Special Education and Literacy Studies

Academics

"If you want to be the most prepared teacher you can be coming out of your undergrad, WMU is the place to be."

- Jack Wexler, special education student (Learn more)

The information below is a list of majors, minors and graduate programs offered through the College of Education and Human Development's Department of Special Education and Literacy Studies at Western Michigan University.

Undergraduate programs

Early Childhood General and Special Education: Birth through Kindergarten – B.S.

This program prepares educators to teach and work with young learners and their families, to meet the socio-emotional needs of the whole child, and to implement developmentally appropriate practices and intensive interventions in response to both typical and atypical development.

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Elementary Education PK-3 and Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) K-12 – B.S.

Designed to prepare educators to meet the unique needs of English learners in K-12 schools. This major is available for students who are also seeking PK-3 teacher certification. Graduates will be eligible to teach all subjects to PK-3 students in self-contained classrooms as well as in ESL K-12 classrooms.

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Special Education (Learning Disabilities K-12 and PK-3 Elementary) – B.S.

This is an innovative and demanding preparation program preparing special education teachers to meet the unique needs of a diverse range of K-12 students with learning disabilities and emotional impairments. This program also offers an accelerated graduate degree program.

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Graduate programs

Graduate certificates

Master's degrees

Early childhood general and special education: birth through kindergarten —M.A.
Literacy Studies—M.A.
Special Education—M.A.
- Clinical teacher
- Clinical teacher (Accelerated)
- Clinical teacher, initial teaching certification (Expedited)
- Master teacher (Accelerated)
- Master teacher, additional special education endorsement
- Master teacher, behavior intervention specialist
- Administration (Admissions are currently suspended)
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)—M.A.

Doctoral degrees

Education and Human Development with an emphasis in Literacy Studies or TESOL—Ph.D.
Special Education—Ed.D.

More teaching pathways

With a high demand for teachers nationwide, it’s an excellent time to start your education career! The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics estimates that we'll need 69 million new teachers by 2030 to meet global education goals. With over ten initial teacher certification pathways to choose from, WMU understands this demand and are making it easier than ever before for students to earn their initial teacher certifications and expand their knowledge base through both traditional and fast-track programming.

View all teacher education pathways at WMU