Special Education

PSU’s Special Education programs offer you a variety of paths to become a special education teacher in Oregon, add to your teaching skills with special education expertise, or change your career. At PSU, you will have the opportunity to make an impact with special needs students in local schools. PSU offers elementary and secondary education pathways to obtain a special education teaching license.

Majors

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Special Education—Bachelor’s

This comprehensive program prepares you to work with students of all ages – from kindergarten to high school. Through rigorous lessons and hands-on practice, you’ll gain the specialized skills needed to effectively teach students with a wide range of support needs.

Special Education Major

Master's Programs

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Special Education—Master's and License

This graduate program prepares you to earn your Oregon Teaching License and a master’s degree. Learn to effectively teach students with a wide range of support needs from complex disabilities to those who need targeted support with behavior, social, or academic skills.

Special Education

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Early Intervention Special Education—Master’s or Graduate Certificate

This program is for pre-service professionals, licensed teachers, and those who already hold a master’s degree. You will learn to provide crucial support to children with developmental delays and disabilities from birth to their start in school. You’ll gain the skills to assess children for delays, create and implement a strategy to build skills, develop relationships with family, and support children in their transition to a school setting.

Early Intervention Special Ed

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Early Childhood: Inclusive Education—Master’s

In our comprehensive master’s degree, you will develop as a highly reflective and responsive early childhood educator or social service professional. This fully online program takes an interdisciplinary approach, fully preparing you to understand the role of development, diversity, and culture in the lives of young children and their families.

Early Childhood: Inclusive Ed

Visually Impaired Learner Master’s or Blindness & Low Vision Graduate Certificate

Whether you are a pre-service professional, currently licensed teacher, or already hold a master’s degree, we have a pathway for you! Our program equips you to serve students birth to 21 years old with visual impairments, ensuring they access a quality education. You’ll learn to assist students with visual impairments to fully access the general education curriculum and gain practical experience through field placements in local educational agencies or at residential schools for the blind.

Visually Impaired Learner

Graduate Certificates & Endorsements

If you are a teacher candidate, or already working in the classroom you can add an endorsement to meet the requirements for Oregon's education licensing board, the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC). Some programs have the option to culminate in a master's degree with additional credits.

Added Special Education (AddSPED) Graduate Certificate/Endorsement: Bring inclusion to your own classroom and create a space where all students can learn and thrive; blend evidence-based research with creative classroom practices; and expand your opportunities to work with students ages 3–21 who have a range of support needs. This program can culminate in a master’s degree with additional credits.

Applied Behavior Analysis Graduate Certificate: This fully online graduate program provides a concentration of coursework in behavior analysis for those interested in careers as behavior specialists in schools or day-treatment centers, or in applied behavior analysis provider agencies, community-based organizations, in homes, and in communities. This program can culminate in a master’s degree with additional credits.

Infant/Toddler Mental Health Graduate Certificate: Through this program, you will learn the dynamics of infant and toddler development, protective factors in family environments, home and community-based intervention, and more. Our students are early childhood and early intervention educators, mental health, health care, social services, social workers, and counselors as well as home visitors and childcare providers. This program can culminate in a master’s degree with additional credits.

Orientation and Mobility for Children, Youth, and Adults (O&M) Graduate Certificate: O&M specialists educate students with visual impairments, including those with deafblindness. Through this program, you will gain the knowledge and skills to support student goals in a diverse range of schools, universities, rehabilitation settings, and community organizations. Often, students will combine this program with our Visually Impaired Learner program. Additionally, this program can culminate in a master’s degree with additional credits.