Special Education - (Certification Track), B.S.Ed.

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Degree Requirements: 124 Credit Hours

Additional admission requirements must be met to enter the Special Education B.S.Ed. Certification Track (See B.S.Ed. Teacher Education Admission Requirements). Students seeking teacher certification are first admitted to the Special Education B.S.Ed. Professional Studies (Non-Certification Track). Upon meeting B.S.Ed. teacher education admission requirements at the completion of Area F, students will be admitted to the certification track. Successful completion of all program requirements and all Georgia Professional Standards Commission certification requirements will prepare an individual to gain teacher certification in Georgia.

See Core Curriculum for required courses in Area A1 through Area E.

General Requirements (Core A-E) Credit Hours: 42

Additional Requirements Credit Hours: 4

Area F - Courses Appropriate to Major Credit Hours: 18

Pre-Professional Block

Other Courses for the Major

MATH 2008 - Foundations of Numbers and Operations (3 Credit Hours)
READ 2230 - Cognition and Language (3 Credit Hours)
ELECTIVE Select one MATH or READ (1000-2000 level course)

Pedagogy for Professional Educators Credit Hours: 21

Major Requirements Credit Hours: 30

Emphasis Credit Hours: 9

Select from one of the following areas (Middle grades content level to be “Highly Qualified”)

Language Arts:

Math:

Reading:

Total Credit Hours: 124

Program Admission Criteria

See B.S.Ed. Teacher Education Admission Requirements

Must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program and qualify for a Georgia Preservice Certificate

Other Program Requirement

Must meet all requirements for retention in the Teacher Education Program.
Must earn a minimum grade of “C” in all courses in Area F of the Core, the teaching field, and professional education; and maintain an overall cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher.
Must earn a minimum grade of “B’” or higher in SPED 3130 Characteristics of Learners with Disabilities .
Must successfully complete all field experiences.
Must successfully complete portfolio evaluation process.
Must meet requirements for admission to Student Teaching/Internship II (See catalog section, Admission to Student Teaching).
Must take courses in proper sequence.
Must successfully complete assessments identified at each program transition point.

Honors in Special Education

To graduate with Honors in Special Education, a student must:

be admitted to the Honors College;
successfully complete at least four credit hours of COED 3610 Honors Research Seminar Education over four semesters;
successfully complete and present an Honors Thesis or Capstone Project;
be in good standing in the Honors College at the time of graduation.

Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) Special Education (Grades P-12) M.Ed. (Online) (General or Adaptive)

Degree Requirements: 36 Credit Hours

In accordance with SACSCOC requirements, 120 unique credit hours are required in a bachelor’s degree program, and at least 30 unique credit hours are required for a master’s degree program. The Special Education (Grades P-12) M.Ed. (Online) ABM program combines 124 hours from the Special Education B.S.Ed. (Certification Track) and 36 hours from the Special Education (Grades P-12) M.Ed. (Online), exceeding the required 150 unique hours between undergraduate and graduate degree programs by 10 hours. The Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies Handbook for Program Directors and Graduate Advisors permits a maximum of 9 shared credit hours between the undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Therefore, Special Education (Grades P-12) M.Ed. (Online) ABM students may share a maximum of 3 credit hours of graduate level courses in satisfying the requirements of both degree programs. The graduate course will include EDUR 7130 Educational Research.

Admission Requirements

For regular admission to the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) Special Education (Grades P-12) M.Ed. (Online) program, the applicant must have:

Enrollment as a current Georgia Southern undergraduate student majoring in the Special Education B.S.Ed. (Certification Track) program.
Between 60 and 95 credit hours in progress in the undergraduate program; including the courses, Assessment in Special Education SPED 3131 , Special Education Procedures SPED 3134 , and The Teaching of Reading READ 4131 with a “C” or better.
Complete Characteristics of Learners with Disabilities SPED 3130 with a “B” or better.
A 3.0 (4.0 scale) GPA or higher in undergraduate core coursework.
A 3.0 (4.0 scale) GPA in Special Education B.S.Ed. (Certification Track) undergraduate coursework.
Must complete a graduate school application to the Special Education (Grades P-12) M.Ed. (Online) program and select the ABM option in the fall of the student’s junior year. The application must include a letter of recommendation from a current Special Education faculty member.
Must be on track to complete certification in the teaching area prior to admission.

ABM programs do not allow provisional admission. ABM programs are designed for students who have demonstrated a high level of undergraduate academic performance that validates their ability to be successful graduate students.

Advisement

Undergraduate Academic Advisement at Georgia Southern is provided to all degree-seeking undergraduate students by professional advisors. Academic Advisors are located on all three Georgia Southern University campuses. Students are required to meet with their assigned Academic Advisor at least once a semester. For more information visit the Academic Advisement catalog page.