Admission Requirements

1. A completed application form to the master’s program.
2. A bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
3. Three letters of recommendation addressing the applicant’s potential to succeed in the teaching of students with disabilities.
4. A written personal statement of professional intent.
5. Interview with a faculty member in Special Education.
6. Completion of General Education Core prerequisites with a 2.75 GPA and no grade lower than a C (see below).

The department understands that any single criterion may not reliably predict a candidate’s potential for success in a graduate program. Consequently, candidates are welcome to apply if they do not meet one of the criteria but feel that other aspects of their experience may compensate.

General Education Core Requirements

In order to ensure that prospective teachers have a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences, all students must have completed undergraduate course work from each of the content areas below.

1. Artistic Expression/Humanities (3 s.h.)
2. Communication (3 s.h.)
3. Information Retrieval or placement exam (0-3 s.h.)
4. Concepts in History/Social Science (3 s.h.)
5. Language other than English (3 s.h.)
6. Scientific Processes (3 s.h.)
7. Mathematical Processes (3 s.h.)
8. Literature, Analysis and Written Expression (6 s.h.)

Course work for the general education core in the liberal arts and sciences must have a GPA of 2.75 or above with no grades below a C-.

Please note that programs may have general education requirements that exceed the minimum registered with the state. Degrees will not be conferred unless all general education core deficiencies have been met.

Program Requirements - Total Semester Hours: 48

A maximum of 12 s.h. of graduate course work leading to the MSEd in Inclusive Early Childhood Special Education degree may be completed prior to matriculation in the program.

Student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in order to remain in the program. Courses in which students receive grades below C- confer no credit toward the graduate degree but are included in determining grade point average.

Field Experience Before Student Teaching

Participation/observation field experiences, which correspond to the developmental level of the certificate holder, are required in each of the following courses:

• ELED 216 - Early Childhood Curriculum Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours of participant observation in PreK-K setting

• ELED 217 - Developing and Evaluating Innovations in Early Childhood Curriculum Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours of participant observation in grades 1 and 2

• ELED 243 - Multicultural Perspectives on Early Childhood Development Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours of site visitation including a high-needs district for PreK children

• SPED 207 - Introduction to Young Children With Disabilities Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours of site visitation including a high-needs district

• SPED 208 - Educational Intervention for Young Children With Disabilities Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours to implement a cognitive curriculum for young children with disabilities

• SPED 209 - Early Intervention: Infant Stimulation Semester Hours: 3

• 10 clock hours to implement HELP curriculum for infants and toddlers with disabilities

• SPED 210 - The Creative Arts in Special Education Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours to implement Start With Art curriculum for young children

• SPED 226 - Early Intervention and Related Services in Early Childhood Special Education Semester Hours: 3

• 10 clock hours to observe PT/OT/speech pathology intervention for young children

• SPED 248 - Education of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Semester Hours: 3

• 20 clock hours of participation observation in school settings for children with autism

Student Teaching

Students will qualify for admission to Student Teaching, SPED 219G-219S, when they have satisfied the following requirements:

1. Successful completion of 39 s.h. of core course work, including all courses in phases I and II.
2. A grade point average of 3.0 or higher in overall graduate course work.

Admission by permission of the graduate program director and application to the Office of Field Placement and the Department of Specialized Programs in Education , due on May 1 for the succeeding spring semester and February 15 for the succeeding fall semester. Application forms are available in Hagedorn Hall, Room 118.

Graduation Requirements

1. Completion of 48 semester hours with no fewer than 24 s.h. in-residence.
2. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in overall graduate course work and all special education core courses. 
3. Passing grade on the comprehensive examination. 
4. Completion of General Education Core.
5. Completion of all required Educational Law Seminars.
6. All course work taken in satisfaction of the degree requirements must have been completed within a five-year period.

Teacher Certification Requirements

Upon the successful completion of a Hofstra state-approved teacher education program, students are eligible for the University’s recommendation for New York state certification. A request for recommendation must be submitted to the Office of Educational Support Services the semester in which the student is graduating. There will be opportunities to attend a certification workshop during the student’s final semester, to receive all the necessary information regarding applying for certification. Individuals who apply directly to New York state for certification are responsible for learning about and satisfying the certification requirements set by the state. It should be noted that such requirements may differ from those in Hofstra’s registered programs.

All prospective early childhood (birth-grade 2), childhood (grades 1-6), adolescent (grades 7-12) and special subject, students with disabilities, gifted, TESOL, bilingual, literacy, speech and language disabilities teachers, as well as school leadership candidates, are required to pass the New York State Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) administered by National Evaluation Systems, Inc., including the Educating All Students Test (EAS), Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST), Content Specialty Test(s) (CST) and the edTPA. Prospective School Leaders will be required to take the appropriate leadership exams. For more information regarding state testing, please contact the Office of Educational Support Services at 516-463-5747 or visit www.nystce.nesinc.com.

In addition to fulfilling the required courses of study, the Commissioner’s Regulations mandate that all prospective teachers, pupil personnel and education leaders receive instructions regarding:

1. Identification of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
2. Fire and Arson Prevention
3. School Violence Prevention and Intervention
4. Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Abuse
5. Highway and School Safety/Prevention of Child Abduction
6. Training in Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination Prevention and Intervention required under the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)

New York state legislation also requires all persons seeking certification in special education, speech and language disabilities or school administrators working in special education, to have training in the area of children with autism.

Hofstra University offers the above listed educational law seminars through the Office of Educational Support Services. All of these seminars must be completed before the conferral of the degree and recommendation for certification.

Forms for applying for certification can be found at the Office of Educational Support Services Web page under the certification tab.

Fingerprinting
Chapter 180 of the Laws of 2000, the Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE), requires that applicants for teaching and administrative and pupil services personnel certification and perspective employees of covered schools (school districts, charter schools and BOCES) must undergo fingerprint supported criminal history background check. However, many school districts and institutions across the metropolitan New York area are now requiring that all student teachers, observers, interns or externs receive fingerprint clearance before they are placed in educational settings that are required for this degree program. Therefore, we recommend that you apply for fingerprint clearance upon acceptance to the program. Fingerprint clearance is also required for New York state certification. For information on how to register to be fingerprinted, visit http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/colleges/soeahs/CESS/cess_requirements_fingerprints.html.