Special Education/Cross Categorical (BSEd)

Bachelor of Science in Education (Certifiable grades K-12)

The curriculum for special education teaching leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education and carries with it an initial professional certificate (IPC) to teach in the state of Missouri. Recipients of this special education certificate may be employed to teach in grades K-12 in Cross Categorical settings and other mild/moderate special education settings.

Admission and retention requirements

The School of Special Education, Leadership and Professional Studies reserves the right to refuse enrollment or program continuation to any student for whom the special education faculty feel does not possess the ability to successfully complete the required classes and/or required practica.

All special education undergraduate students and post baccalaureate students seeking special education certification are expected to display professional behaviors and dispositions consistent with the National Council for Exceptional Children’s Code of Ethics for Educators of Persons with Exceptionalities. Periodic structured assessments of professional behaviors and dispositions will be completed on all students during selected classes and will also be completed in additional classes on an as needed basis. If a student does not display the required professional behaviors and dispositions as determined by the special education faculty and the school director of Special Education, Leadership and Professional Studies, the student may be dismissed from the program or may be prevented from taking additional special education certification classes.

Degree requirements

In order to meet Missouri state teacher certification requirements, candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Education degree are required to meet the following grade point average requirements for degree completion.

All major GPA requirements are a combination of Missouri State and transfer grades included in description of Professional Education coursework.

1. Major GPA of 3.00 or higher.
2. A grade of “B” or better in all Professional Education courses.

Additionally, students must earn a composite score or super score of 20 or higher on the ACT or earn passing scores on all four sub-tests of the Missouri General Education Assessment (MoGEA) and successfully complete the Missouri Educator Gateway Assessments (MEGA) as established by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MoDESE) .

All students must be admitted to Teacher Education and have successfully completed Supervised Teaching in order to earn this degree. Refer to Teacher Education for application procedures. A summary of admission requirements for Special Education majors includes the following:

1. Completed at least 30 semester hours of university coursework.
2. Earned a composite score or super score of 20 or higher on the ACT or earned a passing score on all four sub-tests of the Missouri General Education Assessment (MoGEA).
3. Earned a grade of “C” or better in COM 115 .
4. Earned a grade of “B” or better in SPE 310 .
5. Completion of Missouri Volunteer and Employee Criminal History Service (MOVECHS) FBI Fingerprinting Background Check prior to any clinical experience placement. For more information, refer to Compliance Documents Required for Practicum, Internship or Student Teaching.
6. Completed Professional Disposition Checklist and Student Contract.