特殊教育博士学位课程致力于为教学，研究，服务和领导职位领域的专业人员提供培训。该计划内的所有学生都接受过进行独立研究，成为批判性/独立性思想家和接受多样性概念的培训。博士学位完成后，学生将能够制定政策，促进地方，社区，社会和全球各级具有特殊性的所有人的福祉。特殊教育/沟通障碍系很高兴提供两种不同但同样严格的途径（博士学位或教育博士学位）。这两个学位可以通过这种方式区分开：潜在候选人寻求通过使用现有研究（教育）或创建新研究（博士学位）来推动教育变革。此外，还有两个专业领域：双语/多元文化特殊教育和自闭症谱系
The Special Education Doctorate Program is committed to preparing professionals in the areas of teaching, research, service, and leadership positions. All students within this program are trained to conduct independent research, become critical/independent thinkers, and embrace the notion of diversity. Upon completion of the doctorate the student will be able to inform policies that promote the well-being of all individuals with exceptionalities at the local, community, societal, and global levels. The Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders is pleased to offer two different, but equally rigorous, pathways (a Ph.D. or an Ed.D.). The two degrees can be differentiated in this way: a potential candidate seeks to drive educational change through either the use of existing research (Ed.D.) or the creation of new research (Ph.D.). Additionally, there are two areas of specialization: Bilingual/Multicultural Special Education and Autism Spectrum Disorders. A student may also choose to minor in a related area such as Communication Disorders and must work carefully with an advisor to plan a program of study if a minor is desired.