Become a special education teacher
Earn your bachelor's degree and academic behavior strategist teaching license or work toward your master's degree and academic behavior strategist, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, or early childhood special education teaching license.
Undergraduate programs
Choose from three tracks.
Bachelor's of Science (BS) with Academic Behavioral Strategist (ABS) licensure
Bachelor's of Science (BS) with Academic Behavioral Strategist (ABS) licensure
Earn your bachelor's of science in special education and academic behavior strategist (ABS) teaching license in four years. Upon graduation, you'll be eligible to be certified to teach students with mild-moderate disabilities in K-12 school systems.
Bachelor’s of Science (BS) with Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) licensure
Bachelor’s of Science (BS) with Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) licensure
Earn your bachelor's of science in special education and early childhood special education teaching license in four years. Upon graduation, you'll be eligible to be certified to teach infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with delays/disabilities in a wide variety of home, community, and school settings.
Bachelor’s of Science (BS): foundations of special education for schools and society
Bachelor’s of Science (BS): foundations of special education for schools and society
Gain expertise in the field of special education to expand its reach in schools and society. This degree does not lead to a teaching license.
Master's degrees and teaching licensures
Academic behavior strategist MEd and licensure
The academic behavior strategist (ABS) license program leads to eligibility to obtain an initial teaching license or an additional license added to another teaching license to expand the age range and/or types of students a teacher is licensed to teach. An ABS license qualifies you to work with students in K-12 schools or age 18-21 transition programs who may have a broad range of mild to moderate disabilities in the following areas:
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Developmental disabilities
- Emotional and behavioral Disorders
- Learning disabilities
- Other health disparities
Deaf and hard of hearing MEd and licensure
In the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) program, you'll receive the training you need to teach students, birth through age 21, with diverse backgrounds and hearing levels. Our graduates earn the qualifications needed to apply for licensure in the state of Minnesota as an initial or additional license and the skills needed to improve education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and their families. You’ll leave the program ready to incorporate best practices into teaching, help students develop their identities, and promote respect and equity for ASL/English and cultural diversity.
Early childhood special education MEd and licensure
Help young children with developmental delays and disabilities succeed. In the ECSE program, you'll prepare to teach young children, birth through age six, with a variety of developmental delays and disabilities. This program leads to eligibility to obtain an ECSE license as either an initial teaching license or an additional license added to another teaching license to expand the age range and/or types of students a teacher is licensed to teach. You'll leave the program with the skills to: identify the need for early intervention; provide research-based services to children and their families in their home.
Related programs
Special education minor for master's students
Complement your master’s degree with the knowledge and skills to improve the way your field supports people with disabilities by earning a graduate minor in special education. Students wishing to pursue this graduate minor must be currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at the University of Minnesota.
Online autism spectrum disorder certificate
While the online autism spectrum disorder (ASD) certificate does not prepare you to be a licensed teacher in the field of ASD, it does provide a focused set of expertise and an additional credential that may be embedded into other teacher licensure or MEd degree programs with minimal additional coursework.