The Rehabilitation Sciences Ph.D. Program: A Continuation

In fall 2000, the University of Kentucky College of Health Sci~nces, in cooperation with 3 Kentucky regional universities, admitted its first student cohort in an interinstitutional, interdisciplinary doctoral program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Now in its third year, the program has 20 students (3 full time and 17 part time) representing the disciplines of speechlanguage pathology (SLP), occupational therapy (aT), and physical therapy (PT). Two students are African American and 15 take some of their coursework at 5 distant sites. Five students are expected to complete their coursework and take their qualifying examinations in 2003. The doctoral program is designed to produce research and academic leaders in rehabilitation, drawing from the aT, PT, and SLP disciplines. Through academic, clinical, and research experiences, the program prepares graduates to conduct rehabilitation-related research, teach at the university level, direct discipline-specific educational programs, work in the rehabilitation services field, and collaborate with other professionals to provide leadership on issues related to rehabilitation and health. A grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CFDA 93.191) has provided funding to assist in implementation of the new doctoral program. The grant objectives were to: 1) Further develop, implement, and evaluate an interdisciplinary curriculum; 2) Continue recruitment of high quality faculty and further develop faculty expertise in delivery,.of interdisciplinary education; 3) Develop and implement recruitment strategies to attract high quality students from diverse backgrounds and geographic regions; and 4) Develop and implement distance learning technologies for delivering the program to enhance accessibility. Achievement of these goals has been instrumental to the early success of the doctoral program. Whereas the previous grant succeeded in facilitating implementation of the new doctoral program, the purpose of the proposed continuation grant is to strengthen and expand the program. The goals ofthe present proposal are to: 1) Further develop and refine the interdisciplinary curriculum; 2) Prepare faculty and students for leadership and practice in the technologically intensive university and health care environments of the 215t century; 3) Develop activities that strengthen collaborative opportunities between faculty and students at remote sites; 4) Strengthen recruitment and retention strategies to attract and graduate high quality students from diverse backgrounds and geographic regions; and 5) Develop strategies to prepare students to meet the educational arid health care needs of an increasingly diverse population.