Special Education Licensure Programs (SELP)

The Special Education Licensure Program (SELP) provides professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate students as special education teachers. The program features exemplary teaching, scholarship and community service for the purpose of increasing the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.

The Special Education Program offers courses leading to licensure or additional endorsement in special education. A non-licensure option is also available.

Special Education Licensure Program (SELP): Undergraduate

The Colorado Department of Education now licenses special education teachers as “generalists.” The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs offers an approved special education generalist licensure program to students who are preparing to be special education teachers. We offer an approved undergraduate program that leads to state licensure as a generalist.

The College of Education and the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences (LAS) jointly offer the undergraduate special education licensure program. The LAS content area with licensure in special education requires approximately 124 semester hours of course work. This degree combines a liberal arts education with a content focus and a comprehensive special education teacher licensure program. Students in the undergraduate SELP will receive a BA in one of five majors—English, Biology, Geography, Spanish or History—and will complete their preparation for special education licensure. Students complete general education requirements, a minimum of 30 hours in one of the five majors and 42 semester hours in special education.

Acceptance into the SELP requires the following:

Minimum of 2.5 GPA
Acceptance into the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
Successful completion of the SELP application process

Students may pursue any of the following options in Graduate areas:

Initial Licensure Program
Master of Arts degree in Special Education with Initial Licensure
Master of Arts degree in Special Education (non-licensure option)
Added Special Education endorsement with or without a Master of Arts degree

Faculty

Christi Kasa, Ph. D., Department Chairperson and Associate Professor
Elaine Cheesman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Emily Nusbaum, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Laura Marshall, M. A., Senior Instructor

Website: http://www.uccs.edu/coe/acaddepts/sped/speddegprogs/spedgenlicundergradba.html

Special Education Licensure Program (SELP): Graduate

The Colorado Department of Education now licenses special education teachers with the Special Education Generalist License. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs offers an approved special education generalist licensure program to students who are preparing to be special education teachers. If you currently hold a teaching license in another field we offer an added endorsement program that leads to a special education generalist licensure. This program of study requires completion of coursework including student teaching and an internship that provides experience across the K-12 setting. Acceptance into the graduate Special Education Licensure Program requires completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university of recognized standing and meets the criteria of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Graduate School.

Students may pursue any of the following options:

Master of Arts degree in Special Education with Initial Licensure with or without a Master of Arts degree
Master of Arts degree in Special Education (non-licensure option)
Added Special Education endorsement with or without a Master of Arts degree

Faculty

Christi Kasa, Ph. D., Department Chairperson and Associate Professor
Elaine Cheesman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Emily Nusbaum, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Laura Marshall, M. A., Senior Instructor

Website: http://www.uccs.edu/coe/acaddepts/sped/speddegprogs/spedma.html

SELP Graduate Admission Process

Request a graduate application and information packet from the College of Education.
Schedule an appointment with a special education faculty member to develop a graduate plan.

Application Deadlines

Spring semester: October 15
Summer semester: April 1
Fall semester: June 15

SELP Graduate Curriculum Requirements

Graduate SPED Tier Generalist Core Classes

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Total Credit Hours for Licensure: 43

Additional Master’s Degree Requirements

Total Credit Hours for Initial Licensure and MA in Special Education: 52

Special Education Student Teaching

Students seeking licensure will participate in student teaching at the completion of their generalist licensure special education program. Students MUST complete one 16-week student teaching experience at either the elementary or secondary level. This placement may only be completed during fall or spring semester.

On-the-Job (OJT) student teaching: Students who are employed as teachers and hold a current Temporary Teaching Endorsement (TTE) may complete the OJT 16-week student teaching experience at their place of employment. OJT teachers must work with special education students and be evaluated by a district special education supervisor.

Paraprofessionals: Students who are employed as special education paraprofessionals may complete their student teaching experience at their place of employment. The special education teacher and principal must agree that opportunities are available to you to complete the course competencies with students in your classroom.

Special Education Student Internship

Students seeking licensure will participate in an internship at the completion of their generalist licensure special education program. Students MUST complete the equivalent of a 16-week internship experience at the opposite level in which they did their student teaching (elementary or secondary level). This placement may be completed in summer session. A student teacher who participated in the OJT student teaching option must do their internship in another educational setting. Paraprofessionals who do their student teaching at their place of employment must do their internship in another educational setting.

Students must complete their student teaching and internship within a 50-mile radius of the UCCS main campus.

Reading Specialist - Dyslexia Focus Certification

This 25-credit hour endorsement area provides extensive practice in teaching methods supported by research or evidence-based instruction. The training is explicit, systematic, cumulative and multisensory, meaning that it integrates listening, speaking, reading and writing. The curriculum emphasizes the integrated structure of written and spoken language, including the speech sound system (phonology), letter-sound associations (orthography), meaningful parts of words (morphology), the meaning of words and phrases (semantics), the structure of sentences (syntax) and comprehension of written text. The program includes:

Six 3-credit graduate level courses with field experiences
A six-week summer clinical practicum in reading and writing (mid-June to mid-July)
A nine-month internship

Those who successfully complete this endorsement program are knowledgeable about and able to articulate the methods, issues and resources involved in support of student instruction for dyslexia. Students are prepared to provide professional guidance and expertise related to dyslexia to schools and districts, serve as reading coaches or in-class consultants for classroom teachers, and provide in-service workshops for district personnel.

Faculty

Elaine Cheesman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Christi Kasa, Ph. D., Department Chairperson and Associate Professor
Emily Nusbaum, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Laura Marshall, M. A., Senior Instructor

Website: http://www.uccs.edu/coe/acaddepts/sped/spedlicprogs/reading-specialist-dyslexia-focus.html