Special Education, B.S.Ed.

The Bachelor of Science Degree in Special Education (B.S.Ed.) is a fully online program. The B.S.Ed. provides teacher candidates with the skills and knowledge to educate and advocate for students with disabilities from P-12 school settings. Built upon a rigorous and relevant curriculum, this practice-oriented program ensures the preparation of high-quality educators who are well-versed in both theoretical knowledge and practical applications. Candidates undergo three full semesters of diverse grade-level practicum/internship experiences, which allows students to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world settings. With the fully online modality, our undergraduate students can work full-time as paraprofessionals while earning their degree, with district-partnership agreements. 

The program offers students the choice between four distinct concentrations: 

The Adapted Curriculum Concentration is designed to prepare teacher candidates to serve students who are working on modified curriculum standards, require substantial adaptations that support access to the general curriculum, and participate in the state-adopted alternate assessments.  This concentration requires 123 credit hours.

The General Curriculum Concentration is designed to prepare teacher candidates to serve students with mild to moderate disabilities who are working on general curriculum standards and participate in the state-adopted general content standards assessments.  This concentration requires 123 credit hours. 

The Accelerated Bachelors to Masters Concentration (ABM) in Special Education (Adapted Concentration and General Concentration) offers the opportunity for qualifying students to simultaneously satisfy partial degree requirements for a bachelors and a master’s degree in an accelerated program of study. The ABM pathway in Special Education allows exceptional students to count up to six (6) hours in the M.Ed. program towards both degrees. Upon successfully completing the undergraduate B.S.Ed. in Special Education, students with a satisfactory grade point average and a grade of “B” or higher in all graduate courses completed at UWG may move to full graduate status in the M.Ed. in Special Education program. The two Masters level courses taken as an undergraduate will be applied toward the M.Ed. graduate degree. This concentration requires 123 credit hours.

The Dual Certification in Special Education General Curriculum/Elementary Education leads to a dual Georgia Level 4 certification in Special Education General Curriculum/Elementary Education (P-5). This program prepares teacher candidates to provide instruction or instructional support to all students in grades P-5 as a special education teacher or general education teacher.  The dual certification program requires 127 credit hours. 

While many graduates of the B.S.Ed. program in Special Education choose to teach children with exceptionalities in schools, some students may choose other jobs in related social service areas or pursue teacher certification in additional specialty areas at the graduate/post-baccalaureate level. Our courses adhere to the Council for Exceptional Children and GaPSC Standards. Students are admitted in the fall semester each year.