Special Education Ph.D. degree
The doctoral program in special education is a comprehensive program designed to prepare selected individuals to serve in leadership roles in the education of individuals with disabilities.
Purpose of the Program
The primary purpose of the doctoral program in special education is to prepare graduates for university faculty positions in special education. Program graduates sometimes choose other leadership positions in special education and related fields such as program administration, policy development and analysis, and research coordination.
Degrees in Program
Graduates of the program receive a Ph.D. in Special Education degree.
Delineation of Program Requirements:
Graduate students in the doctoral program complete coursework and other leadership training experiences in a variety of content and skill areas. Each doctoral student works with a supervisory committee comprised of faculty members from inside and outside their department to design an individualized program of study. All programs of study, however, must reflect the following minimum coursework requirements.
| Content/Skill Area | Minimum Required Hours |
| Statistics and Other Research Tools | 12 |
Departmental Core Courses
|
12 |
| Professional Content (e.g., literacy) and Supervision | 12 |
| Interdisciplinary Courses (e.g., psychology) | 12 |
| Higher Education Issues and Methods | 9 |
| Supervised Teaching | 5 |
| Supervised Research | 5 |
| Dissertation Research | 24 |
In addition to their coursework, doctoral students are also required to complete internship or service learning experiences in a variety of research sites, state agencies, and local programs serving individuals with disabilities.
Program Competency Areas
The doctoral program in Special Education prepares individuals with skills and competencies in the following areas:
- conduct scholarly research (including using online databases);
- research design;
- data analysis (including computer applications)
- application of research methods;
- summarization and interpretation of research data;
- critical analysis of professional research;
- professional supervision;
- university teaching;
- use of technology in higher education instruction;
- grant writing;
- preparation and delivery of professional presentations;
- preparation and submission of professional manuscripts;
- measurement and assessment issues;
- collaboration;
- knowledge of professional legislation;
- knowledge of disability issues; and,
- advocacy.
Financial Assistance (when available)
When funding is available, the Department may provide financial assistance to qualified full-time FSU doctoral students. In order to be eligible for this support, students must maintain their good academic standing and enroll in a minimum of 12 hours in the fall and spring semesters and 9 hours in the summer term or a total of 33 credit hours per academic year.
For more information about Special Education Ph.D. Degree, please contact:
Dr. Stephanie AlOtaiba
Phone: (850) 644-4880
E-mail: salotaib@fsu.edu