Equity and Diversity in Special Education

Doctoral Program

The Department of Special Education offers a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree with a concentration in Equity and Diversity in Special Education (EDSE). This concentration focuses on issues pertaining to the intersections of disability, race, ethnicity, language, social class, nationality, gender, and sexuality in education and society.

You will be trained to investigate and teach about inequality as it pertains to these intersections, as well as on how to make school more equitable and socially just for students and families. You will develop foundational knowledge in the following concepts that can be applied to your work as researchers and educators: disability studies in education, intersectionality, critical race theory, multilingualism and language acquisition, disproportionality, international comparative education and social justice in education.

You will learn to synthesize and evaluate research pertaining to equity and diversity in special education. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, you will conduct research on:

social injustices at the intersections of disability, race, ethnicity, language, social class, nationality, gender, and sexuality in education and society;
how educators, families, and students can resist such injustices;
equitable teaching, policy, and practices for youth at the intersections listed above;
international and comparative special education; e) gaps in postsecondary outcomes and trends; and/or
disparities in access to educational and health services.

You will also develop skills to teach higher education courses on topics related to equity and diversity in special education.

You also will be encouraged to specialize in a disability or policy area. This program focuses on ensuring that children of diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities for special education and interventions.

About Equity and Diversity in Special Education

The Department of Special Education offers a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree with a concentration in Equity and Diversity in Special Education (EDSE). This concentration focuses on issues pertaining to the intersections of disability, race, ethnicity, language, social class, nationality, gender, and sexuality in education and society.

You will be trained to investigate and teach about inequality as it pertains to these intersections, as well as on how to make school more equitable and socially just for students and families. You will develop foundational knowledge in the following concepts that can be applied to your work as researchers and educators:

disability studies in education,
intersectionality,
critical race theory,
multilingualism and language acquisition,
disproportionality,
international comparative education, and
social justice in education.

You will learn to synthesize and evaluate research pertaining to equity and diversity in special education. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, you will conduct research on:

social injustices at the intersections of disability, race, ethnicity, language, social class, nationality, gender, and sexuality in education and society;
how educators, families, and students can resist such injustices;
equitable teaching, policy, and practices for youth at the intersections listed above;
international and comparative special education; e) gaps in postsecondary outcomes and trends; and/or
disparities in access to educational and health services.

You will also develop skills to teach higher education courses on topics related to equity and diversity in special education. You also will be encouraged to specialize in a disability or policy area. This program focuses on ensuring that children of diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities for special education and interventions.

Program Overview

The Ph.D. degree in Equity and Diversity in Special Education 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 Multicultural Special Education
SED 380 International and Comparative Special Education
SED 380 Addressing Critical Research Questions in Special Education Using National Datasets
SED 380 Diversity and Disability: Contemporary Perspective on Intersectionality and Disproportionality

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

Professional Core (18 hours)

SED 695S A & B Professional Seminar (taken over fall and spring semesters of Year 1)
SED 398T College Teaching (Year 2)
SED 380 Diversity and Disability: Continuing Perspectives; or SED 380 Diversity, Equity, and Disability
SED 696 A and B Research Mentoring (taken over two semesters)

Research Core (18-21 hours)

EDP 380C Fundamental Statistics – prerequisite as needed

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

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

Select other research courses in consultation with your Academic Advisor to be sure that you will fulfill research requirements in your concentration area.

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.