Dual Degree: Doctor of Philosophy - Special Education & Juris Doctor

Course Requirements

Degree Requirements

1. Students must be admitted to both the J.D. and Ph.D. programs with graduate standing. The candidates must successfully complete the 80 credit hours of Law course work and 63 credit hours of the Ph.D. required course work.
2. William S. Boyd School of Law cannot award credit for any class taken before matriculation. J.D./Ph.D. candidates are required to enroll at the Boyd School of Law and complete one year of study before taking any Ph.D. courses.
3. The Ph.D. program of study requires a minimum of 63 semester hours. Only credits that meet the following criteria may be included on the formal Program of Study:
   1. Those not previously used to fulfill requirements for another degree;
   2. Those taken while enrolled at an accredited graduate degree-granting institution in a degree-granting program;
   3. Those taken as a non-degree seeking student (not to exceed 15 total semester hours); and
   4. Those for which a grade of B or higher was earned.
4. Students in the J.D./Ph.D. program must remain in good standing in both J.D. and Ph.D. programs.
5. Doctoral students must earn a grade of B or higher in all core curriculum courses.
6. Doctoral Students must earn a grade of B or higher in EPY 721 and EPY 722/KIN 751.
7. Doctoral students are required to spend a minimum of two consecutive semesters (Fall-Spring, Spring-Summer or Summer-Fall) in full-time resident study in the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education. Full-time resident study is defined as being enrolled in at least nine semester hours of graduate level course work from an approved Program of Study (six semester hours if the student is a graduate assistant). In cases where residency includes a semester of course work prior to submission of the Program of Study, the advisor must approve residency. Work during residency is allowed. However, if the student is employed as a graduate assistant, any additional work beyond that performed as an assistant must conform to the rules of the University and Graduate College.
8. Two-thirds of the total semester hours included on the formal Program of Study (not including dissertation) must be taken at UNLV. Faculty members of the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education instructing specialist’s and/ or master’s classes initiate an interaction with doctoral students enrolled in these courses regarding the appropriateness of both the content and performance requirements for doctoral students. Students not admitted to the doctoral program in Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education (or to another doctoral program in the College of Education) may enroll in: ESP 782 - Professional Seminar in Special Education (formerly ESP 760) and two additional Core Curriculum Courses with consent of instructor prior to formal admission.
9. The Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education Doctoral Colloquium typically is held one Friday each semester. The Doctoral Coordinator coordinates these meetings with the assistance of the special educationfaculty and doctoral students.
10. The comprehensive examination is taken during the semester immediately preceding enrollment in ESP 799 Dissertation. The comprehensive examination consists of 16 hours of written examinations with eight hours structured by the student’s major advisor and eight hours structured by the other internal committee members. The examinations are scheduled on two successive Fridays. The student’s advisor determines the specific dates of the examination. The questions on the comprehensive examination address elements of the Core, Research, Leadership Studies, Exceptionality Specialties, and any course work taken for licensure or endorsements. The student’s Doctoral Studies Committee provides general parameters from which questions are selected. “Take-home” examinations, in whole or in part, are not allowed. Students may use college provided technology for word-processing. Grading consists of three categories: Pass, Fail, and Pass with Distinction. Pass with Distinction occurs contingent upon a unanimous vote of the committee excluding the Graduate College representative. Students who fail the comprehensive examination will be placed on probation and must wait 4 months from the date of the failed examination to re-write their exam. However, under no circumstances may the reexamination be later than the semester following the failed examination. Students not passing the comprehensive examination on the re-write will be “excused” from the program.
11. Upon successful completion of comprehensive examination, the student selects a dissertation committee (i.e., minimum of three faculty members from the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education, one law school faculty member, and an outside member appointed by the Graduate College) and submits a dissertation proposal to the committee. This proposal includes an introduction, review of the literature, and a discussion of study methods. The Dual Degree Program Coordinator will sit on all dissertation committees. Two weeks after this proposal is submitted to the dissertation committee, the committee meets with the student to accept or reject the proposal, as well as provide a critique of its relative strengths and weaknesses. Upon acceptance of the student’s dissertation proposal, a recommendation for advancement to candidacy is submitted to the Graduate College.
12. Upon completion of the full dissertation, a defense is scheduled. Students need to obtain The Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation from the Graduate College web site.