National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange
U.S. Disability-Related Degree Programs
There are many search engines for finding U.S. degree programs in general, and most
will only have “special education” and maybe “rehabilitation” or “physical therapy”
as a disability-specific field listed.
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If doing a graduate school search under “special education” in Peterson’s
College Guide www.petersons.com, all types of disability-related education
degrees come up – there’s 15 pages. Example: At Columbia University, 12% of
Teachers College students are international students. They have special
education degrees in each of the specific disability areas (e.g. LD, blind, deaf,
autism, etc.).
Additionally, other disability-focused websites online direct people into education
fields for teaching specific disability groups.
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DeafEd.Net have all U.S. programs that train one to become a Deaf educator:
http://www.deafed.net/diversity/become_deaf_ed.htm.
Teach Blind Students.Org has programs by U.S. state to train to become a blind
educator: http://www.teachblindstudents.org.
Other traditional degrees that lead to working with people with disabilities, and are
at many U.S. universities, could include: Audiology/Communication Disorders,
Computer Science (related to assistive technology), Social Work, Rehabilitation,
Psychology, Recreational or Physical Therapy, etc.
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These fields of education and other degrees mentioned above tend to be U.S.
domestically focused. It would be up to the international student to make the
comparative analysis with their own country and feasibility for overseas
application. Ask if the professors also have international interests; some may
do international volunteer trips with Doctors Without Borders or other groups.
Connecting with professional associations in these fields will help to find out about
degree and certificate programs.
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For example, you can learn more about entering the profession of orthotics and
prosthetics on several websites, including http://www.opcareers.org. This field
is the evaluation, fabrication and custom fitting of artificial limbs and
orthopedic braces. There are several education programs in the U.S. that
prepare students to serve as practitioners, pedorthists, assistants, fitters, or
technicians.
Typically professional associations will have members that form international interest
groups, or connect with other international colleagues in similar organizations abroad.
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Examples, include Council on Exceptional Children’s Division of International
Special Education and Services
(http://www.cec.sped.org/content/navigationmenu/aboutcec/international/di
ses/)
The National Rehabilitation Association International Outreach Task Force
(http://www.nationalrehab.org)
The Center for International Rehabilitation that collaborates with Northwestern
University near Chicago (http://www.cirnetwork.org)
There may also be international disability research/training projects or publications
that are federally funded, which would indicate an international focus in their
program.
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For example, University of Buffalo runs the Center for International
Rehabilitation Research and International Exchange:
http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/.
The University of Hawaii’s Center for Disability Studies and Educational
Foundations publishes the international journal Review of Disability Studies and
has a Pacific Rim conference on disability every year. They have hosted a
Fulbright scholar from Thailand: http://www.cds.hawaii.edu/.
Disability Studies, a relatively new field, will not come up in any of the online college
search tools.
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Disability Studies programs can instead be found through this website:
http://disabilitystudies.syr.edu/resources/programsinds.aspx.
The Society for Disability Studies (SDS), the professional association in this
field, has discussion lists for international members and graduate students if
seeking advice on programs:
http://www.disstudies.org/membership/discussion_lists/discussion_lists.
Since Disability Studies is very interdisciplinary, many of the professors in this field
have degrees in other humanities or social science departments such as:
Anthropology, Arts, History, International Development, Journalism, Law, Political
Science, Sociology, etc.
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However, newer scholars will be able to major or concentrate in Disability
Studies or Policy (or at least minor in it or get a graduate certificate). This
research journal article lists English-speaking programs in Disability Studies:
http://www.dsq-sds.org/issue/view/41.
Disability Studies tends to be more internationally connected than other traditional
disability fields.
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For example, Syracuse University has a Center on Human Policy, Law and
Disability Studies and a Fulbright scholar alumna as the co-director:
http://disabilitystudies.syr.edu/.
University of Illinois-Chicago’s Department of Disability and Human
Development enrolls a large number of international students with disabilities
every year in its doctorate program: http://www.ahs.uic.edu/dhd/.
Gallaudet University has a cross-disability Master’s program in International
Development: http://edf.gallaudet.edu/internationaldevelopment-MA.xml.
Questions? Contact the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange at
clearinghouse@miusa.org or http://www.miusa.org/ncde.
Mention of an organization, company, service or resource should not be construed as an endorsement by Mobility International
USA/ National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. Although efforts have been made to assure accuracy, MIUSA and NCDE
do not guarantee the accuracy of these listings. MIUSA/NCDE cannot be held liable for misinterpretation or complaints arising
from these listings.