The Department of Special Education, Early Childhood & Prevention Science (SECP) in the UofL College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is committed to improving the lives of children and youth with disabilities by preparing teachers at both the initial certification and advanced degree levels. Special education teachers are prepared to work in schools and agencies serving persons with a diverse range of disabilities, age 0 - 21.
Special Education, Early Childhood & Prevention Science faculty members are committed to continuous scientific research and bring in over $1 million each year in grant funding to support research, training, and service delivery. Faculty members have authored or co-authored numerous books including:
Characteristics of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders of Children and Youth (Tim Landrum)
Aligning IEPs to the Common Core State Standards (Ginevra Courtade)
A Guide to Teaching Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Monica Delano)
Additionally, our faculty have published in the top professional journals in our field, including Behavioral Disorders, Exceptional Children, Intervention in School and Clinic, Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Journal of Special Education, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. Faculty are widely recognized and regularly present research across the nation and internationally – including Canada, Jamaica, Australia, Ireland, Germany, and New Zealand.
Several programs are offered with an online option. Courses offered online are facilitated through Blackboard, the University-wide distance education platform. Programs with an online option offer 80% of the course work via Blackboard, however, all core courses are offered both online and face-to-face once a year.
Not only do special education graduate students have multiple opportunities to be involved with faculty research and work collaboratively on publications and presentations, but we're excited to announce receipt of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for doctoral study. Read details about the doctoral scholarship - Project PURPLE.
Preparing Urban and Rural Personnel as Leaders in Education (Project PURPLE) is a partnership between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. It is funded for five years by the Office of Special Education Program, U.S. Department of Education and totals $2,300,000
Dr. Ginevra Courtade is the project director at the University of Louisville. Drs. Melinda Ault and Kera Ackerman are the co-project directors of the grant at the University of Kentucky. The personnel preparation grant will prepare 10 doctoral scholars as future faculty in special education. Five positions are open at UK and five at UL. The scholars will receive full tuition, a monthly stipend, travel monies for attendance at one conference per year and mileage to practicum settings, and mentorship from nationally recognized faculty at both institutions. The focus of the grant is to prepare future faculty in special education in evidence-based practices appropriate for rural and urban high-need settings. Scholars will select a home institution (either University of Louisville or University of Kentucky), but will be mentored by faculty across institutions and participate in shared courses. Scholars will begin courses in the Fall 2020 semester. The deadline for the application is March 1, 2020. Scholars from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. All students funded on this grant will be required to enter into a written service obligation agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs. Funding made possible by a grant from U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs #H325D190030. For more information, contact Dr. Ginevra Courtade (g.courtade@louisville.edu) at UofL, Dr. Melinda Ault (mjault@uky.edu) or Dr. Kera Ackerman (kera.ackerman@uky.edu) at the University of Kentucky.
