Special Education

The Department of Special Education offers undergraduate and graduate programs for persons who want to make a difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Candidates who become special educators through the department are part of a proud tradition that goes back over three-quarters of a century at St. Thomas. They complete programs that embrace the liberal arts; emphasize culturally sustaining, evidence-based, and ethical practices; and prepare highly effective educators dedicated to the success of all learners.

Students learn to assess, evaluate, identify needs, design instruction, teach, and monitor progress for individuals with disabilities in a variety of areas, including academics, behavior, and cognitive, communication, functional, and social-emotional skills. The major prepares students to promote excellence, lead, connect with communities, and inspire change so that individuals with disabilities have inclusive opportunities and receive a high-quality education.

Upon completing the major, students will be prepared to work with individuals with special needs who require assistance in therapy settings, in group homes, in transition programs, and in work sites supporting individuals with disabilities. There are abundant opportunities for employment in these areas. Furthermore, the major provides students a foundation for working towards a special education teaching license, should they choose to pursue that option. The optional license “add-on” is described below.

Due to the variety of options available, it is suggested that students considering an undergraduate major in special education contact a program advisor in the School of Education as early as possible in their college careers. Ongoing state licensure rule changes make careful planning particularly important for students choosing the optional license “add-on”.

As an alternative to the major, students may choose to pursue a Special Education Exceptionalities Minor. This would be a good option for undergraduates who are Teacher Education majors, as well as those in related fields who want to expand their knowledge and their skills with regard to children/youth with disabilities and exceptionalities.

Students apply for admission to the major program while enrolled in EDUC 210. Criteria for admission to the education program include:

• Cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 for all credits earned at UST
• Positive recommendations based on a department committee review of a personal essay

Students accepted into the program must:

• Maintain a 2.75 GPA
• Earn a grade of C or better in all education courses
• Demonstrate ability to consistently exhibit all professional dispositions
• Successfully complete program Assessments at Transition Points
• For optional licensure path: Show evidence of satisfactory field experiences
• For optional licensure path: Licensure candidates will need to pass all required MTLE pedagogy and content exams by the time of program completion in order to apply for licensure in the state of Minnesota. Licensure candidates will also need to take the edTPA.

The department reserves the right to dismiss candidates from the licensure programs based on violations of the professional dispositions standards.

(8 courses @ 4 credits each = 32 credits)

• EDUC 210 Education: Issues and Policies (4 credits)
• SPUG 250 Fundamentals of Special Education: Exceptionality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (cross-listed with SPED 750 / REDP 631; 4 credits)
• SPUG 316 Fundamentals: Students with Mild to Moderate Needs (cross-listed with SPED 716 / REDP 621; 4 credits)
• SPUG 414 Professional Practice: Collaboration, Co-teaching, and Educational Technology (cross-listed with SPED 714 / REDP 624; 4 credits)
• SPUG 485 Applied Behavior Analysis: Behavior Interventions and Learning Environments (cross-listed with SPED 785 / REDP 625; 4 credits)
• SPUG 445 Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Individualized Planning for Diverse Learners (cross-listed with SPED 645 / REDP 622 & 623; 4 credits)
• SPUG 417 Elementary Academic Interventions and Literacy (cross-listed with SPED 717 / REDP 627 & 628; 4 credits)
• SPUG 418 Secondary Academic Interventions and Transitions (cross-listed with SPED 718 / REDP 629 & 630; 4 credits)

Undergraduate majors who wish to become a licensed special education teacher can do so by successfully completing an “optional license add on” to the major.

The Special Education Department offers two license options at the undergraduate level:

• Academic Behavior Strategist (ABS)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Undergraduate majors who pursue one of these two license options must complete the following three requirements (28-32 credits):

• One or two elective course(s) (4-8 credits), focused on disability-specific methods for Academic Behavior Strategist (ABS) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

The number of courses required depends on the license sought:

For students seeking the Academic Behavior Strategist (ABS) license: 

• SPUG 419 Methods: Social, Emotional & Behavioral (with embedded Field Experience III) (4 credits)

For students seeking the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) license: 

• SPUG 402 Communication Social Interventions (4 credits) and
• SPUG 403 Methods: Autism Spectrum Disorder (with embedded Field Experience III) (4 credits)

SPUG 490: Student Teaching and Seminar: Special Education (8 credits)

The purpose of this course is to provide a practicum in an educational setting working with students with disabilities that addresses competencies required for special education licensure. This course provides documentation of competencies and practical experiences gleaned from coursework and 100 hours of fieldwork experiences. An initial teaching license requires a minimum 12-week student teaching experience.

The courses in the Teacher Education minor cover the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice and the Elementary Reading Standards. The minor includes the five courses below; the first of these will already have been taken as part of the Special Education undergraduate major.

Four additional 4-credit courses = 16 credits

1. EDUC 210 Education: Issues and Policies (included in SPUG major)
2. EDUC 329 Diversity & Equity in Education
3. EDUC 330 Psychology of Teaching and Learning
4. EDUC 350 Language Development, Literacy & Literature I
5. EDUC 370 Language Development, Literacy & Literature II
   1. SPUG majors who seek licensure will take TEGR 370 in a section cross-listed with TEGR 570
   2. SPUG majors will do their required field experience work in a disability-specific methods course