Department of Special Education and Disability Studies
The Department of Special Education and Disability Studies prepares 21st Century scholar-leaders who can promote the educational and social development of children and youth with disabilities from birth to adulthood and reduce their social exclusion.
Professional preparation is grounded in the following domains: (1) interdisciplinary scientific and research-based applications for developmental and educational interventions; (2) broader factors that define disability and society’s response to ‘difference,’ including historical, social, political, cultural, economic, and international; and (3) advocacy to destigmatize disease, illness, and impairment and promote full social and educational participation.
Professionals at the graduate level are prepared, through integration of theory and practice, for effective participation in the rapidly changing cultures of schools, children and youth, families, and communities.
The department offers a variety of specialized programs that equip students with the knowledge and expertise to meet a growing need for special education across the developmental spectrum, including early intervention for children with academic and social difficulties or emotional and behavioral disabilities, and the transition needs of adolescents.
Our wide array of programs offers students the chance to hone in on their specialized areas of interest within the field of special education to make a difference through their work, teaching, and research.
Department Chair
Dr. Jay Shotel, Professor of Special Education
Program Faculty
- Laurie Alderman, Visiting Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Special Education
- Michael Castleberry, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Jeanne Lousie Embich, University Research Scientist
- Maxine Freund, Associate Dean for Research and External Relations, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Jennifer Frey, Assistant Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Robert Ianacone, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Karen Ihrig, Assistant Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Carol Kochhar-Bryant, Senior Associate Dean, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Pamela Leconte, Assistant Research Professor of Special Education
- Amy Mazur, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Elisabeth Rice, Associate Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Janis Ruoff, Assistant Research Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Juliana Taymans, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
- Lynda West, Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies
Degree Programs
Doctor of Education
Master of Arts in Education
- Bilingual Special Education
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Secondary Special Education and Transition Services
- Special Education for Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilites
