College of Education

Special Education Program

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WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AT UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY!

B. S. SPECIAL EDUCATION DEGREE 
K-12 MILD/MODERATE CERTIFICATION
Upon completing the prerequisite General Education and Program prerequisite courses, students are eligible to apply to the Special Education Program. The Junior and Senior years include coursework and teaching experiences leading to a Utah Level I Educator License. The Utah Level I license qualifies graduates to teach students with mild/moderate disabilities in grades K-12. Paid employment opportunities while in the program are sometimes available to students through UT’s partnership with school districts. Licensing is not guaranteed or awarded by Utah universities, but by the state they are applying to.

Faculty & Staff

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Degrees Offered

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Courses

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Admission Criteria:

  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Complete all GE and Program prerequisites courses
  • C grade or better (no C- credit) in all Program GE and Prerequisite courses
  • Pass Accuplacer NG Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics for Math (Minimum score of 255). Pass Accuplacer NG Writing for English (Minimum score of 255)
  • Complete program application the semester before beginning the SPED Program. Application information can be found here. The application process requires an official UT transcript, two Professional
  • Responsibility evaluations completed by Education prerequisite instructors, two recommendation forms, background check clearance, and official Accuplacer score report. Application deadline is in October.
  • If the above requirements have been appropriately satisfied by the application deadline, students will invited to participate in a Group Interview.
  • Students who receive an overall admission score of 74 or higher will be accepted to the Special Education Program. This score is calculated based on scores from the group interview, evaluations, recommendation forms, and GPA.

GE Prerequisite Courses:

Minimum of 63 college semester hours or an Associate’s Degree including GE’s electives, institutional requirements, and the following GE courses:

  • MATH 1030 Quantitative Literacy or MATH 1050 College Algebra
  • PSY 1010 General Psychology or PSY 1100 Human Development or FSHD 1500 Human Development (UT Preschool lab hours required)
  • HIST 1700 American Civilization or POLS 1100 American Government
  • Diversity component: Minimum 1 semester of any college-level foreign language course (including ASL) or evidence of having lived in a non-English speaking country or environment for a continuous period of 1 year or more.

 

SPED Program Prerequisite Courses:

  • EDUC 1010 – Introduction to Education
  • EDUC 2010 – Introduction to Teaching Exceptional Learners
  • EDUC 2400 – Foundations of Multicultural/ESL Learners
  • EDUC 2500 – Instructional Technology in K-12 Classrooms (within 5 years of application)
  • EDUC 2700 Graduation Planning, Program Application, & Career Prep
  • EDUC 3110 – Educational Psychology
  • SPED 2700 – Special Education Law
  • MATH 2010 – Math for Elementary Teachers I
  • MATH 2020 – Math for Elementary Teachers II

SPED Program Professional Courses

*Once admitted to the Special Education Program

Semester 1

ELED 3100  Curriculum Design Planning and Assessment

ELED 3250  Effective Classroom Management

ELED 3350  Literacy Acquisition of Young Children

ELED 3650  Assessment of Young Children

SPED 3200  Practicum in Special Education (K-6)

SPED 3500  Program Planning and Implementation in the Inclusive Classroom

SPED 4720  Social, Learning, and Behavior Supports in the Inclusive Classroom

Semester 2

EDUC 3300  Literacy Beyond the Early Years

ELED 4100   Methods of Teaching Elementary Math

MATH 4450 Math for Secondary SPED Teachers (taught through USBE)

SPED 3700  Practicum in Special Education 2 (7-12)

SPED 3850  Transition Planning

SPED 4250  Teaching Reading/Language Arts to Students with Disabilities

Semester 3

ELED 4430  Family/Parent Involvement Education ESL

ELED 4600  Methods in Teaching Elementary Language Arts

SPED 4000  Practicum in Special Education 3 (K-6 or 7-12 choice)

SPED 4240  Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Exceptionalities

SPED 4530  Teaching Math to Students with Disabilities

SPED 4650  Effective Teaching Strategies for Students with Mild/Moderate Disabilities

SPED 4750  Behavior Supports for Students with Disabilities

Semester 4

SPED 4900  Special Education Student Teaching in a K-6 or 7-12 setting (choice)

SPED 4989  Special Education Student Teaching Capstone

Related Resources

UT Accreditation Admissions Tuition & Costs UT Colleges
Accreditation Department of Teacher Education Application Process Forms and Templates Obtaining a
Teaching License

Contact

Patrick Schwab, Ph.D.

Department Chair

Email: patrick.schwab@utahtech.edu

Phone: 435-652-7854

Office: COE 166

Kari Gali, Ph.D.

Special Education Program Director/Associate Professor

Email: Kari.Gali@utahtech.edu

Phone: 435-879-4257

Office: COE 159

Zac Olson

Associate Academic Advisor for College of Education

Email: Zac.Olson@utahtech.edu

Phone: 435-652-7846

Office: COE 109/112

Mary McFadden

Administrative Assistant

Email: Mary.McFadden@utahtech.edu

Phone: 435-879-4247

Office: COE Front Admin