting original research with direction from a dissertation supervisor. The dissertation will be submitted and defended to a dissertation committee consisting of faculty in the field of study.