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Griffith University

"I chose Griffith because it is a really beautiful campus. You have nature. It is warm and people are really kind so it is really welcoming. Many people are international in the Gold Coast campus so you do make a lot of friends from everywhere in the world, and I’d say that the night life is quite active. " Andres Gomez Copello Bachelor of Marine Science Colombia Set amongst native bushland and located just minutes from the pristine beaches of the famous Gold Coast, this comprehensive campus plays host to over 16,500 students from all over Australia and the world. Widely acknowledged for its strengths in Health, Griffith's Gold Coast Campus boasts state-of-the-art facilities, including the $136 million Griffith Health Centre, co-located with the Gold Coast University Hospital. Students can relax at a campus cafe, and enjoy extensive sporting facilities, including an Olympic-standard athletics track, a gym and basketball and tennis courts. There are many handy services right on campus, such as banking, post, medical, welfare and student guild services. On-campus accommodation is available and assistance can be provided with finding off-campus accommodation.

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202-250-2405

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Students in our pioneering PEN program gain state-of-the-art Cognitive Neuroscience training in how humans learn, with a special strength in the neuroplasticity of visually guided learning processes. While Cognitive Neuroscience includes studies of learning and higher cognitive processes across the lifespan, its sister discipline, Educational Neuroscience, includes intensive study of five core domains that are crucial in early childhood learning, including language and bilingualism, reading and literacy, math and numeracy, science and critical thinking (higher cognition), social and emotional learning, and includes study of action and visual processing. PEN students become expert in one of the world’s cutting-edge neuroimaging methods in the discipline of Cognitive Neuroscience (e.g., fNIRS, EEG, fMRI, and beyond), study Neuroethics, gain strong critical analysis and reasoning skills in science, and develop expertise in one of the core content areas of learning identified above. While becoming experts in both contemporary neuroimaging and behavioral experimental science, students also learn powerful, meaningful, and principled ways that science can be translated for the benefit of education and society today.

This doctoral program is a research-focused program where students develop a specific research focus, conducting supervised research within their mentor’s lab as well as developing their own lines of research through independent research projects. Students accepted into the program receive four years of funding as follows: tuition scholarship for up to the domestic rate + $25,200 annual stipend + health insurance option.

Students benefit from access to in-house, research-dedicated neuroimaging facilities where students can also choose to become certified in fNIRS (functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy), one of the world’s most advanced neuroimaging technologies. Students graduate from the program prepared to become groundbreaking scientists!

The PEN program opened its doors to the first class of Ph.D. students in Fall 2013. This is Gallaudet’s first interdisciplinary Ph.D. program and has its administrative home in Gallaudet University’s National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center, Visual Language and Visual Learning, VL2. Learn more about VL2 and its cognitive neuroscience and translational labs, all of which provide PEN students with unparalleled lab research experience and opportunities.

Deadline to apply for this program: February 15, 2023 (Early applications will be considered)

The Ph.D. Program in Educational Neuroscience (PEN) was founded at Gallaudet University by Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto (Chair, PEN Steering Committee) and Dr. Melissa Herzig (Assistant Program Director, PEN). Students in...

July 11, 2024

Math conference on campus highlights the benefits of focusing on accessibility

July 9, 2024

Graduate students bring cognitive science to deaf K-12 classrooms and beyond

April 17, 2024

Gallaudet receives NSF funding to emphasize accessibility during international conference

May 16, 2022

Dr. SaraBeth Sullivan and Carly Leannah honored with 2022 PEN distinguished awards

February 15, 2022

PEN student invited to prestigious summer institute

November 23, 2021

Dr. Sullivan successfully defends dissertation, graduates from PEN

Action & brain lab, cognitive and affective neuroscience lab (can), motion light lab (ml2), numeracy and educational neuroscience lab (nens), petitto brain and language center for neuroimaging (bl2).

PEN students benefit from Gallaudet University’s local university consortium, which provides students access to courses taught in the Washington, D.C. area. PEN students also have access to a national network of more than 20 cognitive neuroscience labs throughout the world, through formal Memoranda of Understanding.

In the BL2, students can choose to become certified in one of the world's most advanced neuroimaging technologies that is suited for the study of young children and individuals across the lifespan, fNIRS (functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy).

Students in PEN will spend a large portion of their time learning about current neuroscience research and conducting their own research. The Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning supervises and aids students in research. Students may join efforts in any of our Research hubs listed above.

Ilaria Berteletti

Associate Professor

Rachel Pizzie

Assistant Professor

Lorna Quandt

Crystal padilla.

Research Services Coordinator

Melissa Malzkuhn

Director, Motion Light Lab

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• Graduate Certificate in Special Needs Education (3020)
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Graduate Certificate in Special Needs Education

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Program code

Available at.

Mount Gravatt

1 year part-time

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Commencing in.

For Continuing Students Only

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About this program

Gain advanced tools for supporting students..

Do you work with or wish to work with students with special needs within primary, secondary and special schools? This program offers an evidence-based approach to equip you with the essential specialist knowledge and skills to engage with school staff and parents to better support the learning and behaviour of students with special needs.

Although this program does not qualify you as a teacher, it will be attractive to those already working with, or who wish to work with, students with special needs within a school setting. An evidence-based approach will equip you with essential specialist knowledge and skills to engage with school staff and parents in order to better support the learning and behavior of a diverse range of students with special needs.

Industry and expert connections

Learn alongside experienced teachers and educational professionals as you explore complex ideas around special needs education, growing your professional network in the process. You'll learn from experienced education academics in collaborative, online learning environments. Seminars, forums and groupwork assignments offer you opportunities to make connections with your student peers.

Graduate outcomes

You will find employment opportunities as an inclusion teacher, support teacher or special education teacher working in a range of educational settings. You will be able to advance your professional career to senior leadership positions in special and inclusive education.

Flexibility

Study anytime, anywhere - This degree is available online through our Digital campus, giving you more room to fit university with your work and social life.

Pursue further study

The courses in this graduate certificate may be credited towards a related graduate diploma or masters degree. Griffith's innovative Credit Precedent Database allows you to find out what credit decisions have been made in the past, which will give you an idea of what you can expect.

Attendance information

This program is offered in part-time mode only.

Taking a leave of absence from this program is permitted, subject to conditions outlined in the Enrolment Procedure

Work-integrated learning

The University supports its students to undertake work experience that complements their degree. Work experience is normally arranged by you with an employer you select but with approval from your Program Director.

My career opportunities

Please note that this degree does not lead to teacher registration.

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*Source: Australian Government Job Outlook .

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• The indicative fee represents the expected average fee for an annual full-time study load (80 credit points). This is based on average study patterns across courses and the Australian Government's broad discipline areas (student contribution bands). A student's actual annual fee may vary in accordance with his or her choice of majors and electives. The Australian Government sets student contribution amounts on an annual basis.
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The indicative annual tuition fee is calculated based on a standard full-time study load which is usually 80 credit points.

The indicative annual tuition fee is based on current conditions and available data and should only be used as a guide. These fees are reviewed annually and are subject to change.

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This postgraduate program has Commonwealth Supported Places. If you are eligible, the Australian Government will contribute to the cost of this program but you will also be required to make a contribution. Quotas are applied for admission to the Commonwealth Supported Places. Where demand exceeds the number of available places and all places have been filled for the current admission period, applicants who meet minimum program entry requirements may be eligible for a Fee-Paying Postgraduate place if such places are available. Please note that deferrals are not permitted for programs with Commonwealth Supported Places.

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Saturday, 14 September

From 30% to PhD: Dr Olwethu Waka's mathematical journey equals success

• Dr Olwethu Waka, 33, graduated with a PhD in mathematics at UCT last week.
• Waka, who is from the Eastern Cape, said his mathematical journey was not easy.

He dedicated his achievement to his late father.

"I have never stopped trying despite my many disappointments."

So said Dr Olwethu Waka, 33, who graduated with a PhD in pure mathematics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) at the beginning of the month.

In 2008, while doing Grade 10, Waka failed maths after getting only 30%.

Through a dedicated Grade 11 maths teacher at Pakamani High in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, he began his love for mathematics and got 89% in the subject in the final-year examinations of Grade 12 in 2010.

After matriculating, Waka who is from kwaNontshinga village in Centane, the Wild Coast, did not know what to study.

He went to Walter Sisulu University and registered for a diploma in chemical engineering, but failed his first-year modules and abandoned the programme.

He took a gap year in 2012.

READ |  Acclaimed Afrikaans poet Antjie Krog receives honorary doctorate from University of Pretoria

Through the help of Jock McConnachie, the founder of the Nolali Education Centre, an NPO in the coastal village of Qolora in Centane, Waka applied to Rhodes University.

The centre bought Waka a laptop and after going through a foundation programme enrolled for a BSc - majoring in maths.

From there, he never looked back.

Waka graduated from the BSc programme and then pursued an honours degree at the university.

From Rhodes, he went to UCT for an MSc in mathematics, graduating with distinction, and then he registered for his PhD.

Waka, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of the Western Cape, told News24 getting a PhD "means that one is not a failure until they stop trying".

He said: 

"That school was built by the funds the community raised. Given that my mother is illiterate, it was my father who helped me with homework when I was younger.

"My mother also deserves credit for being there with me in hard moments before and after my father's passing," said Waka.

He added conditions were tough during his early schooling years in rural Centane.

"The conditions were, and still are, poor in all the schools I attended, from Siseko Junior [KwaNontshinga], Tshongweni Junior [kwaNontshinga] and Pakamani High.

"I don't think there's any person who would like their children to go Siseko or Tshongweni except for those who have no choice, like us in our time. Those schools are just so underserviced and underdeveloped, but we still take pride.

"Similar situations were noticeable at Pakamani, for instance when we were in grades 10 and 11 we didn't have textbooks. We relied on printouts or notes written on the blackboard.

"It was only in Grade 12 that we started sharing textbooks. For people who were doing sciences, we didn't know practically what we were doing, and that's actually why maths made more sense to me. It didn't require any lab or scientific equipment."

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Fall 2024 Wonder of Scripture Lecture Schedule

This year, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship will be hosting a Wonder of Scripture Lecture Series, every Friday at 11 AM. These lectures will be held in 3714 HBLL and uploaded to our YouTube channel for on-demand streaming.

Please join us for these lectures, where scholars from across campus and the world will dive deep into scripture and its meaning.

• 19 Special Opening Lecture with Richard Bushman (7 PM in the WSC Varsity Theater)
• 20 Thomas Griffith, Former Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• 27 Justin Collings, BYU Academic Vice President
• 4 Terryl Givens, Senior Research Fellow at the Maxwell Institute
• 11 Gaye Strathearn, Associate Dean of Religious Education
• 18 Sharon Harris, BYU Professor of English
• 25 Heather Chesnut, Civil Rights Attorney at the Utah Attorney General's Office
• 1 Kylie Nielson Turley, BYU Professor of Religion
• 8 Joseph M. Spencer, BYU Professor of Ancient Scripture
• 15 Ravi M. Gupta, Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies, Utah State University
• 19 Annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture with Jack Welch, Robert K. Thomas Professor of Law Emeritus in the J. Reuben Clark Law School (7 PM in the Hinckley Assembly Hall)
• 6 Kimberly Matheson, Laura F. Willes Research Fellow at the Maxwell Institute

About the Fall 2024 Speakers

Richard Bushman September 19, Special Opening Lecture

Richard Bushman is Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University. Professor Bushman specializes in the social and cultural history of the United States. He received his B.A., M.A., and PhD from Harvard University. Professor Bushman is best known to Latter-day Saints as the inaugural Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University (2008-2011) and the author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (2005) and, most recently, Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History (Oxford 2023).

Thomas Griffith September 20, Lecture

Thomas B. Griffith was a judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit from 2004-2020. Currently he is a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and a Fellow at the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University. He graduated in 1978 from Brigham Young University, where he majored in humanities with an emphasis in comparative literature, and in 1985 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review. Before he was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals, Judge Griffith worked in private practice in North Carolina and Washington D.C. (1985-1994), Senate Legal Counsel of the United States (1995-1999) and assistant to the president and general counsel of BYU (2000-2004)

Justin Collings September 27, Lecture

Justin Collings is the academic vice president of Brigham Young University. Dr. Collings’s focuses of study are constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, and constitutional history. In 2006, Dr. Collings graduated with a BA from BYU, double-majoring in English and Italian and minoring in classical civilization. He went on to earn a JD and a PhD in history from Yale. After serving as a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, he was admitted into the J. Reuben Clark Law School’s faculty in 2013. He is the author of two books published by Oxford University Press: Democracy’s Guardians: A History of the German Federal Constitutional Court, 1951–2001 (2015) and Scales of Memory: Constitutional Justice and Historical Evil (2021). Dr. Collings is also the author of the forthcoming book Divine Law for the Maxwell Institute series, Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants.   Terryl Givens October 4, Lecture

Terryl L. Givens is a Neal A. Maxwell Senior Research Fellow. He formerly held the Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English and was Professor of Literature and Religion at the University of Richmond. He is the author of many books about Latter-day Saint history and culture, including Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought , Feeding the Flock: The Foundations of Mormon Practice , and By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion , each with Oxford University Press. He is also co-author, with Fiona Givens, of The God Who Weeps , The Crucible of Doubt , and The Christ Who Heals . He is also the author of the volume on Agency in the Maxwell Institute series, Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Gaye Strathearn October 11, Lecture

Gaye Strathearn is a professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture and in the Ancient Near East Studies program at BYU, and currently serves as an Associate Dean of Religious Education. She has taught at BYU since 1995, including a year at BYU’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. Dr. Strathearn received her bachelor of physiotherapy from the University of Queensland (Australia, 1982), a BA and MA in Near Eastern studies from BYU (1990 and 1992), and a PhD in religion (New Testament) from the Claremont Graduate University (2004). Professor Strathearn is the editor of six books and the author of dozens of chapters and articles on New Testament topics and the Book of Mormon.

Sharon Harris   October 18, Lecture

Sharon Harris is Associate Professor of English at Brigham Young University. Dr. Harris has degrees in Music Education from BYU, Humanities from the University of Chicago, and English from Fordham University. Her research and teaching focuses on early modern English literature and music and sound studies. In addition to literary studies, Dr. Harris has published on theology, the Book of Mormon, and the history of Latter-day Saint singles wards. She has worked in public education, nonprofit arts administration, and academic publishing. She is the author of Enos, Jarom, Omni: A Brief Theological Introduction (Maxwell Institute, 2020).

Heather Chesnut October 25, Lecture

Bio : Heather is a civil rights attorney at the Utah Attorney General’s Office; she defends Utah state agencies and employees against civil lawsuits. Before that, she was a trial attorney with the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association; she defended indigent people charged with criminal offenses. She has taken more than forty cases to trial, conducted an extensive defensive motion practice, and counseled hundreds of people facing difficult legal situations. She received Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Utah. Heather is the author of Counsel, Please Rise: A Criminal Attorney’s Spiritual Journey , published this year by the Maxwell Institute and Deseret Book.

Kylie Nielson Turley November 1, Lecture   Kylie Nielson Turley has taught writing, rhetoric, and literature classes since 1997 at Brigham Young University, where she emphasizes a literary approach to the Book of Mormon in her Literature of the LDS People course. She has published articles on Alma, Latter-day Saint "home literature" fiction and poetry, and Utah and Latter-day Saint women's history. She is also the author of numerous personal essays. She is the author of Alma 1-29: A Brief Theological Introduction (Maxwell Institute, 2020).

Joseph Spencer November 8, Lecture

Joseph M. Spencer is a philosopher and an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. He has degrees from Brigham Young University, San Jose State University, and the University of New Mexico, having earned his PhD in philosophy from the University of New Mexico in 2015. He is the author (or co-author) of eight books, most recently A Word in Season: Isaiah’s Reception in the Book of Mormon (University of Illinois Press, 2023). His work focuses on philosophy, theology, and scripture. Professor Spencer serves as the President of the Book of Mormon Studies Association, as the associate director of the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar, and as a coeditor of the book series, Introductions to Mormon Thought (published by the University of Illinois Press).

Ravi Gupta November 15, Lecture

Ravi M. Gupta holds the Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies and serves as Professor and Department Head of the Department of History at Utah State University. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Boise State University (1999) and his MSt in the Study of Religion (2000) and DPhil in Hinduism (2004) from the University of Oxford. He is the author or editor of four books, including an abridged translation of the Bhagavata Purana (with Kenneth Valpey), published in 2017 by Columbia University Press. Professor Gupta is a Permanent Research Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and a past president of the Society for Hindu Christian Studies. His current research focuses on the Bhagavata Purana's Sanskrit commentaries. He enjoys teaching World Religions, Hinduism, Sanskrit, and Religious Studies Theory and Method.

Jack Welch November 19, Annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture   John W. Welch is the Robert K. Thomas Professor of Law emeritus in BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. He is scholar of religion and law credited with discovering the many instances of the ancient literary form of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, a realization he had as a young missionary in Germany. Professor Welch received his bachelor’s degree in history and his master’s degree in Latin and Greek, both from Brigham Young University. He then studied at Oxford and later received his JD from Duke University. In 1979 he founded the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) while working as a lawyer in southern California. He was editor-in-chief of BYU Studies for 27 years, a contributing author for the Joseph Smith Papers project, editor for the Encyclopedia of Mormonism , and the General Editor of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley. He is the author and editor of numerous books and is one of the greatest living expositors of the Book of Mormon, known especially for his important books, The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount (Deseret Book, 1990), and The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon (BYU, 2008).

Kimberly Matheson December 6, Lecture

Kimberly Matheson is the Laura F. Willes Research Fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Her research centers on Book of Mormon theology, Christian contemplative practice, and the continental philosophy of religion. Kimberly holds a PhD in theology from Loyola University Chicago, an MTS in philosophy of religion from Harvard Divinity School, and a BA in ancient near east studies from Brigham Young University. She is the author of Helaman: A Brief Theological Introduction (Maxwell, 2020) and sits on the boards of the Book of Mormon Studies Association and the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar.

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• National Politics

Nixa High graduate, Missouri State senior named to university's Board of Governors

The governing board of Missouri State University has a new student member.

Susan Hardy, a graduate of Nixa High School, is now part of the MSU Board of Governors. She is a nonvoting member but is entitled to attend all meetings and participate in discussions.

Hardy, a senior pursuing a bachelor's degree in history at Missouri State, is an educational program intern at the State Historical Society of Missouri.

She previously served as director of academic affairs for the Student Government Association at MSU.

Hardy fills a vacancy created when Bradley Cooper stepped off the board in May.

“Missouri State has truly changed my life and I'm looking forward to giving back to the university that has given me so much,” Hardy said, in a news release. “Over the course of my term, I’ll aim to serve as a strong student voice, providing perspective and advocating for the needs of the student body.”

Hardy was appointed to the role in late August by Gov. Mike Parson.

She will serve immediately but she is still subject to confirmation this spring by the Missouri Senate. Her appointment expires Dec. 31, 2025.

More: 'Remarkable' student governor Bradley Cooper leaves MSU board after making history

Last year, Hardy received a Citizen Scholar Award, the highest award available to Missouri State students. It recognizes top students for their achievements in academics, community engagement and leadership.

She has served as the president of the history honor society Phi Alpha Theta, and is a member of the Anthropology Club, History Club, the Honors College and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She has worked as a university ambassador.

Hardy said she plans to earn a master's degree, likely overseas, and work in public history, including assisting with the curation and exhibition design for museums abroad.