Disability Studies
Available as a major or minor
The disability studies program blends theory and firsthand experience to offer students a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the growing disabled population.
The program was designed with an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the truth that disabilities are woven into every aspect of society.
![students play wheelchair basketball](/images/Academics_Majors/DisabilityStudies/wheelchairbasketball800.jpg)
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"Most students don’t meet people with disabilities until their senior year. I hate that model. The motto of the disabilities movement is ‘Nothing about us without us,’ so, ‘Don’t talk about us, ask us our opinions, ask us what we need, don’t tell us what we need.’”
- Professor Frances McCutcheon, about flipping the model by allowing students to meet and talk to people with disabilities early
![Frances McCutcheon](/images/Academics_Majors/DisabilityStudies/Frances_600w.jpg)
Disability Studies blends theory and firsthand experience to offer students a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the growing disabled population.
The program was designed with an interdisciplinary approach that reflects the truth that disabilities are woven into every aspect of society. Roanoke College is at the forefront of that movement with the establishment of a dedicated disability studies program.
Through classwork, research and innovative, experiential learning, students in the concentration will learn to be better advocates who can break down not just physical barriers, but cultural barriers to equity and access.
We offer a major or minor in Disability Studies.