Special Education/Early Childhood: Curriculum
Get a description of each of Cal U's special education and early childhood education courses from our Course Catalog.
Bachelor of Science in Education: Special Education/Early Childhood Education (Dual Major): 144 Credits
The Department of Special Education, in cooperation with the Elementary Education Department, also offers a dual major in special education and early childhood education. The obvious advantage to the dual major is that you receive certification in both special education and early childhood education at the same time. Students who complete this program will be certified to teach in the following areas in special education: children with low intelligence, children with learning disabilities, children with emotional problems and children with multiple physical disabilities. This certification will cover grades nursery through 12. Students who choose the dual Special Education/Early Childhood Education degree will additionally be certified to teach preschool through grade 3. The following is a sample of a five-year schedule. NOTE: If a student is willing to attend summer classes or take more credits in a semester, it would be possible to graduate even sooner.
NOTE: Due to Pennsylvania Department of Education changes that will impact the current curriculum, additional changes will be forthcoming. See the online catalog for information regarding the new dual-major programs titled Pre-K to Grade 4/Special Education and Grade 4 to Grade 8/Special Education.
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
**UNI 100 First-Year Seminar | 1 cr. |
| **ENG 101 English Composition I | 3 crs. |
*ESP 101 Exceptional Child I | 3 crs. |
*ESP 301 Behavior Principles I | 3 cr. |
**Math Course | 3 crs. |
| *PSY 100 General Psychology | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
*ESP 200 Exceptional Child II | 3 crs. |
*ESP 401 Behavior Principles II | 3 crs. |
*ESP 339 Fld Exp. I: High Incidence | 3 crs. |
**Math Course | 3 crs. |
**ENG 102 English Composition II | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| Humanities | 3 crs. |
| **Natural Science | 3 crs. |
| **Social Science | 3 crs. |
| **ART-MUS-THE 372 Creative Arts for Elementary Education | 3 crs. |
| Values | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
**EDU 350 English Language Learners | 3 crs. |
*EDE 211 Instructional Strategies | 3 crs. |
**EAS Earth Science | 3 crs. |
**Natural Science | 3 crs. |
| **Social Science | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
*ESP 349 Field Experience II: Low Incidence | 3 crs. |
*ESP 402 Life Skills Planning & Instruction | 3 crs. |
*ESP 403 Assessment & Prescriptive Teaching | 3 crs. |
**ECO Economics | 3 crs. |
| **GEO Geography | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
Computer Course | 3 crs. |
*EDE 311 Children’s Literature | 3 crs. |
*ECE 200 Intro to Early Childhood Education | 3 crs. |
*ECE 405 Early Child Ed. Seminar | 3 crs. |
| *HPE 105 Current Health Issues | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
*PSY 205 Child Psychology OR *PSY 207 Developmental Psychology | 3 crs. |
**EDF 333 Educational Technology | 3 crs. |
*ECE 315 Math Content Early Child | 3 crs. |
*ECE 302 Emerging Literacy | 3 crs. |
| *ECE 320 Fld. Exp. Infant/Toddler/Day | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
*ECE 304 Thematic Teaching | 3 crs. |
*EDU 310 Teaching in a Multicultural Soc. | 3 crs. |
*EDE 321 Primary Field Exp. K-3 | 3 crs. |
*PSY 208 Educational Psychology | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
*ESP 404 Curriculum & Methods I | 4 crs. |
*ESP 405 Curriculum & Methods II | 4 crs. |
*ESP 406 Transition Planning & Instruction | 3 crs. |
*ECE 319 Parent and Community | 3 crs. |
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
*ESP 461 Student Teaching | 12 crs. |
* Required major and related courses
** Required and recommended General Education courses
