The Special Education doctoral program includes 45 credits in Special Education coursework, 15 credits in statistics and research design coursework, 9 credits in coursework for a cognate area outside of, but related to Special Education (e.g. educational policy, child development, social justice, etc), and approximately 21 credits in core competencies of research, grant writing, university teaching, and professional engagement.
Statistics and Research Methods Courses
- Statistics and Research Methods (minimum of 9 credits required):
- EDPS 55600 and 55700
- STAT 50100 and 50200
- EDPS 53300
- Single Subject Research (3 credits req.)
- Dept. Adv. Research Methods Course (3 credits required)
- EDPS 63000 (EDPS 53300 or equivalent as prereq.)
Core Special Education Courses
- EDPS 65000 – Critical Issues in Special Education
- EDPS 66100 – Review and Implications of Research in Special Education
- EDPS 66400 – Research Seminar in Special Education (students register for rotating topics each fall until they pass prelims)
Cognate
Such course work may be from other education programs or may include audiology and speech, language pathology, language development, instructional development, child development and family studies, psychology, etc. The Plan of Study must have at least one related area primarily outside of Special Education (in another program or Department, or combination of programs or Departments). The minimum requirement for the cognate is 9 credits.
Signature Areas
Research is an important and integral part of each doctoral student’s program at Purdue. The specific course requirements for the major emphasis will be determined by the student, the advisor, and the advisory committee, subject to approval by the Graduate School.
The Ph.D. program in Special Education offers four signature areas for students to conduct research:
- Autism and Developmental Disabilities
- Challenging Behavior Assessment and Intervention
- Disproportionality in Identification, Placement, and Discipline
- Mathematics Instruction and Learning Disabilities/Difficulties
