Disability Studies, CAS

Where disability studies began. Where your expertise goes next.

For those working or preparing to work with people with disabilities, the CAS in Disability Studies program offers a rigorous intellectual framework to study legal, social, cultural, historical, and philosophical perspectives of disability in society.

It is also a credential from the institution that helped build the field. Syracuse University’s engagement with disability studies goes back decades, through the deinstitutionalization movement, landmark federal advocacy, the founding of the Center on Human Policy, the first national conference on gender and disability, and the establishment of the first Disability Cultural Center in the United States.

Suggested Application Deadline: Varies by semester start | More admissions information

Why Disability Studies at Syracuse?

Consistent with that tradition, this program stands at the forefront of the theoretical, research, and advocacy models necessary to remove the social, legal, physical, and attitudinal barriers that exclude people with disabilities from full participation in society.

• Your program, your path. Central to the certificate experience is a personalized program of study matched to your professional interests and the current research activities of program scholars whose work is foundational reading in disability studies programs across the country.
• A credential that fits your life. The certificate can be completed in person, entirely online, or through a combination of formats. In addition, summer courses give working professionals and graduate students the flexibility to engage with the program on their own terms.
• Faculty at the forefront of education research. Syracuse is an R1 research institution, and our faculty have received recognition for teaching excellence and are leaders in national and international professional organizations.
• A unique pathway into disability law and policy. SOE and the College of Law offer a joint J.D./M.S. program with an additional emphasis on Disability Law and Policy, the only arrangement of its kind in the nation.

“The School of Education offers rigorous training grounded in equity, accessibility, and real-world impact. Rather than treating issues like disability, mental health, and culture as peripheral, SOE centers them in both its curriculum and conversation.”

—Manasi Shankar G’16

Who Should Apply?

The Disability Studies certificate program is designed for practitioners at every stage, including those already doing this work and those preparing to enter it. If disability shapes the field you work in or are heading toward, this program was built with you in mind:

• Disability services professionals in higher education: Coordinators, ADA compliance officers, and access specialists who need a theoretical and conceptual framework that goes beyond accommodation logistics and into the law, culture, and politics of disability.
• Workplace inclusion and accessibility practitioners: Professionals in human resources, equity programs, and employee experience roles who are integrating disability into broader inclusion efforts and want to go beyond compliance training.
• Rehabilitation counselors, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, and other clinical practitioners: Professionals looking for the social and cultural frameworks to transform clinical practice.
• Special education teachers and administrators: Practitioners who want to step up into advocacy and leadership roles in disability rights and inclusive education.
• Nonprofit and policy professionals: Disability advocates, program directors, and government agency staff working at the intersection of disability, law, and public policy.
• Graduate students in education, law, social sciences, and public policy: Students seeking a structured credential alongside their primary degree.

Program at a Glance

The Certificate of Advanced Study in Disability Studies is offered in a 15-credit, flexible format. It can be completed in as little as two semesters full-time, or part-time while working or enrolled in another graduate program. Courses are available in person, online, or a combination of both.

• Personalized program of study: Developed in consultation with a Disability Studies faculty advisor and matched to your professional goals and the current research activities of program faculty.
• At least 9 credits in DSP-prefix coursework: Courses carrying the Disability Studies Program prefix ensure grounding in the core disciplinary framework; remaining credits are drawn from approved electives.
• An intellectually ambitious curriculum: Coursework spans the full scope of the field: cultural representations of disability, deinstitutionalization and community integration, race and gender and disability, disability policy and law, disability in higher education, and more.
• A culminating CAS examination: Completed in the final semester of coursework, the exam demonstrates your competency across the program of study.
• Pathways into further graduate study: Coursework in the certificate program can be transferred into the M.S. in Cultural Foundations of Education or Ph.D. in Education. SOE and College of Law also offer a joint master’s degree program with an emphasis on Disability Law and Policy.

More information on academic requirements available in the Syracuse University Course Catalog. Note: This School of Education certificate programs is standalone, requiring a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA to apply. It can complement or can be taken alongside SOE master’s degree programs.

What Our Graduates Do

Syracuse disability studies graduates have built careers across the full range of fields where this expertise matters:

• Disability rights organizations, independent living centers, and federal and state agencies in education, health and human services, and vocational rehabilitation.
• ADA compliance officers and inclusion specialists at colleges and universities.
• Occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, counseling, and other health care related fields.
• Human resources, accessibility, and employee experience roles.
• Disability law, civil rights, and public interest litigation.
• Higher education careers in sociology, cultural studies, law, public health, and more.