MEd in Special Education - High Incidence, Alternative Certification

The special education high incidence alternative certification program at WSU provides an alternative route to the special education teaching profession and is geared toward individuals who have experience working as paraprofessionals.

The program prepares reflective practitioners who possess both theoretical understanding and practical skills for teaching students with mild to moderate disabilities. Candidates receive preparation to support them in meeting teacher licensure requirements in the first 30–31 credit hours (two years). Students must complete an additional 7 credit hours for the MEd degree. Courses are offered fully online. Candidates must continue full-time employment as a special education teacher while completing their coursework. Loss of employment or continuous improvement will result in dismissal from the program.

Admission

To be considered for admission to the special education high incidence alternative certification program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

For full admission, students must have a GPA of 2.750 or better;
Applicants with a GPA below 2.750 are required to meet one of the following:
- GRE scores of at least 150 in verbal reasoning, 148 in quantitative reasoning, and 3.5 in analytical writing.
- Miller Analogies Test (MAT) score of 400 or above.
Full admission to the WSU Graduate School.

Applications are evaluated when received for the special education high incidence alternative certification program.

Upon admission, students will be required to sign documentation that acknowledges their understanding of the following program requirements:

Successful completion of the first semester of coursework and submission of the fully completed and signed KSDE Form 24 to the program advisor is required to begin the required core courses.
Students must gain employment as a special education teacher of record at the start of their second semester and remain employed throughout the duration of their program. If employment is lost, students will not be allowed to remain in the program.
All preparatory and required core courses must be completed within two years.

Program Requirements

Background Check

Upon admission and prior to their first semester, all applicants admitted to this program must clear a criminal background check. There are two reasons for this requirement. First, it is part of the university’s due diligence before placing students in field settings. Second, the check may alert applicants or students to issues that may subsequently affect their ability to work in their chosen field. In instances when a person’s criminal history raises reasonable concerns that should be cleared to engage in the field experiences and/or subsequently obtain licensure/endorsement, WSU may take a range of actions, including rescission of admission or dismissal from the program, depending on the nature of the concern.

For more information visit advanced programs background check requirement¹.

Course List
Course	Title	Hours
Preparatory Coursework
Taken as a cohort during the first semester of the program while still employed as a paraprofessional. If summer start, employment as a paraprofessional not required.
SPED 784	Foundations of Special Education	3
SPED 506	Introduction to the Education Profession for Special Educators	2
SPED 556	Introduction to Instructional Planning and Classroom Management	2
Required Core Courses
Students must start full-time employment as a special education teacher.
SPED 757A	Integrated Seminar and Mentoring I	1
SPED 724	Introduction to Teaching Strategies for Students with High-Incidence Disabilities ²	3
SPED 818	Positive Behavior Supports for Students with Exceptionalities ^{2, 5}	3
or CLES 721	Fundamental Elements in Behavior Change and Specific Behavior Change Procedures
SPED 796	Family and Professional Collaboration ²	2
SPED 757B	Integrated Seminar and Mentoring II	1
SPED 817	Language to Literacy: Meeting the Needs of Students with High Incidence Disabilities ^{2, 3}	3
SPED 817A	Internship/Practicum: Language to Literacy ^{2, 4}	2
SPED 822	Principles of Nondiscriminatroy Assessment for Students with Exceptionalities ²	2
SPED 815	Intensive Academic and Behavioral Interventions	2
SPED 749A	Practicum: High Incidence Learners	2
SPED 812	Transition Across the Life Span ²	2
SPED 757C	Integrated Seminar and Mentoring III	1
CAS 501	Teacher Licensure Capstone	0
Research Component
SPED 851	Special Education Research ^{5, 6}	3
or CLES 723	Single Subject Design
SPED 862	Capstone Research Project: Project Completion ^{2, 7}	3
Total Credit Hours		37

¹: Link opens new window.
²: Requires a B- or better.
³: Must be taken with SPED 817A.
⁴: Must be taken with SPED 817.
⁵: CLES 721 and CLES 723 course options are only for students who are also completing the ABA Graduate Certificate program.
⁶: Requires completion of all preparatory and required core courses.
⁷: Requires completion of all preparatory and required core courses, as well as completion of SPED 851 or CLES 723.

Note: Students are eligible to take Praxis exams for teacher licensure after completion of all of the preparatory and required core courses.

Applied Learning

Students in the MEd in special education - high incidence alternative certification are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirements can be met in part by completing a capstone research project in which the emphasis is on applying professional practices to research and is directly linked to applied learning. In addition, students must complete at least 135 hours of field experience/internship in special education classrooms by successfully completing the following courses: SPED 749A and SPED 817A.