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Special Education Comprehensive Graduate Certificate

Learn the skills you need to serve students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN) or Low Incidence Disability. The Special Education Comprehensive Graduate Certificate helps you earn certification and enhances your knowledge in Comprehensive Special. The program provides evidenced-based instructional practices for K-12 students diagnosed with ESN and/or low incidence disabilities (e.g., intellectual disability, ASD, multiple disabilities).

Program Admissions

To be admitted, students must have at least a Bachelor of Science and apply to the Graduate School as a Master's Degree seeking applicant.

Admission Requirements:

  • Application to the Graduate School
  • A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  • Submission of a 2-page essay outlining past experience with individuals with disabilities and goals for acquiring a certificate in Comprehensive Special Education (in lieu of a GRE score)

Program Requirements

To receive this certificate, students must have successfully passed all four courses with a 3.0 or higher (cumulative for the four-course sequence) and received no less than a letter grade of B in any of the four courses. 

Required Courses (12 Credit Hours)

  • SPED 7050 - Teaching the Exceptional Learner: Over-view of special education including characteristics and education of students with various exceptionalities with focus on low incidence disabilities; emphasis on developing skills for effective teaching of exceptional students in the general education classroom.
  • SPED 7511 - Intellectual Disabilities: Curriculum, methods and materials applicable to special educational needs of moderately/severely disabled learners, emphasizing general curriculum access for educational and vocational skills that facilitate successful post-school outcomes and independent living.
  • SPED 7105 - Language and Communication for Inclusionary Classrooms: Instructing students with typical and exceptional communication needs. Includes interpreting speech/language assessment reports and designing instruction. Also, the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices, and working with non-native English speaking students.
  • SPED 7514 - Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis: Principles and procedures of applied behavior analysis with emphasis on application to change human behavior.