CUNY, Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Chicago have the oldest and best-known programs. A complete, vetted list can be found on the web site for Syracuse’s Center on Human Policy, Law and Disability Studies.

Because of its history and student body, CUNY takes the most applied approach. The program grew from a Kennedy Fellows program in special education and rehabilitative counseling, and 70 percent of those seeking a credential there in disability studies work at service agencies. CUNY started a four-course graduate certificate in 2004 and, because of student demand, created a master’s in 2009 and a bachelor’s — the first in the field and completely online — in 2012.

Syracuse’s program — an undergraduate minor and an advanced certificate — emerged from its school of education at a time when the university was emphasizing educational mainstreaming and dissolving its special education program. At the graduate school level, candidates from any discipline can enroll in the certificate of advanced study, or combine disability studies with law. The only free-standing Ph.D. is at the University of Illinois’s Chicago campus.

WHY STUDY IT

The rationale for the interdisciplinary approach? Jobs. Disability studies has its greatest impact when taken up with another pursuit, academic or professional, Dr. Taylor says. For doctoral students, an interdisciplinary approach increases the odds of landing an academic appointment, since there are few professorships in disability studies alone.

Graduates can go on to careers in architecture, management, engineering, policy, law, rehabilitative medicine, music and the arts. The most obvious application is in education and human services, including social work and health care, where advancement often requires certification or a graduate degree.

What a credential “signals,” says Noam Ostrander, who has a Ph.D. in disability studies from U.I.C. and is director of the Master of Social Work program at DePaul University, “is a nuanced understanding of disability that is not the tragic, scientific model but a progressive model of disability that is more empowering.”

WHO IS STUDYING IT

Joseph Plutz, the coordinator of disability services at the Fashion Institute of Technology, began as an administrative assistant 10 years ago. With a background in finance, 15 years in the corporate world and no formal training in education or social services, he was looking to be promoted to a counselor position. His office coordinator suggested CUNY’s certificate, which he earned in 2010. He then continued for a master’s. The degree, he said, positioned him to work directly with students, most with cognitive or learning impairments, advising them on course scheduling, time management and ways to advocate for educational and, eventually, on-the-job needs.