Doctor of Philosophy in Disability Studies

People sometimes ask “What can I do with a PhD in Disability Studies?” One way to answer this question is to describe what our students and alumni are doing. One student recently received a disability policy fellowship in Washington D.C. through the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) (the national network of University Centers on Disabilities). He is working with Hill staff, federal agencies, and disability advocacy organizations on policy initiatives and identifies the Family Opportunity Act, Lifespan Respite Act, MiCASA, and “Money Follows the Person” as some specific areas where he would like to be involved. Another student just returned from her second research trip to Ghana, where she is studying the experiences of Ghanaian women with disabilities. On her first trip there, she received a Fulbright scholarship. We also have a student that received the 2005 Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholars in Disability Studies.

The interdisciplinary PhD Program in Disability Studies in the College of Applied Health Sciences at UIC addresses disability as a complex phenomenon. Disability studies scholars view disability, not simply as a defect inside a person, but as a complex relationship between society and people who function differently from the norm. UIC’s program offers the first PhD dedicated to Disability Studies in the United States and is one of only a few such programs in the world. With its interdisciplinary nature, the program offers access to diverse faculty mentors and resources in the health fields, social sciences, and humanities. Students conduct research across impairment, clinical, social, cultural, ethical, and policy perspectives. Faculty and students examine how addressing disability in its full complexity can promote the full participation, self-determination, and equal citizenship of people with disabilities in society.

The PhD Program provides a foundation for students to be leaders in the field of Disability Studies in the public and corporate sector as well as in the academy.

For more information on the Disability Studies PhD program, please visit the University of Illinois at Chicago's web page where you will find degree requirements, curriculum, student bios, and how to apply.

The Lecture Series

As a service both to the university and to the community, the UIC Program in Disability Studies hosts a dynamic lecture series that regularly showcases the work of scholars, artists and innovators with a range of experience, a breadth of research, and an immense array of talent. Recently, the lecture series presented Managing Appearance: The Oppression of Shoes by Dr. Ann Neville-Jan, The Poetry and Performance of Disability, a collaborative performance by Carrie Sandahl, Terry Galloway, Donna Nudd, and a poetry reading and discussion by Jim Ferris. Accommodations are provided to promote accessibility.

Director of Graduate Studies: Carol J. Gill, Ph.D.

Contact:
Sarah Rothberger, MFA, Project Coordinator
Phone: 312.996.1508
TTY: 312.996.1233
E-mail: sr22@uic.edu
Website: http://www.ahs.uic.edu/dhd/academics/phd.php

Artwork by the Chicago-based artist and scholar, Riva Lehrer.
For more information on Lehrer's work, visit home.earthlink.net/~rivalehrer