Admission Requirements

Applicants will be considered on an individual basis by the admission committee for the doctoral program in Disability Studies. Individuals who fail to meet one or more criteria for admission may be admitted conditionally if their applications are otherwise strong and the applicant agrees to work with her/his mentor to address these gaps through courses and other recommended work. Applicants must meet with an academic program director, associate director, or alternate prior to application submission.  

To establish a mentor relationship, all applicants for the program are strongly encouraged to meet one or more faculty members whose research interests most closely match those of the student. The DHD Office of Student Affairs will arrange such meetings for applicants upon request. 

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Baccalaureate Field No restrictions.
• Prior Degrees A master’s degree is required for admission to the program. Up to 28 semester hours from the master's degree may be applied to the PhD.
• Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study and a minimum of 3.00/4.00 for all work beyond the baccalaureate level.
• Tests Required None.
• Minimum English Competency Test Score (for international applicants)
  • TOEFL iBT 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21, OR,
  • IELTS Academic 6.5, with 6.0 in each of the four subscores, OR,
  • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Three required using the DHD evaluation form.
• Personal Statement Required, using the DHD personal/research statement form.
• Deadlines Application deadlines for this program are listed on the Graduate College website.

Degree Requirements

The Disability Studies Program is designed primarily as a full-time course of study. Students who are full time will be expected to maintain a course load of three or more classes per semester. Each student will have an advisor chosen from the faculty of the program. The advisor will monitor the student’s progress through the program and serve as the chair for the dissertation committee.

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 102 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree.
• Coursework

• Examinations 
  • Preliminary Examination: Required, written and oral.
  • Dissertation Proposal Defense: Required, written and oral.
• Dissertation Required. A minimum of 27 semester hours required. The dissertation must be defended at a public session before the dissertation committee and other members of the academic community.

Interdepartmental Concentrations

Students earning a graduate degree in this department may complement their courses by enrolling in select concentrations after consulting with their graduate advisor. Interdepartmental concentrations available for this degree include:

• Black Studies
• Gender and Women's Studies
• Museum and Exhibition Studies