Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education
Concentration in Mild/Moderate Disabilities
(UNT Graduate Catalog Listing)

This doctoral concentration focuses on the preparation of personnel to assume leadership roles in the area of mild/moderate disabilities research, education, and training. The requirements are designed to increase the capacity of graduates to provide effective leadership in the area of mild/moderate programming and policy development and to conduct valid empirical intervention research that will bridge existing research-to-practice gaps and improve outcomes for students with mild/moderate disabilities and their families.

The doctoral concentration in Mild/Moderate disabilities requires a minimum of 63 hours of coursework and research experience. A Masters Degree in Special Education or a closely related field is required for application to the PhD Candidates with Masters degrees in other fields will be required to take up to five additional courses in Special Education, with advisor's approval.

The following requirements are for students who enter the program with a related Master's degree on/after Fall of 2013. All other students in the special educatin doctoral program who are planning to graduate after Fall 2013 have the option of choosing this set of requirements (in lieu of their previous degree plans) if approved by their academic advisors.

Degree Requirements (minimum 63 hours)

1) Department of Educational Psychology Doctoral Core Courses (6 hours)

EPSY 6040 - Foundations of Educational psychology (3 hours)

ESPY 5550 - Learning Theories in Education (3 hours)
or
EPSY 5123 - Human Development Across the Life Span (3 hours)

2) Educational Research Core (15 hours)

EPSY 6010 - Statistics for Educational Research (3 hours)
EPSY 6020 - Research Methods in Education (3 hours)
EPSY 6210 - Multiple Regression Analysis and Related Methods (3 hours)
EPSY 6280 - Qualitative Research in Education (3 hours)

One elective course in research, measurement, or statistics with advisor's approval (3 hours)

3) Special Education Core (12 hours)

EDSP 6270 - Analysis of Trends, Issues and Research in Special Education (3 hours)
EDSP 6280 - Program Analysis in Special Education (3 hours)
EDSP 6290 - Special Education and Public Policy (3 hours)
EDSP 6275 - Advanced Studies in Evidenced Based Practices in High and Low Incidence Disabilities (3 hours)

4) Concentration in Mild/Moderate Disabilities (18 hours)

EDSP 6410 - Theoretical Issues in Mild/Moderate Disabilities (3 hours)
EDSP 6420 - Advanced Studies in Mild/Moderate Disabilities Programming (3 hours)
EDSP 6430 - Literacy Research for Special Populations (3 hours)
EDSP 6295 - Seminar in Professional Leadership (3 hours)

EPSY 6220 - The Evaluation of Educational Programs
or
One elective course appropriate to this concentration with advisor approval (3 hours)

One elective course in mild/moderate disabilities with advisor approval (3 hours)

5) Supervised Research/Practice (3 hours)

EPSY 6030 - Practicum, Field Experience, or Internship (3 hours)

6) Dissertation (9 hours)

EPSY 6950 - Doctoral Dissertation (3, 6 or 9 hours per semester)

Degree Requirements (minimum 36 hours)

1) Educational Psychology Core Courses (9 hours)

EPSY 5000 - Introduction to Educational Psychology (3 hours)
EPSY 5050 - Foundations of Educational Research (3 hours)
EPSY 5350 - Foundations of PsychoEducational Measurement (3 hours)

2) Special Education Common Core (9 hours)

The selections should be made based only upon approval by program advisor. Students who register for one of these courses without advisor approval may be required to take the other offered course if the first does not meet requirement for their specific concentration area.

EDSP 5240 - Collaboration with Parents, Para-educators, and Professionals (3 hours)

EDSP 5710 - Special Education Programs and Practices (3 hours)
or
EDSP 5520 - Special Education Law (3 hours)

EDSP 5330 - Classroom and Behavioral Management Strategies for Exceptional Learners (3 hours)
or
EDSP 5320 - Introduction to Functional Assessment (3 hours)

3) Mild/Moderate Disabilities Concentration (18 hours)

EDSP 5200 - Characteristics of Individuals with Learning Disabilities (3 hours)
EDSP 5230 - Advanced Seminar in Learning Disabilities: Educational Theories and Practices (3 hours)
EDSP 5670 - Teaching Social Skills to Children and Youth with Disabilities (3 hours)
EDSP 5755 - Adapting Curriculum to Meet Special Learning Needs (3 hours)

Two specialization electives courses (6 hours) with advisor's approval.

4) Valid Texas special education teaching certificate

This must be earned through coursework or pursued simultaneously. For special education certificates, see Certification Programs.