Office of Student Life
Disability Services

Graduate/Professional Students

Welcome Graduate, Professional and prospective Grad/Prof students!  Student Life Disability Services (SLDS) is proud to serve you and would like to assist in making your advanced academic endeavors as smooth as possible. We know that being in graduate and professional school is very different than being an undergraduate.  1 in 8 graduate students at Ohio State are registered with our office. Since each student and their program requirements are unique, we can work to tailor your accommodation needs to the graduate environment by working with you and your faculty/program staff from the beginning of your journey through to your graduate or professional examinations and defense processes. 

SLDS has an assigned access specialist for each college and we work directly with liaisions in each professional school. We invite you to connect with us to ensure that accommodations unique to your graduate academic coursework, clinical, laboratory, and field work experiences are in place for when you choose to use them. 

Click the links below to navigate this page:

Confidentiality

REGISTRATION AND SERVICES ARE CONFIDENTIAL. Receiving SLDS services in NO way impacts your graduate funding or appointments. At no point is personal medical information shared with other faculty or staff. Your registration status is only shared with faculty/staff on a need-to-know basis. 

Services Offered

SLDS provides a range of support services to students, based on the impacts of their qualifying conditions:

  1. Exam Accommodations including professional, doctoral exams, and defenses
  2. Notetaking Support (e.g., use of personal notetaking technology/apps; access to lecture slides in advance)
  3. Attendance and Deadline Modifications (e.g. flexibility with number of excused absences; deadline extensions)
  4. Assistive Technology (e.g., text-to-speech software; screen-reading technology)
  5. Accessible Media (e.g., digital textbooks, captioned videos)
  6. Sign Language Interpreting / Transcribing
  7. Accommodations Consultation and Advocacy
  8. On-Campus Housing/Dining Accommodations 
  9. Disability Parking / Adaptive Transportation
  10. Other Services (e.g., lab assistants; course substitutions)

Visit our Student Accommodations page to learn more about these support services.

Grad/Prof Frequently Asked Questions

  • Do I need to register with SLDS?  Can't I just work out my accommodations with my advisor & faculty?

While your faculty/advisors may be open to offering you flexibility, registering with our office ensures that your accommodation eligiblity is formally on record. Faculty are not required to offer accommodations without approval from our office and we offer services and resources that may not be available to your academic department.  Since accommodations cannot be applied after the fact, having your accommodations approved in advance protects your right to this access.  SLDS can advocate for access to your approved accommodations if differences of opinion about accommodation parameters arise.  

  •  If I register with SLDS, will you tell my faculty/advisor?

As a student, you decide which, if any, of your faculty or program administration are notified of your registration status by requesting individual course letters to be sent to them via our website.

  •  Will my faculty/college find out my disability or condition?  

We never share specific conditions without your advanced request and permission.  Communications from our office will only verify that you are affiliated with SLDS. 

  •  I don’t have tests in grad school, why should I register?

We can work with you to determine if other accommodations may be appropriate for your courses, labs, practicals, internships and the doctoral exam, and dissertation defense experiences.

  •  I really want to try grad school without registering. Can I do it later if I decide I need to?

You can start the registration process anytime during your academic career. However, it may be advantageous to register with us to learn about our services and options and to have this in place in case you start encountering barriers since accommodations cannot be put into place retroactively.

  •  I have a Graduate Teaching/Research Assistantship appointment. Can you help with accommodations for this job?

Integrated Absence Management and Vocational Services (IAMVS), in consultation with the ADA Coordinator’s Office, partners with employees and departments to manage requests for disability accommodations in the workplace. This process is distinct from requesting academic accommodations with SLDS, however, we can assist you in interfacing with their office.  Contact hr-integrateddisability@osu.edu or 614-292-3439 to share any questions you have or visit the IAMVS website.

  • I am seeking accommodations in my field placement. 

Your program’s field placement coordinator and the ADA Coordinator’s Office provide support and guidance for placements both on and off campus.   You can contact the ADA Coordinator’s Office at ADA-OSU@osu.edu or 614-292-6207.

  • I am seeking accommodations for my thesis, dissertation, oral defense, candidacy or final exams.R

Reach out to your assigned Student Life Disability Services Access Specialist to request these accommodations as early as possible. If approved, these accommodations will be communicated to the Graduate School.

  •  Do you require health insurance or payment to use your services?  

Our services are covered as part of your tuition.  Personal use assistive technologies may not be covered.

  •  Do you provide career assistance?

Our office has an embedded career vocational counselor through the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disablities College2Careers program.  They have staff fully dedicated to helping Ohio State students with disabilities obtain internships, part-time, and post-graduation employment. They also can advise students on the choices around workplace disability disclosure. 

Eligibility for Services

In order to receive services, students must provide documentation of a qualifying condition. Some qualifying conditions include (but are not limited to):

  • Mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression, bipolar, PTSD)
  • ADHD/ADD
  • Chronic health conditions (e.g., tinnitus, cancer, diabetes, Crohn's Disease, epilepsy)
  • Learning disabilities (e.g., dyscalculia, dyslexia)
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • Temporary injuries (e.g., broken arm/leg, concussion, surgery recovery)
  • Sensory disabilities (e.g., Blind/low vision; D/deaf or Hard of Hearing)
  • Autism 
  • Mobility conditions (e.g., Cerebral Palsy, paraplegia, quadriplegia)
  • Pregnancy-related medical complications

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