Early Childhood Special Education: Severe/Multiple Disabilities - MSEd

Admission Requirements: Program 1

Program 1A

For applicants who do not hold New York State Certification.

Admission Requirements

1. Undergraduate BA or BS degree from an approved college, with a GPA of 2.8 or better or a graduate degree from an approved college with a GPA of 3.5 or better
    
2. A liberal arts or science major or interdisciplinary concentration of at least 30.
    
3. A general education core in liberal arts and sciences to include 6 credits in English including a course in English composition with a grade of B or better (or a writing intensive course in any discipline with a grade of B or better), 6 credits in social studies (with at least one course in history or geography), 9 credits in math and science with at least one course in math and one course in science (a college course in calculus meets 6 credits of this requirement), 3 credits in the arts, 6 credits in a language other than English (3 years of high school study in the same foreign language with grades of C or better documented by high school transcript meets this requirement) and 3 credits in information retrieval (library studies, research, computer literacy, or educational technology).

Program 1B

This program is for applicants who hold New York State Certification in an area other than early childhood. Those with a childhood or preK-6 certificate complete 36-40 credits. Those with certification in an area other than childhood complete 40-50 credits.

1. Any New York State teacher certificate other than early childhood education.
    
2. An undergraduate BA or BS from an approved college with a  GPA of 2.8 or a graduate degree from an approved college with a GPA of 3.5 or better.

Admission Requirements: Program 2

For applicants who hold early childhood New York State Certification

1. An undergraduate BA or BS degree from an approved college with a GPA of 2.8 or higher or a graduate degree from an approved college with a GPA of 3.5 or better
    
2. New York State initial/permanent teacher certification in early childhood or preK-grade 6. Those holding permanent certification must either show proof that they have satisfied the New York State requirements regarding wellness, child abuse, drug abuse, fire safety, and violence prevention or take
   HED 71500
    , a one credit course covering these topics.

Progress Standards

A. 12-Credit Progress Standards for Matriculated Students

1. Students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to continue in the program.

2. Students with more than one course grade below B in the first 12 credits will not be allowed to continue in the program.

3. A student who receives a grade of F in any course in the first 12 credits will not be allowed to continue in the program.

4. Students with one grade of IN (Incomplete) within the first 12 credits are restricted from registering for more than one additional course. Those with two or more INs will not be allowed to register for any courses.

Note: It is recommended that students with two or more INs take an official leave of absence while they are completing their IN courses.

5. Program 1A students must take the Liberal Arts and Science Test (LAST) of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations and submit their scores to the Office of Educational Services (Room 1000 West Building) before they complete 12 credits of course work. Any student who does not receive a passing score on the LAST and who does poorly on the test of written analysis and expression must enroll in a college writing course or workshop series approved by an adviser, before being permitted to register for any courses.

B. Fieldwork Benchmark

Students must receive a grade of at least B in fieldwork and clinical teaching courses (e.g., SPED 782, SPED 784, CEDC 729; ECC 712; SPEDE 776 or SPEDE 767). Any student who receives a grade of B-, C+ or C must apply to the chair of the department for permission to retake the course, which may be repeated only once. Any student who receives a grade of F in a fieldwork or clinical teaching course will not be allowed to continue in the program.

C. In order to enroll in student teaching or supervised practicum, all students must:

1. Have an overall GPA of at least 3.0; and

2. Have no outstanding INs.
 

Early Childhood Special Education with an Annotation in Severe/Multiple Disabilities Course of Study

Program 2

Total Credits: 41 credits

• SPED 70000 - Issues and Practices in Educating Students with Disabilities
• SPED 70650 - Strategies and Curriculum Adaptations for Learners with Severe/Multiple Disabilities
• SPED 79000 - Foundations and Educational Implications of Severe/Multiple Disabilities
• SPED 79100 - Alternative Assessment for Learners with Low Incidence Disabilities: Visual Impairment, Deafblindness, and Severe Disabilities
• SPED 79200 - Language Development and Alternative Communication Systems for Learners with Low Incidence Disabilities: Severe Disabilities including Deafblindness
• SPED 79300 - Total Communication for Learners with Severe/Multiple Disabilities
• SPED 74600 - Educational Implications of Learners Who Are Deafblind
• SPEDE 77000 - Curriculum Models and Methods in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education
• SPEDE 77100 - Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics, Implications for Intervention, and Educational Strategies
• SPEDE 77200 - Behavioral Theory and Its Applications to Young Children with Special Needs
• SPEDE 77300 - Developing Partnerships with Families for Their Child’s Development and Learning
• SPEDE 77400 - Reading and Writing for Students with Special Education Needs, Grades K–2
• SPEDE 77500 - Mathematics for Students with Special Education Needs, Grades K–2
• SPED 70700 - Research Seminar: Issues in Special Education