Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Special Education Program By University of Kansas |Top Universities

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Special Education

Subject Ranking

# 201-250QS Subject Rankings

Program Duration

24 monthsProgram duration

Main Subject Area

Education and TrainingMain Subject Area

Program overview

Main Subject

Education and Training

Study Level

PHD

The mission of the doctoral program in special education is to prepare civically-committed scholars who, through rigorous and relevant research and transformational interventions, address significant educational and social problems in ways that advance education, social policy, research, care giving, and public service to enhance the quality of life of persons of all ages with (dis)abilities and their families. Program students and graduates rely on interdisciplinary theoretical knowledge and the full range of methodological approaches to engage, influence, and transform educational and social institutions and their practices to promote learning, equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. Program graduates are highly-competent, socially-committed educational researchers, leaders, and teacher educators engaged in the design, development, and/or use of educational and social interventions that result in transformational outcomes. Graduates are scholars who steward the profession, working across disciplinary boundaries to address the educational and social challenges of the 21st century. Moreover, as civic professionals, they also engage in stewardship with their communities. Our graduates are scholars who recognize that resolving the great social and education challenges we face requires a sense of collective social purpose among the professions, and that the professions' greatest responsibility is to the people most affected. The specific principles that define how students will be engaged in learning build upon the idea that doctoral education is a complex process of formation emphasizing development of scholars’ professional identity in all its dimensions, including their recognition of the role the discipline and its scholars are to play in academe and in society. Because such a professional identity requires students to play an active role in its development, the doctoral program is premised on four instructional principles: (a) problem-centered learning focusing on the formulation of significant research questions and specification of corresponding methods of inquiry; (b) apprenticeship with multiple mentors involving intentionality, collective responsibility, recognition, respect, trust, and reciprocity; (c) creating and sustaining a safe and engaging intellectual community/culture in which students feel support among themselves and in collegial relations with faculty; and (d) scholarly integration in which the teaching and research mission of the department and faculty is closely linked. Every year the doctoral program accepts a cohort of students from throughout the world. Each cohort consists of students with diverse interests and career goals. Underlying this cohort design are weekly seminars, various research and teaching experiences, and an interrelated specialization structure. Each doctoral student chooses an area of specialization and potentially a secondary area of interest as a cognate. Currently, our program has the following areas of specialization: Early Childhood Unified, Disability and Diversity in Education and Society, Instructional Design, Technology, and Innovation, Special Education Policy and Systems Studies, Strengths-Based and Inclusive Approaches to the Education of Adolescents with Extensive and Pervasive Support Needs, Evidence-based Practices: Supporting Students with Intensive Interventions Needs in Tiered Systems.

Program overview

Main Subject

Education and Training

Study Level

PHD

The mission of the doctoral program in special education is to prepare civically-committed scholars who, through rigorous and relevant research and transformational interventions, address significant educational and social problems in ways that advance education, social policy, research, care giving, and public service to enhance the quality of life of persons of all ages with (dis)abilities and their families. Program students and graduates rely on interdisciplinary theoretical knowledge and the full range of methodological approaches to engage, influence, and transform educational and social institutions and their practices to promote learning, equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. Program graduates are highly-competent, socially-committed educational researchers, leaders, and teacher educators engaged in the design, development, and/or use of educational and social interventions that result in transformational outcomes. Graduates are scholars who steward the profession, working across disciplinary boundaries to address the educational and social challenges of the 21st century. Moreover, as civic professionals, they also engage in stewardship with their communities. Our graduates are scholars who recognize that resolving the great social and education challenges we face requires a sense of collective social purpose among the professions, and that the professions' greatest responsibility is to the people most affected. The specific principles that define how students will be engaged in learning build upon the idea that doctoral education is a complex process of formation emphasizing development of scholars’ professional identity in all its dimensions, including their recognition of the role the discipline and its scholars are to play in academe and in society. Because such a professional identity requires students to play an active role in its development, the doctoral program is premised on four instructional principles: (a) problem-centered learning focusing on the formulation of significant research questions and specification of corresponding methods of inquiry; (b) apprenticeship with multiple mentors involving intentionality, collective responsibility, recognition, respect, trust, and reciprocity; (c) creating and sustaining a safe and engaging intellectual community/culture in which students feel support among themselves and in collegial relations with faculty; and (d) scholarly integration in which the teaching and research mission of the department and faculty is closely linked. Every year the doctoral program accepts a cohort of students from throughout the world. Each cohort consists of students with diverse interests and career goals. Underlying this cohort design are weekly seminars, various research and teaching experiences, and an interrelated specialization structure. Each doctoral student chooses an area of specialization and potentially a secondary area of interest as a cognate. Currently, our program has the following areas of specialization: Early Childhood Unified, Disability and Diversity in Education and Society, Instructional Design, Technology, and Innovation, Special Education Policy and Systems Studies, Strengths-Based and Inclusive Approaches to the Education of Adolescents with Extensive and Pervasive Support Needs, Evidence-based Practices: Supporting Students with Intensive Interventions Needs in Tiered Systems.

Admission requirements

Undergraduate

6+

Tuition fee and scholarships

One of the important factors when considering a master's degree is the cost of study. Luckily, there are many options available to help students fund their master's programme. Download your copy of the Scholarship Guide to find out which scholarships from around the world could be available to you, and how to apply for them.

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Where to look for scholarship opportunities

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More programs from the university

The University of Kansas is a major public comprehensive research and teaching university fully accredited by the North Central Association/Higher Learning Commission. KU offers the highest-quality academic programs (149 bachelor, 123 masters, 96 doctorate and professional degree programs, and 61 graduate certificate programs.) The academic programs are supported by 12 libraries and several museums, including art and natural history. Top national ranked graduate programs in public administration, special education, occupational therapy, speech-language-pathology, environmental policy and management, education, petroleum engineering, and physical therapy provide outstanding academic opportunities. Excellent graduate programs are available in architecture, art, business, design, education, engineering (aerospace, architectural, bioengineering, chemical, civil, computer, computer science, electrical, environmental, engineering physics, engineering and project management, mechanical, and petroleum), health professions-including audiology, dietetics and nutrition, nurse anesthesia, and respiratory care, journalism, liberal arts, law, medicine, music, nursing, pharmacy  (medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology), and social welfare. The student population is 22% minority and comes from all 50 US states and 109 countries. The university has 2,900 faculty. The Applied English Center is fully accredited by CEA. The university provides a full range of student services, on-campus apartments, Graduate Teaching and Graduate Research Assistantships and other part-time employment opportunities. There are endless opportunities at the university, tuition/fees and housing costs are reasonable, and a graduate or professional degree from the University of Kansas is valued all over the world. Over the past several years the University has built several large buildings to support integrated learning and research. The new facilities include Engineering labs - Acoustic Reverberation Suite/ Anechoic Chamber; Biomaterials, Materials Characterization, Surface Characterization, Composite Materials Labs; Biofuels Research Suite; Engine Test Cell; Multi-use Innovation Labs and Greenhouse; Lutz Fracture & Fatigue, Sustainable Building Labs. Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Physics, and Molecular Biosciences labs - low vibration area for materials and biology imaging work, fabrication clean room that will enable experiments on biomaterials and electronics, the University is home for NIH funded Center of Biotechnology.  Geology and Petroleum Engineering labs - Shared PVT and Micro Imaging facilities; Fluid Inclusion Geochemistry and Microscopy; Digital Rock Physics and Petrophysics; Geospectroscopy; Microscopy; Isotope Geochemistry; Keck-NSF Paleoenvironmental and Environmental Stable Isotope; Advanced PVT; 3D Visualization ; Biogeochemistry; Reservoir Teaching; Machine Learning; Organic Geochemistry and Paleontology; Groundwater Contaminant Remediation. Film, TV, Media fields have new state of the arts facilities with two-story sound stage, recording studio, high tech computer editing and animation lab facilities. The University of Kansas Medical Center is one of only 26 universities in the U.S. to be recognized with national designation by the National Institutes of Health for our cancer center, Alzheimer's disease center, and clinical and translational science institute. The Medical Center has a major new teaching facility for Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions fields that includes 6 simulation patient rooms - operating, labor & delivery, post-operating, anesthesia care, intensive care, med-surge, and emergency.

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