Admission to the Doctoral Program

Admission to Illinois State University

Prior to admission to the Department of Special Education, you must be admitted to the graduate program at Illinois State University.

Admission to the Department of Special Education

Admission to the program is competitive and requires possession of the master's degree and professional experience relevant to the education of exceptional children and youth. The decision regarding admission to the graduate program is based on several factors:

acceptance into the university;
prior academic record (undergraduate and master's degree transcripts);
record of professional experiences and accomplishments;
the degree of consistency between the applicant's future goals and the program's mission (as demonstrated in a brief essay);
professional writing skills (as demonstrated in brief essays on the applicant's career goals and philosophy of special education);
professional recommendations; and
scores on the Graduate Record Examination.

Download the Department of Special Education Admissions Information Packet (pdf) to assist you in applying to the Department of Special Education. Included in the packet are a description of the program, a plan of study form, guidelines for the essays, personal data form, a recommendation form (three needed). Review of your application materials may take six to eight weeks.