This four-year grant will support 14-16 L&I doctoral students to prepare for careers in higher education as special education teacher educators and researchers.

USF is the first university in California to be funded in this competition in over a decade. There were 90 applicants for this competition from across the country; only 24 were funded. The cutoff score for funding was 91.4 points out of 100.

USF is now recognized as the premier doctoral program in the state in the field of special education. USF has significant visibility at the national level as well. Since 1997, the special education program at USF has received 7 grants from OSEP totaling $5.4 million dollars. Because all of these grants are personnel preparation grants, over 70% of grant funding goes directly for student support, primarily as tuition scholarships; thus, these grants have brought USF millions of revenue dollars. Over 230 credential, master's, and doctoral students have received funding from these grants and are now working as K-12 special education teachers and as university faculty across the state and nation.

Dr. Susan Evans is the director for this grant and Dr. Yvonne Bui is the co-director. Thank you both!