Intellectual Disability Autism PhD

Intellectual Disability/Autism is one of the focus areas that may be selected by applicants to either the Ed.D. or the Ph.D. programs in the Applied Sciences of Learning and Special Education. 

The doctoral programs in Intellectual Disability/Autism are research-intensive programs designed to prepare graduates for a variety of academic and professional roles in the field of developmental disabilities. Given our programs’ strong research emphasis, all doctoral students will take rigorous statistics and research methods coursework. We practice a research-apprenticeship model of student mentorship and training. As part of this training, all doctoral students will engage in research activities as part of faculty members' research teams, where they will gain experience with all aspects of the research process: data collection in schools and/or research labs, data management, observational coding, data analysis, and manuscript preparation.  Past doctoral students have oriented their preparation towards careers as college and university professors, researchers, program directors, or curriculum and instructional evaluators.

Successful doctoral candidates will pass a doctoral certification examination in the Applied Sciences of Learning and Special Education and will complete a doctoral certification project in their area of specialization. Upon achieving official status as a doctoral candidate, students will be eligible to select a faculty committee and begin work on their doctoral dissertation research.