PhD Admission Criteria

Students applying to the doctoral program in Special Education will be admitted on the basis of the following criteria.

1. Grades and Graduate Record Examination Scores - As general guidelines, applicants should have an overall grade point average of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in their undergraduate work and an overall GPA of 3.5 in their Master's work. An accumulative score of 1000 on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination is usually satisfactory. Students with scores between 800 and 1000 will be considered.
2. Previous Academic Background - Students with a master's degree in Special Education or a related discipline, as well as students with a bachelor's degree.
3. Prior Experience - At least two, and preferably three years of teaching or closely related experience with individuals with disabilities is strongly recommended. Additional experiences can be obtained during the degree program especially for those students who enter past bachelor programs.
4. References - Since this is a highly individualized program designed for self-starters, strong weight will be given to candidates who show the required creative and motivational characteristics.

Individuals meeting the above criteria and able to substantiate this in their application materials will be reviewed individually by every Special Education faculty member. The faculty will then meet as a whole and discuss and vote on each candidate for admission. Typically, Ph.D. program applicants meet with several members of the faculty. This interview is considered an important part of the admission process but may be waived in circumstances of travel distance or expense. A phone interview is an alternative. Upon admittance, progress through the program of study is regularly reviewed by the student's academic advisor. The special education faculty reviews all Ph.D. students annually.

Special education faculty reviews applications for the doctoral program twice per year for Summer and Fall admissions.  In order to receive priority consideration for funding, applications for full-time doctoral study must be received no later than January 15th.  No guarantee of funding is available after the January 15th date.  The final deadline for applicants for admission into the doctoral program of study is March 31st.

Completed applications are the sole responsibility of the applicant.  Applicants are urged to apply by the January 15th deadline for any possible funding consideration.