Rate My Professor Tyler Hicks

Tyler Hicks is an assistant research professor and Director of Quantitative Methodology at the Kansas University Center on Disabilities (KUCD) within the University of Kansas Life Span Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of South Florida in 2015, with double concentrations in Educational Statistics and Special Education, and holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the same university. Hicks began his tenure at the University of Kansas as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Special Education in 2017, followed by a role as research associate at the Life Span Institute’s SWIFT Education Center. He joined the KUCD data science team in 2018 and holds an additional appointment in the research design and analysis unit of the Life Span Institute. Fluent in SAS and proficient in R and Mplus, he provides statistical services including data validation, analysis, education, and grant development support to KUCD affiliates.

Hicks’ research focuses on quantitative methods, research design, and statistical modeling, with expertise in Bayesian approaches for data from small-sample clinical trials in disability studies and cost-effectiveness analysis of special education interventions. He has served as co-principal investigator or lead methodologist on funded projects totaling more than $34 million. His scholarship has appeared in Educational Researcher, American Journal of Evaluation, and Remedial and Special Education, including “Unpacking Assumptions in Research Synthesis: A Critical Review and Proposed Framework” (2017, Educational Researcher) and “Bayesian Posterior Odds Ratios: Statistical Tools for Hypothesis Testing in Evaluation Research” (2018, American Journal of Evaluation). In 2024, Hicks received the Steven F. Warren Research Achievement Award from the University of Kansas, recognizing his contributions to advancing research in special education and disabilities.