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General Catalog

Accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)

College of Education
Department Office: 2280 Sorenson Arts and Education Complex
Mailing Address: 1721 Campus Center Drive, Room 2280, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Phone: 801-581-8121
Fax:  801-585-6476
Website: special-ed.utah.edu

Department Chair: Matt Jameson, Ph.D., matt.jameson@utah.edu
Academic Advising Coordinator: Kaitlin Lindsey, k.lindsey@utah.edu

The Department of Special Education prepares qualified persons for teaching, scholarship, and leadership positions in educational settings and social agencies. The programs are interdisciplinary and emphasize the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families.

Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate degree prepares professionals for educating young children and students with disabilities. Students complete a minimum of 122 semester credit hours to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree. Completion of the program also leads to licensure by the Utah State Office of Education and when applicable, early intervention credentials from Utah Department of Health.

Please see Admissions requirements on the Special Education homepage at special-ed.utah.edu.

Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA in their program of study, and receive a grade of C or better in their coursework.

Teacher Testing Requirements
To comply with recent federal requirements and trends related to teacher testing and teacher qualifications, all teacher candidates are required to take appropriate content knowledge tests and appropriate pedagogical knowledge tests to be eligible for a Level I teaching license recommendation. Teacher candidates should consult the Department or the College of Education Dean's Office to verify which tests are appropriate for their major, minor, and licensure category. These tests should be taken prior to completion of the teacher licensure program, but the Department may also recommend at what point students are recommended to take these tests to be sufficiently prepared to perform well.

Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Requirements
Utah law (UCA 53A-3-410) requires University students in teacher education programs to receive background checks and fingerprinting clearance prior to having significant unsupervised access to children in school settings. Students should contact the Department of Special Education to obtain information about when and how to obtain background and fingerprinting clearance.

Graduate Program

Please see Admissions requirements on the Special Education homepage at special-ed.utah.edu.

Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA in their program of study, and receive a grade of C or better in their coursework.

Please see graduation requirements at https://registrar.utah.edu/graduation/requirements.php.

Students with a bachelor's degree who are interested in obtaining a Utah license to teach individuals with disabilities and their families have two options: (1) They may enter the graduate program and complete the state requirements for licensure only or (2) they may complete licensure in conjunction with the M.Ed. or M.S. degree program. Licensure programs are offered in the following areas:

  • mild to moderate disabilities

  • severe disabilities

  • early childhood special education and, when applicable, early intervention credentials from the Utah Department of Health.

  • deaf and hard of hearing

  • visually impaired

  • deafblind

Please see special-ed.utah.edu for more information.

Students with a bachelor's degree who are interested in obtaining a master's degree without a license have the following options:

  • Master of Education in Special Education (without teacher licensure)  

  • Master of Science in Special Education (without teacher licensure)

  • Master of Education in Special Education with an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) track (without teacher licensure)

  • Master of Science in Special Education with an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) track (without teacher licensure)  

  • Master of Education in Special Education with an Adaptive Physical Education (APE) track (without teacher licensure)

  • Master of Science in Special Education with an Adaptive Physical Education (APE) track (without teacher licensure)  

  • Master of Education in Special Education with Elementary Education Licensing

Please see special-ed.utah.edu for more information.

The M.Ed. is a professional degree and the M.S. is a research-oriented, academic degree. Requirements for the M.Ed. degree include advanced course work in professional development, leadership and educational evaluation. Students must also complete qualifying and comprehensive examinations. 

Requirements for the M.S. degree include graduate courses in research and statistics, an interdisciplinary approach, and a written thesis.

Individuals pursuing the M.Ed. or M.S. may include the state teaching licensure requirements in the areas of

  • mild to moderate disabilities

  • severe disabilities

  • early childhood special education

  • deaf and hard of hearing

  • visually impaired

  • deafblind

Please see special-ed.utah.edu for more information.

All master's programs must form a supervisory committee in accordance with The Graduate School requirements.

The Ph.D. degree is a research-oriented program with an interdisciplinary focus that prepares students for leadership positions in higher education. For further detailed information on the doctoral program, including prerequisite interviews and experience requirements, please see https://special-ed.utah.edu/graduate/phd/phd-admissions.php

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