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Applying to the Doctorate Program (Domestic Students)

 

Apply On-Line

Apply and pay application fees online at the Research and Graduate Studies Application site. If you have problems or questions regarding the on-line graduate application process, please contact Gina King, applications specialist, at the Graduate Application Processing Center at (785) 864-3176 or ginaking@ku.edu.

Application Timeline Dates

Starting Fall 2008, doctoral program applications are reviewed once a year.
The deadline for Fall 2008 admission is January 15, 2008.

Because of the procedures involved in approving applicants for admission to the doctorate graduate program, please adhere to the following deadlines.

Applications for the Fall Semester

January 15

 

You are strongly encouraged, however, to submit application packages in advance of these deadlines.

Application Process

Letter of Introduction

After you complete the on-line application, prepare a typewritten personal letter of introduction and application addressed to the Department of Special Education Chairperson incorporating, in connected narrative paragraphs, answers to all the following questions that apply to you. The letter of introduction will be reviewed by the faculty in the area to which you apply and the Admissions Committee. The letter should present a thorough and precise summary of your professional preparation, qualifications and objectives so that reviewing faculty members can become well acquainted with you. The following types of information may be included in your letter:

Preparation for Doctoral study

Academic

• What are three or four major conclusions you have drawn as a result of your master's level study about the education of students with disabilities?
• What were the settings, age ranges, severity and types of special needs, numbers of students, and your specific responsibilities in your practicum/field experiences at the master's level?

Professional

 

• What full-time professional positions have you had with students (with and without disabilities) and their families in either a teaching or a consulting role?
• Please include a description of settings, number of students, disability conditions, specific role(s), and level of responsibility for each position.
• What did you gain from your professional position(s) that prepares you for doctoral study?

 

Related experiences

 

• If you have been involved in volunteer experiences (e.g., tutoring, active participation in professional organizations in the field of education and/or special education), please specify your role(s) and level of responsibility.
• Discuss the value of your volunteer experiences to your future career in special education.

Proposed course of Doctoral study

Do you intend to work toward the Ed.D. or the Ph.D.?

The Department of Special Education offers two doctoral degree programs. They are similar in many aspects, but each serves a different need for the special educator seeking to acquire knowledge and skills necessary for leadership positions. Both degrees require intensive and rigorous study in special education foundations, areas of emphasis, curriculum, teaching, program development, and research skills.

The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree is for experienced special educators who desire leadership positions in school districts or other agencies related to program policy management, development and evaluation. Individuals interested in preparing special education and related services personnel also may select this degree option. Students complete a sequence of courses that provide them with applied research knowledge and skills.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree emphasizes acquisition of high-level research skills necessary for the development and dissemination of new knowledge that can improve teaching and learning experiences for children, youth, and adults with disabilities. Courses and practica or internships focus on interdisciplinary studies, teacher education, and other aspects of program development. Graduates of this program are prepared to assume leadership roles in teacher education, research, program management or clinical practice.

What is your rationale for selecting this degree?

• What is your rationale for selecting an emphasis area for your doctoral study?

• What are three or four major questions about the education of learners with disabilities that advanced coursework could help you answer?

Minor areas of concentration

What are your areas of interest within special education and in related fields outside special education (e.g., research, psychology, human development, general education, speech-language/hearing)?

Research interests

Completed research

• If you completed an independent project or thesis for your master's program, what was your topic or research question and what was your rationale for selecting it?
• If you worked directly with faculty members on their research, what were your responsibilities and what did you gain from the experience?

Proposed research

• What are two research questions you have tentatively considered pursuing?

Professional goals

• For what position(s) do you expect to apply upon completion of your degree?
• What positions do you expect to hold five to ten years after receiving your degree?
• What contributions to the field of special education do you hope to make in your professional career?

This letter of application should be e-mailed as an attachment to specialeduadm@ku.edu with a note providing full contact information and a statement indicating you have completed the on-line application process. A signed, hard copy of this letter should also be mailed to Sherrie Saathoff along with official transcripts (see subsequent information).

Professional Resume

Prepare a professional resume describing past employment experiences, licensure received, educational preparation, publications and presentations, professional association memberships and other professional activities. This resume should be e-mailed as an attachment to specialeduadm@ku.edu with a note providing full contact information and a statement indicating you have completed the on-line application process. A hard copy of this resume should also be mailed to Sherrie Saathoff along with official transcripts (see subsequent information).

Official Transcripts

The Graduate Application Processing Center requires that you send official transcripts of all undergraduate and all graduate work completed to date. Please forward each as stated below:

 

Mail one set of transcripts to:

Sherrie Saathoff, University of Kansas, Department of Special Education, 521 Joseph R. Pearson Hall, 1122 W. Campus Rd., Lawrence , KS 66045 -3101

Letters of Reference

Solicit three (3) letters of reference (see “Doctorate Recommendation Form”) and have each send the reference as an attachment to an e-mail to specialeduadm@ku.edu.

Official GRE Exam Results

Mail your Official GRE exam results - (Graduate Record Exam) as stated below. (For electronic submission, the Institution Code is 6871 and the Department Code is 3705.)

Mail to:

Sherrie Saathoff, University of Kansas, Department of Special Education, 521 Joseph R. Pearson Hall, 1122 W. Campus Rd., Lawrence , KS 66045 -3101

Professional Writing Sample

Submit a sample of your professional writing. You have two options available to meet this requirement. First, you may submit a paper you have authored relating to any topic or issue regarding the education of students with disabilities or to a related topic. If you have published one or more articles in professional journals, you may select one such article to submit. All papers or articles must be in English and must represent your scholarly work. Thus, for example, you should not submit a paper or article on which there are multiple authors and for which you were involved in a secondary manner.

As a second option, you may elect to write and submit a 3-5 page (minimum) typewritten, double-spaced paper in formal academic style selecting one of the following topics (or a topic agreed upon by a faculty member in your emphasis area):

Topic 1. Identify an issue you consider important in special education today (see examples below). Review current journals and discuss opposing or multiple views of the controversy in your review of the literature. Take a position for one of the points of view and defend that position in a brief discussion of supporting details. Cite sources and prepare a reference list in accordance with a standard format described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Present at least two possible points of view on the issue.

Examples of Issues in Special Education

• Special education is defined in IDEA as specially designed instruction at no cost to the parents to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Historically, special education has been seen as a “place” where students with disabilities are served. How do these two views of ‘special' education challenge practice? Discuss the types of specially designed instruction to be provided.

• How can students with disabilities be included in educational reform efforts? What needs to occur to ensure that students with disabilities are not marginalized by such reform efforts? What measures of accountability can be used to ensure that students with disabilities are effectively served in America 's schools?
• What are effective models for preparing students to make successful transitions from secondary schools to adulthood?
• What models are effective for including preschool students with disabilities?
• Males and students of color are disproportionately represented in special education services. What contributes to these outcomes and what can be done to address these issues?
• Discipline for children with disabilities under the IDEA has been one of the more contentious issues in reauthorizing the law. Discuss the pros and cons of current federal law with regard to discipline and identify positive strategies to address problem behavior.
• The IDEA states a preference toward educating students with disabilities in typical classrooms with supplementary supports and aides. What effective practices have emerged to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms? What barriers remain?
• Despite the emphasis on active parental and student involvement in educational planning, many barriers remain to meaningful involvement by parents or students. Why is such involvement so difficult to achieve? What strategies lead to effective parent and/or student involvement?

Topic 2. Identify a practical problem which has arisen in your teaching, administrative, or consulting work in an educational setting. Discuss the scope and implications of the problem and propose a realistic solution or alternative solutions, offering reasons for each.

Examples of Practical Problems

• Involvement of families with multiple challenges (e.g., single parent, poverty) at IEP conferences.
• Development of effective inservice at the building level.
• Establishment of collaborative teaching teams.
• Modifying instruction or material to provide access to the general curriculum for a student with a disability.
• Identifying assistive technology for a student.
• Methods for inclusion of high school students with disabilities.
• Methods for inclusion of preschool students with disabilities.
• Implementation of community-based instruction.

Additional Application Information

If you have questions or concerns regarding the application process, please contact Sherrie Saathoff, Department of Special Education, Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator at ssaathoff@ku.edu or (785) 864-0556.

Please be aware that until all components of the application package (on-line application submitted and fee paid, letter of application, resume, official GRE report, all transcripts, letters of reference, professional writing sample) are received the application will not be considered by the Special Education Department Admissions Committee. Only completed application packages received by the deadlines will be considered. It is the applicant's responsibility to send all required components. If you have a question about what has or has not been received, contact Sherrie Saathoff, Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator, at ssaathoff@ku.edu or (785) 864-0556.

Review Procedure

To be eligible for consideration for regular admission to the doctoral program (regular admission means that the applicant is granted aspirant status, a designation indicating evidence of potential to complete a doctoral program) applicants must, at a minimum, score 500 or above on two of the three sections of the Graduate Record Examination (this is not a cumulative score) and have a Masters grade point average of 3.5 or above. Students who meet one of those criteria (e.g., either scores of 500 or above on two of the three sections of the Graduate Record Examination or a GPA of 3.5 or above) but not both, may be deemed eligible for provisional admission.

Provisional admission means that the applicant is granted provisional admission status, indicating that evidence of potential is required before the Department can make a clear decision to deny or approve regular admission. If granted provisional admission status, the student completes a program of study consisting of at least four regularly scheduled courses approved by a faculty advisor. Upon completion of the provisional program, the faculty advisor reviews the course grades and other performance indicators (e.g., term papers, presentations) and makes a final determination of admission status. In general, if the student has at least a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale in those four courses and provides evidence of other positive performance evaluations, the student is switched from provisional to regular status.

It is important for applicants to realize, however, that these indicators are not the sole determinants of admission to the doctoral program in the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas. Meeting the GRE and GPA minimum standards for either regular or provisional admission does not ensure a recommendation for admission. Other factors considered by the committee include strength of the letter of introduction and application, strength of the letters of recommendation, quality of writing as evidenced in the professional writing sample, quality of previous experience and background in special education or a closely related discipline, availability of an appropriate advisor in the applicant's identified area of emphasis, and the fit between the applicants professional and doctoral program goals and the purpose and mission of the KU Department of Special Education Doctoral Program.

Once a recommendation (admit/do not admit) has been made by the Department of Special Education Admission Committee, you will be notified of that recommendation by e-mail. It is critical that you provide a current, valid e-mail address. Official notification of admission to the University of Kansas will be sent to you directly from the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. If the committee has recommended admission, The Special Education Department will also include the name of your primary advisor in your e-mail, along with contact information. Careful attention to the procedural instructions above will expedite processing of the application.

Additional Important Information

Overland Park and Lawrence Campuses

Graduate courses in Special Education are held at both the Lawrence campus of the University of Kansas and at the Edwards Campus of the University of Kansas in Overland Park , Kansas. The Edwards Campus is approximately 40 miles from Lawrence . It is possible you will need to take courses at both campuses. Please check with Sherrie Saathoff or an area coordinator to determine if your classes (according to the area emphasis in which you are studying) will be at Lawrence, Edwards, or both campuses. While it is the responsibility of each student to arrange his or her own transportation to the appropriate KU campus, Johnson County’s transit service, The JO, is now offering a K-10 connector shuttle which operates between Lawrence and Overland Park. The route allows students to travel from the Main KU Campus and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence to the Edwards Campus and Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. More information on route specifics can be found at the link above.

Funding

The Department of Special Education has no permanent funding for graduate study. Graduate Research Associate positions are funded through extramural funding sources under the discretion of individual faculty members on a time-limited basis. The Admission committee does not make funding decisions. For additional information on support options, see our Financial Support page.

Research and Graduate Studies Admissions

Once a complete application package has been received, the Special Education Department Admissions Committee will review all application materials at its next scheduled meeting. The Department of Special Education does not have the authority to admit students. Admission is officially through the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. The Department of Special Education Admissions Committee will make a recommendation to the KU School of Education based on a thorough review of the degree to which applicants meet all departmental, school, and university requirements. Please note, the university and school may set minimum standards, but each department is allowed to set its own standards for admission as long as they meet the school or university minimum standards. Research and Graduate Studies makes the final decision and will send you an official letter if you are admitted.

We look forward to hearing from you!