The University of Oklahoma
Special Education at the University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma Special Education doctoral program prepares students for careers in higher education, school instruction and educational leadership. Students consult with their advisors to develop unique plans of study related to their professional interests.
Students create a plan of study that includes core special education research and elective coursework, residency research, teaching and service activities, and dissertation research. Doctoral students who enter with a master’s degree typically complete the program between four years (full-time) and five-to-seven years (part-time).
In addition to completing required and elective coursework, students work with faculty members on research, teach college-level courses, become involved in state and national professional organizations and present and publish their research at the state and national levels.
Graduates of the OU Special Education Doctoral Program have become professors at universities across the country and internationally and have assumed instructional leadership positions in public schools, state departments of education, and other agencies.
ELEVATE Transition Faculty
Kendra L. Williams-Diehm, PhD, BCBA
Kendra L. Williams-Diehm, PhD, BCBA
Kendra L. Williams-Diehm, PhD, BCBA
Consortium Lead Dr. Kendra Williams-Diehm is the
Brian E. and Sandra O/Brien Presidential Professor of Special Education and Director of the
Zarrow Institute on Transition & Self-Determination at OU. Dr. Williams-Diehm will serve as PI and the OU lead of this project, and she founded the transition course sequence at OU in 2012. Her resear
Consortium Lead Dr. Kendra Williams-Diehm is the
Brian E. and Sandra O/Brien Presidential Professor of Special Education and Director of the
Zarrow Institute on Transition & Self-Determination at OU. Dr. Williams-Diehm will serve as PI and the OU lead of this project, and she founded the transition course sequence at OU in 2012. Her research examines transition education practices including self-determination, CRSP, and other interventions to improve secondary and postsecondary outcomes for secondary-aged children with cognitive disabilities with a focus on appropriate transition assessment. She has received over $18M in external funding and served as PI of such awards as OSEP 325D, OSEP 325K, IES, and more. She has received numerous awards for both her research and advising. Prior to coming to the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Williams-Diehm was at the Beach Center on Disability at the University of Kansas.
Malarie Deardorff, PhD
Kendra L. Williams-Diehm, PhD, BCBA
Kendra L. Williams-Diehm, PhD, BCBA
Dr. Malarie Deardorff is an Assistant Research Professor
and Assistant Director of the Zarrow Institute at OU. Her current expertise is on self-determination instructional practices, transition assessments, transition education materials,
teacher preparation, and culturally and linguistically diverse families and the IEP process. Dr. Deardo
Dr. Malarie Deardorff is an Assistant Research Professor
and Assistant Director of the Zarrow Institute at OU. Her current expertise is on self-determination instructional practices, transition assessments, transition education materials,
teacher preparation, and culturally and linguistically diverse families and the IEP process. Dr. Deardorff identifies as having a disability and was served on an IEP throughout grade school and received disability supports in her undergraduate program. Over the past three years, Dr.
Deardorff has conducted extensive professional development for educators across Oklahoma in using transition assessments and writing compliant transition service plans, and she has taught multiple courses in the special education program.