The Bachelor of Science pre-professional program in special education enables students to become knowledgeable about the characteristics, diagnosis and remediation of children with disabilities accessing the general education curriculum and in adapted curriculum settings. While in this program, students will have the opportunity to work with students with disabilities in elementary, middle and high schools across multiple school districts. They will learn from dedicated and engaged faculty members and have opportunities to participate in various scholarly activities inside and outside of the classroom. Students completing the four-year degree program, when combined with the teacher licensure option, are prepared to serve as teachers of students with disabilities in a variety of educational placements.
The licensure program is designed to prepare resilient, culturally responsive educators who are advocates for children and youth with disabilities that are not only qualified for the complexity of their professional roles but also are reflective problem-solvers.
Students enrolled in the program will complete both special education concentrations (accessing the general curriculum and adapted curriculum). The program includes extensive field experiences. Assessment of candidate performance includes evaluation of performance in individual courses and practicums. Students are required to demonstrate satisfactory performance, which includes a “C” or above in all major and concentration coursework and a “satisfactory” score on all practicum evaluations (i.e. all indicators on the evaluation are within the satisfactory range). Key assessments will be used to identify those candidates who are not making satisfactory progress towards advancement to the next sequences of courses and experiences. If progress is unsatisfactory, the candidate will be given one additional attempt on the key assessment. The assessments will be used to advise candidates and develop a plan of action for addressing any concerns that have been identified by the faculty. In some cases, a candidate will be allowed to continue in the next semester, but there will be a plan of action for addressing any concerns that have been identified by the faculty.
Every student is assigned an adviser. Students should plan on consulting their adviser regularly.
It is important for students to understand that the undergraduate major in special education does not lead to teacher-education licensure unless licensure requirements are completed. To qualify for a recommendation for licensure in special education, general curriculum K-12 and adapted curriculum K-12, students must complete licensure requirements in addition to requirements for the special education undergraduate major. These requirements include 18 credit hours of practicum and student teaching experiences. Please note that these credit hour requirements are included in the 122 credit hour requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Special Education degree.
