Teaching: Credential, Preliminary Education Specialist Instruction (Mild/Moderate Disabilities)

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Preliminary Education Specialist Teaching Credential (Mild-Moderate Disabilities) program prepares you to become a special education teacher in K-12 classrooms, as well as within other instructional settings geared for children and adults up to age 22. As a graduate of the program, you are specifically equipped to serve students with mild to moderate disabilities, including autism, various learning disabilities, emotional disturbances and other health impairments.

The Preliminary Education Specialist Teaching Credential is available only through the Intern Teaching track.

All HSOE credential and authorization preparation programs are approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). Application for California Teaching or Administrative Services credentials or authorizations is made through the university’s Credential Analyst. Candidates who concurrently enroll in both the MAEd Program and the Credentialing Program are required to meet admissions standards and requirements for both tracks. All credential programs receive CLAD/CTEL authorization embedded within the credential program.

Program Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Make subject matter comprehensible to all students
Assess student learning
Engage and support all students in learning
Plan instruction and design learning experiences
Create and maintain effective environments for learning
Develop as a professional educator

Training Model

Intern teachers serve as a salaried Teacher-of-Record for two semesters, assuming immediate and full teaching responsibility and management of the classroom.

Specialized Admissions Requirements

Applicants to must satisfy the requirements stipulated in the “Admissions and Registration” section of the University catalog, and must also meet the following criteria:

GPA: Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.5

Recommendations: Each candidate must provide two written confidential recommendations from those who can attest to the applicant’s abilities, interests, and proven accomplishments in education.

Personal essay: A two-page personal essay describing the following is required:

the professional organizations to which you belong,
honors, activities and other creative accomplishments, and
a brief autobiographical statement including future professional plans.

Interview: Student must have an interview with the relevant HSOE Admissions Committee.

Upon receipt and review of all documentation, the candidate will be considered for final admission. Final admissions decision will be made by the Program Faculty.

Applicants to the Teaching Credential Programs must also give evidence of passing CBEST scores.

Specialized Admissions Requirements: Credit for Previous Graduate Work

Transfer of credit may be awarded on the following basis:

A maximum of 6 semester units beyond the bachelor’s degree may be transferred from a regionally accredited institution. All such coursework must have been earned in addition to the bachelor’s degree required coursework.
The request to accept credit to be transferred must be approved by the program director.
Credits must have been earned within seven years prior to the request for transfer. Waivers of this requirement may be considered by program faculty on a case by case basis. All waivers must be approved by the dean.
Extension courses or continuing education courses are not, in standard cases, acceptable for graduate transfer. However, courses completed at high levels through an accredited university or local district program may be considered by the program director and approved by the Dean of the Hufstedler School of Education for partial credit transfer.
Coursework being considered for transfer must be equivalent to Alliant coursework for which it is being applied. Students are required to submit transcripts, catalog course descriptions and other documentation.
All coursework must be completed successfully at credit or B levels or higher.

Curriculum and Degree Requirements

27 units are required for the Preliminary Education Specialist Instruction Credential (Mild/Moderate Disabilities).

Once admitted to the Program, applicants must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher in all coursework. Students failing to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 at the end of any term will be placed on academic warning and must correct the deficiency by the following semester or be subject to academic dismissal from the program.

Degrees are posted to the official university transcript through the Registrar’s Office at Candidate request. Completion of degree program is verified by the Registrar as per the Curriculum Plan. All courses below are three units (3) unless otherwise noted.