Program Description
The Master of Education in Special Education: Dual PreK-4/PreK-8 Certification program is intended for applicants who do not already hold Pennsylvania teaching certification. Upon completion, the student will hold a master's degree in special education and will be eligible for dual certification in Pre-K to grade 4 and Pre-K to grade 8 special education.
Program Coordinator
Dr. Jason Kight
Delivery Mode
Traditional (on-ground, face-to-face delivery, with some online/distance elements)
Accreditation
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP, formerly NCATE)
Approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education
Curriculum
| Course | Credits |
| Core Courses | |
| ESP 610* Special Ed: Foundations and Collaboration | 3 |
| ESP 620 Special Ed. History, Theory and Exceptionality | 3 |
| ESP 639 Field Experience Seminar in Special Education | 3 |
| ESP 701* Introduction to Behavior Analysis | 3 |
| Specialized Courses | |
| ECE 703 Literacy Development | 3 |
| ECE 707 Leadership and Management in Early Childhood | 3 |
| ELE 701 Teaching Language Arts | 3 |
| ELE 702 Teaching in Reading | 3 |
| ELE 711 Teaching in Mathematics | 3 |
| ELE 718 Teaching Expressive Arts | 3 |
| ELE 721 Teaching in Science | 3 |
| ELE 731 Teaching in Social Studies | 3 |
| ESP 602 Life Skills Planning and Instruction | 3 |
| ESP 603 Assessment and Prescriptive Teaching | 3 |
| ESP 607 Early Intervention: Special Education | 3 |
| ESP 612 Evidence-based Practices for PreK-8 Inclusion | 3 |
| ESP 622 Advanced Evidence Practices for PreK-8 Inclusion | 3 |
| Capstone Courses** | |
| ELE 795 Student Teaching Internship | 3 to 9 |
| ESP 661 Student Teaching Internship | 3 to 9 |
| ESP 800 Seminar in Advanced Behavior Analysis & Research Design | 3 |
| Total | 63 |
* ESP 610 and ESP 701 are prerequisite courses for all other ESP courses.
** Total of 12 credits for capstone courses.
Program Requirements
PA certification requires the following at the undergraduate or graduate level:
- College-level Mathematics (6 credits)
- English Composition and English/American literature (3 credits/3 credits)
- Health and Wellness (3 credits)
- Citizen: Geography, Political or Economy (3 credits)
- English Language Learners (3 credits)
- Instructional Technology (3 credits)
- U.S. History (3 credits)
- Physical Science (3 credits)
- Environmental/Earth Science (3 credits)
- Biology (3 credits)
Students must take the Graduate Comprehensive Exam.