Ph.D. in Special Education
“I appreciate the creative solutions that faculty commit to building community, collaboration and inclusion throughout the program.”
- Amber Brown Ruiz, Ph.D. ’21
The Ph.D. in special education is a stand-alone doctoral degree program. The program designed to prepare researchers who are ready to assume leadership positions at universities, research centers, state departments of education, or other educational and governmental institutions in the field of special education.
The program provides a solid research foundation, broad theoretical perspectives and structured opportunities to develop expertise in research, teaching and policy/service.
Grounded in core knowledge through focused coursework and an emphasis on both “learning” and “doing,” doctoral students are mentored by a group of diverse faculty members who are engaged in school-based research and dissemination. Doctoral students participate in research, teaching, and policy internships that prepares them to be leaders in special education research, personnel development, and policy implementation.
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VCU BULLETIN INFO
PROGRAM BASICS
How to apply: Graduate application
Semester of entry: Summer or fall
Application deadline: Jan. 15
Late part-time applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis
Additional materials:
Program Handbook [PDF]
VCU School of Education Graduate Assistantship Application
Faculty listing: Counseling and Special Education
Faculty areas of interest: Research areasResources and Checklists
Application Checklist - Ph.D. Programs [PDF]
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- General admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School
- Master’s degree in an appropriate discipline
- Three letters of recommendation addressing the student’s potential for graduate study in education
- Statement of intent
- Satisfactory scores on the GRE
- Transcripts of all previous college work
- A personal interview and additional writing sample (may be requested)
- Professional vitae/resume
FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFO
The VCU Holmes Scholars Program is a selective program that provides accepted doctoral students from historically underrepresented groups with resources and professional development to best position them for tenure track faculty positions in high (R2) and very high (R1) research universities. Our cross-disciplinary scholars create a network that leverages the collective and individual strengths of each member to maximize their VCU School of Education program. Learn more about how we live our values through the Holmes program!
Shadow a VCU Student: Ph.D. in Special Education
After you learn more about our program and research, email soeinfo@vcu.edu if you would like to do any of the following:
- Visit one of our required track classes
- Tour one of our Research Labs in Oliver Hall or online to see research in action
- Review the collaborative Discourse and Learning research lab page to learn more about current projects and research being done in special education
- Review Dr. Sutherland’s BEST in CLASS grant research page to see our research in action in our local communities
- Review Drs. Chen & Xu's ExSEL Lab for opportunities to conduct research on social emotional learning
- Meet one-on-one with our program coordinator
- Connect with a current Ph.D. student
Ready To Get Started?
- Patrick Mullen, Ph.D.
- Department Chair
- (804) 828-1332
- mullenpr@vcu.edu
- Yaoying Xu, Ph.D.
- Coordinator
- (804) 828-5298
- yxu2@vcu.edu
Alternate contact email for this program: SOEinfo@vcu.edu