Special Education: Courses
If you have questions about these requirements or descriptions, please contact your advisor, the Office of Student Services, or the program.
Complete list of specialization courses in Special Education
Course Requirements (Program course planning sheets)
Special Education: Program Study
Educational Studies the Special Education - Ph.D.
This document is designed to give prospective students a sense of what their programs of study might look like if they were to pursue a Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Michigan. You will notice that the programs of study are divided into: (1) requirements that are core to Ph.D. study in any area of educational studies, (2) requirements that are core to a Ph.D. with a focus on special education, (3) courses that would constitute a concentration within special education
Ph.D. PROGRAM CORE REQUIREMENTS: The following courses are required of all doctoral students in Educational Studies, which is the unit in which Special Education is situated within the School of Education.
Course # |
Course Title |
Units |
ED 790 |
Fundamental Issues in Educational Studies |
4 |
ED 792 |
Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods |
3 |
ED 793 |
Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods |
3 |
ED 708 |
Foundations of Teaching and Learning |
3 |
ED 898 |
Professional Development Seminar |
2 |
In addition to these core requirements, all doctoral students are required to take 12 hours of cognate classes (typically four classes). Cognates refer to classes that are outside of the School of Education. The purpose of cognate classes is to ensure that doctoral students have the opportunity to engage in cross-disciplinary study. These cognate courses are selected in consultation with your advisor.
SPECIAL EDUCATION CORE REQUIREMENTS: The following courses are required of all doctoral students pursuing the Ph.D. in Special Education.
Course # |
Course Title |
Units |
ED 525 |
Language Development: Home and School Contexts |
3 |
ED 736 |
Atypical Cognitive and Social Development |
3 |
ED 739 |
Developmental Variations in Reading Acquisition |
3 |
ED 738 |
Instructional Interventions for Atypical Learners: Theory and Research |
3 |
In recognition of the range of foci and career possibilities within Special Education, and, given the resources available at the University of Michigan, Ph.D. students in Special Education are encouraged to craft their own areas of concentration within Special Education. The coursework associated with each area of concentration is to be complemented by research, teaching, and/or clinical experiences that would extend and complement the learning that occurs through coursework.
Sample areas of concentration and recommended courses for each follow. This is not an exhaustive set, but rather an illustrative one. To provide prospective students a sense of the faculty with whom they would be studying, the faculty typically associated with each course are identified
Early Reading
Literacy Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Primary/Elementary (E. Sulzby)
Early Childhood Education: Policy Issues (Susan Neuman)
Reading and Writing Development of Young Children (Elizabeth Sulzby)
A course with Fred Morrison
Special education and Multicultural, multilingual learners
Education and Cultural/Multicultural Studies; Reconstructing urban schooling
(Carla O’Connor)
Literacy and Diversity (Jay Lemke)
The achievement gap (Tabby Chavous)
Content Area Learning and Atypical Learners
Learning technologies across the content areas (Barry Fishman)
School curriculum (Stu Rankin)
The challenges of academic language (Mary Schleppegrell)
Non-Course Work Requirements
In addition to coursework, there are milestone experiences for which students enroll for credits; these include preparation for and completion of preliminary examinations, and completion of the dissertation.
The School of Education offers Special Education degrees at Doctoral level. At present, we are not admitting students to the M.A. degree option in Special Education. Please contact the program for further information.
What else would you like to learn about the Doctoral program?
I would like to see a list of faculty and their research interests.
What kind of work can I do in this program.
I have questions about the Doctoral program which still need answering.
I would like to talk to a Doctoral student about the program.
I would like to see a list of recent graduates.
