Special Education Teaching Certification

Students seeking to major in special education must fulfill the general requirements for a bachelor’s degree, requirements for a teaching certificate at either the elementary or secondary level and advanced preparation in educating students with cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, emotional impairments and/or autism spectrum disorder. Students majoring in special education are subject to all teacher education policies and procedures.

This program represents an extended advanced training for special education majors for teaching individuals with cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, emotional impairments and autism spectrum disorder. Completion of the following sequence of courses will result in teacher certification at either the elementary or secondary level, a Master of Arts in Teaching and endorsements in cognitive impairments, learning disabilities and/or emotionally impaired. However, students may exit prior to the completion of this program at either the Bachelor of Arts/Science level with teacher certification or with B.A./B.S.-certification and an endorsement in emotionally impaired, cognitively impaired, or autism spectrum disorder.

1. General Education: 35 credits in 10 areas; described under Baccalaureate Degree Requirements.
2. Professional Education Requirements: Following admission to the College of Education, students majoring in special education are required to follow the sequence for professional studies described under Elementary Education and Secondary Teaching. Exception: Elementary Education students continuing special education major are not required to complete TE 342, Teaching and Managing the Diverse Classroom: K-8.
3. Academic Minors