SJSU Catalog

Education - Special Education, Department of

Introduction

The Department of Special Education offers a Master of Arts degree with concentration in Special Education and various specializations. Education Specialist credentials are offered in Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Early Childhood Special Education, Mild-Moderate Disabilities and Moderate-Severe Disabilities. We also offer an Add-on Certificate in Early Childhood Special Education for Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe credentialed teachers who want to work with children from birth to 4 years of age. To enable students to start on an Education Specialist credential and to support the preparation of other professionals, the department offers minors in atypical child studies, deaf education, and special education.

All teaching credential programs are accredited by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) as well as the National Council on the Accreditation of Teacher Education Colleges (NCATE). The Deaf Education Program is accredited by the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED)

Advisement Information

Prior to admittance into a specialist credential program a student must demonstrate subject matter competency by passing an approved subject matter competency examination. Graduation from an accredited program and university are required in addition to a grade point average of 2.87 for all credentials applicants. CBEST is required for all specialist credentials applicants. Each student is assigned an advisor who will assist in program planning. Major and minor programs are subject to the approval of both the advisor and the department chair.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing has established the Education Specialist credentials as Level I (Preliminary) and Level II (Clear) credentials. Specific regulations for these levels require that students attend a scheduled orientation meeting before enrolling in courses.