Graduate Certificate in Teaching Special Education (K-12): General Curriculum

The Special Education (K-12): General Curriculum Graduate Certificate program is a 27-hour graduate-level program to prepare students for the North Carolina "Standard Professional I" license (initial licensure) in Special Education: General Curriculum.

Special Education (K-12): General Curriculum teachers work with students who have mild disabilities. Using an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), tailored to each student's educational requirements and abilities, Special Education: General Curriculum teachers adapt general classroom education curriculum to meet each special education student's needs.

The Graduate Certificate teacher licensure program is intended for:

• Individuals changing careers to become special education teachers;
• Teachers wishing to change licensure fields.

Prospective students, whose employment depends upon a specific teaching license, should contact the Human Resource Licensure Representative, within their employing school system, to verify this licensure meets the conditions of their teaching employment.

Candidates who are not teaching must have some daytime flexibility, because most 3-hour courses will each require 30-40 contact hours for conducting classroom-based activities in a K-12 school settings. Special Education lateral entry teachers will be able to complete many, but not all, of their clinical requirements in their own classrooms if they are teaching in the field of Special Education.

Graduate Certificate students, who apply and are accepted to the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.), can apply the Graduate Certificate course requirements to the M.A.T. All M.A.T. requirements must be completed within six years. For more information, see http://education.uncc.edu/mat.

Program Eligibility Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university;
• An overall GPA of at least 2.75 OR at least 2.5 with very strong recommendations;

If you do not have an overall GPA of 2.5, please contact the Office of Teacher Education Advising and Licensure at 704-687-8725 or the College of Education Teacher Recruiter at 704-687-8684 for assistance and advice before applying to the Graduate Certificate in Teaching.

The Special Education: General Curriculum Graduate Certificate Planning Sheet is the UNC Charlotte program course guide.

Students following a Regional Alternative Licensing Center (RALC) licensure plan should see the UNC Charlotte courses that meet RALC competencies at http://www.ralc.ccs.k12.nc.us. Questions about your RALC licensure plan should be directed to the RALC licensure advisor who prepared your plan.

Special Education Course Information

Use the Special Education: General Curriculum Program Schedule below to find course information on the University Course Schedule.
Special Education: General Curriculum Program Schedule

Distance Education courses are listed by semester on the University Course Schedule and have section numbers with an 8 as the middle digit (example: 080). To locate Special Education courses, make the following selections on the "Class Schedule Search" page:

• Subject: Special Education (narrow the search by including a course number);
• Campus: Distance Education;
• Course Level: Graduate;
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Class Search".

For Special Education course descriptions, go to the Special Education section of the Graduate Catalog at http://www.graduateschool.uncc.edu/academics/catalog.html

How are these online Courses Delivered?

Each course instructor determines his/her course delivery method(s). Make sure you know how your courses are delivered by viewing the University Course Schedule. Distance education courses have section numbers with an 8 as the middle digit (examples: 080, L80, 081). Students should be prepared to use Wimba, Blackboard Vista, and Moodle. See the Distance Education Orientation for Technical Specifications and information about each of these courseware platforms.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Academic Advisor
LuAnn Jordan, Ph.D
lujordan@uncc.edu

Distance Education Senior Program Manager
ewingate@uncc.edu