Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, working professional, a student with a disability or are looking for a research assistantship, HDI has something to offer you. At HDI, we are committed to training the next generation of leaders in the area of disabilities. We have a Graduate Certificate program that can be completed in-house or online, we teach a Freshman Discovery course each year, and provide diverse opportunities to graduate students as research assistants on our projects.
Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities
The purpose of the Graduate Certificate is to prepare professionals from a broad range of disciplines to play a leadership role in providing services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families. The curriculum emphasizes a life span and interdisciplinary perspective. Students will learn from experts in various disciplines including Social Work, Special Education, Communication Disorders, Pediatrics, Child Development, Assistive Technology, Protection and Advocacy, Psychology, Law, and Early Childhood Interventions. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a practicum and learn directly from individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
Graduates from our Certificate Program have taken their knowledge of developmental disabilities and found jobs in a wide variety of fields including university (college) teaching, school and clinical psychology, social work, physical therapy, and special education.
To learn more about this program, click here
Graduate Certificate Program – Online Edition
Can’t make it to UK’s campus to participate in the graduate certificate program, but would like to learn more about developmental disabilities? HDI has created an online version of our popular Graduate Certificate Program. It offers the same content as the on-campus Certificate, but is offered through distance education. In addition, students need not be enrolled in a graduate program at UK, but simply must possess a baccalaureate degree from any university. This makes it great for professionals in the field, as well as families, community members and self-advocates who want to expand their knowledge base.
To learn more about this program, click here
Research Assistantships
Across many of our projects at HDI, we have opportunities for students to gain an in-depth knowledge of the field and gain invaluable, hands-on experiences. Most of our RA appointment decisions are made for the next academic year during the spring and summer months. Contact the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in your degree department during the spring semester and let him or her know that you are interested in an RA position at HDI. Learn more about becoming a RA at HDI here.
To apply, submit a cover letter, resume/vitae, and references to Marybeth Vallance. Your information will be forwarded to Project Directors who are interviewing. At your request, your information will be kept on file in an applicant pool for any mid-year openings.
Testimonials from previous Research Assistants
Kristen Roman
“I was a research assistant at the Human Development Institute during my second year as a school psychology graduate student. I am currently a school psychologist intern at a high school in the Chicago area. My role as a research assistant at HDI has allowed me to be involved with research related to large scale literacy assessment as well as given me knowledge that will allow me to align research with practice in making data-based decisions as a school psychologist.”
Matt Turner
“I was a research assistant at HDI while working on my degree in School Psychology. I worked with great people who helped me grow as a student, practitioner, and researcher. Having research experience relevant to my field made me more marketable to internship sites and I believe my work at HDI was one of the reasons that I was able to secure my first choice during the internship process. In addition, through our research projects, I visited special education teachers and classrooms across the state. I was better prepared to begin working in the schools as a direct result of these experiences. It was a fantastic opportunity and I feel fortunate to have been a part of HDI during my time at UK.”
Liz Towles-Reeves
“I’ve worked at HDI since I was a research assistant (RA) beginning in January of 2000. While I was completing my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, I worked as an RA for five years, then transferred into a full time role as the Director of Alternate Assessment Research where I was the research coordinator for the National Alternate Assessment Center, a five-year grant funded by the Office of Special Education Programs.”
“Professionally, I have published more than a dozen research reports and articles, the majority of which have appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals. I have developed several research instruments for wider use, including an index of learner characteristics; authored several book chapters, and presented regularly at national and regional conferences since 2003.”
“After 10 years with HDI, I have accepted a position with edCount, a woman-owned small business, committed to working with teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders to support high quality practices and to expand educators' capacity to interpret, build, implement, and evaluate policy in the areas of standards, assessments, and accountability.”
UK's Pediatric Behavior and Development Rotation
The Human Development Institute has participated with UK’s College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics Behavior & Developmental Specialist to coordinate the clinical and community-integrated Behavior and Development Rotation program and rotation assignments for all pediatric, internal medicine/pediatric, and triple board residents and child psych fellows. HDI has contributed to the pediatricians-in-training with rotation sites clinics scheduling, Mentor Family matches and Noon Conferences on B & D topics and coordinating orientation and exit interviews with Residents. HDI’s affiliation with the Department of Pediatrics facilitates the Residents’ recognition of common developmental and behavioral problems in children and adolescents; enhancing their capacity to manage a range of these problems in outpatient clinical settings using evidence-based practices and more competency-based skills in identifying and utilizing community resources to support patients and their families in a culturally sensitive manner.
Primary goals of the Human Development’s affiliation and coordination with the Residents include:
- Preparing future pediatricians, Med/Ped or Child/Adolescent or Triple Board physicians to have an integrated clinical and community resource experiential-learning Rotation. The Pre-Service Training Coordinator at HDI schedules the rotational assignments of B & D experiences which include UK clinical, community clinical and outpatient services and educational and early intervention-focused sites, creating a calendar of required assignments.
- Promoting the Residents’ understanding of their rotation expectations, schedules, competency forms, literature review, reference texts, Mentor Family Perspective Sharing through the HDI Pre-Service Coordinator’s individual orientation with each Resident prior to their B & D scheduled month or assignments.
- Promoting greater competency in identifying children with developmental delays and having the knowledge of the appropriate services and programs for referral.
- Demonstrating through community program visits, an awareness of community resources and ability to access them as an advocate for patients and families
- Pre-Service Training Coordination with the B & D Specialist in arranging monthly “Pediatrics Noon Conferences” which focus on critical knowledge and assessment topics presented by area specialists in the field of developmental disabilities
- Meeting with a “Mentor Family” on 2 occasions during the month who will share their parent and family perspective relating to having a family member with a disability is also part of the experiential learning expectation during the rotation and is arranged by the HDI Pre-Service Training Coordinator.
- Obtaining qualitative feedback on both Noon B & D Conference evaluations and exit evaluations of the Residents which contributes toward HDI and the B & D Specialist’s continuous quality improvements in schedules, site and clinic enhancements, and new topics of learning as requested by the residents.
Helpful Resources for Students