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Program Expectations & Advising Resources for the B.S. in Special Education Interdisciplinary Studies, Non-Licensure

Non-Licensure

As an individual with a desire to further your education and gain insight into the foundational principles of education, earning your Bachelor of Science in Special Education Interdisciplinary Studies will equip you to achieve your goals and succeed in your career.

The Bachelor of Science in Special Education Interdisciplinary Studies will prepare you from a Christian perspective, providing a solid foundation in educational behavior and development. The coursework also offers insight into current trends, including the study of theories and methodologies that will be of use in Christian, private, and public childcare facilities; churches; schools; and homes. You will be given the chance to evaluate methods of teaching and instruction while being taught the skills to establish lesson plans for educational planning.

The Bachelor of Science in Special Education Interdisciplinary Studies is a 120-hour pre-licensure program that prepares the candidate to teach in private schools and after-school programs as well as serve as a paraprofessional and in other educational fields.

After completing the Bachelor of Science in Special Education Interdisciplinary Studies program, candidates may be eligible to continue to the M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching) program, which leads to state licensure.


Requirements

  • General Information
    • Field Experiences: EDUC 390/398
    • 2.0  GPA
    • Capstone: EDUC 390 or EDUC 398 or EDUC 380
      • The capstone must be completed after all other EDUC classes are successfully finished.

Framework & Dispositions

The mission of the School of Education at Liberty University is to develop competent professionals with a Biblical worldview for Christian, public, and private schools. The faculty of the School of Education has delineated the dispositions that should be observable in each candidate at all levels:

  • Displays a sense of social responsibility
  • Demonstrates commitment/work ethic
  • Demonstrates reflective practice
  • Displays personal integrity
  • Displays professionalism

Degree Completion Plan & Course Guides


Transfer Credit

View the Liberty University transfer policies.


Licensure Information

This program does NOT lead to state licensure or certification. Candidates in this program are not eligible to pursue a student teaching or internship semester.


Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)

This degree leads to ACSI certification if the EDUC 390 Practicum is completed. Note that the EDUC 380 and EDUC 398 capstone options do not lead to ACSI Certification.

After completion of this program, please visit the ACSI information page for application requirements.


Practicum (EDUC 390) or Capstone (EDUC 380 or EDUC 398)

The practicum (EDUC 390) is a 16-week course designed to provide candidates with 300 hours of field experience in an accredited Christian school classroom setting.

  • The school must be accredited. 
  • A minimum of 10 weeks are required, with 150 direct teaching hours. A minimum of 300 total hours are required.
    • These hours must be spread throughout the entire semester. Candidates are required to be active in their placement by logging hours in the practicum each week of the semester.
  • Candidates must be paired with a special education mentor teacher who has at least three years of experience and holds a current teaching license.
    • Candidates may not be placed in a classroom with a relative (mentor teacher or classroom students).
    • Hours must be in a K-12 special education classroom or a K–8 general elementary classroom that includes students with special needs (if a special education classroom is not available).
    • The following placements will not be approved: daycare, day camp, summer camp, learning center, virtual schools, etc.
    • Hours must all be in the same classroom/setting; substitute teaching hours may only be used if it is a long-term substituting placement for the entire semester.
  • Please review the Field Experience Procedures for more information about the placement process for field experiences.

If you are unable to complete EDUC 390 due to the required practicum hours, you may instead complete EDUC 398 Field Experience or EDUC 380 Current Issues in Education as the capstone of your program. EDUC 398 requires 45 practicum hours, and EDUC 380 does not require field experience hours.

Neither EDUC 398 nor EDUC 380 leads to ACSI certification.


Special Education Provisional Licensure

Undergraduate students enrolled in the non-licensure B.S. in Special Education Interdisciplinary Studies who wish to be eligible for a provisional license in Special Education at the conclusion of the program may pursue EDSP 323: Special Education Law & Characteristics. Completion of this course will allow graduates to apply for a provisional license in Special Education General Curriculum (K-12) in Virginia upon the completion of the undergraduate degree program.

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