Special Education (Multi-Categorical) (BS)
Help students reach their unique potential.
Special needs students and individuals with exceptionalities need teachers who recognize their potential and support their learning. In SWU’s Special Education program, you’ll learn best practices for teaching individuals with disabilities in a K-12 setting.
Our highly trained faculty have diverse, real-world experiences in special education grounded in a Christian ethic of care—and by the time you graduate, so will you. Part of our program includes field experiences and activities in real schools and classroom settings that will familiarize you with inclusion, resource, and self-contained special education programs.
Dr. Simone Adams
Assistant Professor of Special Education
Contact“The best part of teaching at SWU is the freedom to integrate my faith into my academic discipline.”
"SWU is equipping me to be a special education teacher not only through experience but also through preparing me to be an example of Christ’s love to my future students as well."Makala Hall — Special Education Major
Graduate Study
- Occupational Therapy
- School Leadership/Administration
- School Psychology
- Special Education
- Speech-Language Pathology
Career Paths
- Case worker
- RTI interventionist
- School-to-work coordinator
- Special education teacher (inclusion, resource, self-contained)
- Transition specialist
Graduates of the Special Education program will be able to:
- Understand and describe how exceptionalities affect learning and development and use this knowledge to provide meaningful, challenging learning experiences in a safe, inclusive, culturally responsive learning environment.
- Employ general and specialized curricula to individualize learning for students with exceptionalities and support them in becoming active, effective learners with improved emotional well-being, positive social interactions, and self-determination.
- Select, adapt, and use evidence-based instructional strategies and deploy multiple methods of assessment and data sources when making educational decisions.
- Inform their special education practice with foundational knowledge of the field; professional, ethical principles and practice standards; a lifelong learning mindset; and a commitment to advancing the profession.
- Collaborate with families, educators, related service providers, individuals with exceptionalities, and community agency personnel in culturally responsive ways and across various learning experiences.
