School of Education
Teaching Students with Disabilities Graduate Certificate
The University of Delaware’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) offers a graduate certificate in Teaching Students with Disabilities for K-12 and special education educators through a five-course course of study. Guided by nationally recognized faculty and staff in CEHD’s School of Education and Center for Excellence and Equity in Teacher Preparation, students build advanced knowledge and skills through coursework and school-based projects.
Students build advanced expertise in special education, autism/severe disabilities or K-12 education and gain personalized mentoring and strong faculty support within a close-knit program community.
Students may also apply credits earned in this certificate program toward CEHD’s M.Ed. in Teaching Students with Disabilities.
Certificate Requirements
Students choose from two certificate options: Autism/Severe Disabilities or K-12. Each certificate option requires satisfactory completion of five graduate-level courses (15 credits) as listed below. Each certificate course must be completed with a grade no lower than a C. The student’s overall GPA must be no lower than 3.0 for the certificate to be awarded.
- Autism/Severe Disabilities includes courses on autism and severe disabilities, special education instruction and curriculum, functional communication for individuals with autism and severe disabilities, techniques for behavior change and positive behavior support and behaviorally-based teaching. This option is designed for K-12 teachers certified in teaching students with disabilities.
- K-12 includes courses on educational evaluation, diagnosis and instruction in literacy, special education instruction and curriculum, techniques for behavior change and positive behavior support and a class on assistive technology, current issues in special education, collaborative teaming in special education or life transitions. This option is designed for certified general education K-12 teachers or those pursuing initial secondary special education certification through UD’s Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification (ARTC) program.
Candidates for the Graduate Certificate K-12 option must complete the following 3-credit courses.
- EDUC 674: Special Education Instruction and Curriculum: Secondary OR EDUC 754: Special Education Instruction and Curriculum: Elementary
- EDUC 680: Educational Evaluation: Exceptional Children and Youth
- EDUC 681: Techniques for Behavior Change and Positive Behavior Support
- EDUC 757: Diagnosis and Instruction in Literacy
- One of the following:
- EDUC 653: Assistive Technology: High Incidence Disabilities
- EDUC 673: School-to-Adult: Life Transitions and Disability
- EDUC 682: Current Issues in Special Education
- EDUC 745: Collaborative Teaming in Special Education
Candidates for the Graduate Certificate Autism/Severe Disabilities option must complete the following 3-credit courses.
- EDUC 624: Introduction to Autism and Severe Disabilities
- EDUC 625: Special Education Instruction/Curriculum: Autism/Severe Disabilities
- EDUC 626: Functional Communication for Individuals with Autism and Severe Disabilities
- EDUC 681: Techniques for Behavior Change and Positive Behavior Support
- EDUC 729: Behaviorally Based Teaching Practicum
Candidates for the certificate who are teaching under an emergency certification will be registered with the ARTC Office as required by the state of Delaware.
Candidates teaching under an emergency certification and who have no prior teaching certification are required to complete a noncredit teaching seminar provided by the ARTC Office before registering for their first credit-bearing course.
Upon completion of the required coursework candidates must complete the following items to obtain the additional teaching certification from the state:
- Pass a state-approved exam in special education (e.g., Praxis)
- Submit the exam scores and their transcripts to the Delaware Department of Education
If a candidate was hired under emergency certification, in addition to the above they must also submit the special education exam scores to the ARTC Office along with copies of their official school evaluations completed during the program.
Admissions Requirements
Candidates apply for admission through UD’s online application process.
Application requirements include:
- First name, last name, phone, email and demographic information.
- Current teaching license and certification(s).
- Praxis secondary/high school subject matter exam results, if the applicant is hired through emergency certification as a secondary special educator and has no prior teaching certification.
- Academic transcripts of degrees earned previously. Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree in any academic field from an accredited college or university. Typically, applicants have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Two letters of recommendation from professional references, including one from an educator who has supervised or formally evaluated the applicant’s teaching.
- A letter submitted by a school district confirming intent to hire the applicant under emergency certification can take the place of a letter from a supervisor/evaluator.
- The applicant provides names and email addresses of the recommenders, and recommendation forms are emailed directly to them from the online application. Instructions are included as to how the recommenders return the completed forms electronically.
- A resume that documents the applicant’s prior work experience, honors and awards received, and a summary of educational credentials.
- A brief statement explaining why the applicant seeks to earn this graduate certificate and a summary of previous experience with children or youth with disabilities.
An unofficial transcript is required with the application. Applicants should visit the Registrar’s webpage of their home institution (post-high school institutions only) to print an unofficial copy to save or scan for uploading. Do not mail official transcripts during the applicant stage.
Please visit the Graduate College for more detailed information.
A $75 application fee is due upon receipt of the online application.
Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the year. Students may start in any academic term.
- Spring or Winter admission: December 15
- Fall or Summer admission: April 1
Tuition
The 2025-2026 UD graduate student tuition rate per credit hour is $882.00.
University Statement
Admission to the graduate program is competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.
Faculty & Staff
Niki Kendall
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator
School of Education
robertsn@udel.edu
Shernette Hayward
Associate Director, ARTC
Center for Excellence and Equity in Teacher Preparation
shayward@udel.edu
302-831-0879
| Name/Profile | Research Focus | |
| Sarah Curtiss | curtiss@udel.edu | special education, programs for autistic youth |
| Laura Eisenman | eisenman@udel.edu | special education, the transition to adult life for students with disabilities, disability studies |
| Allison Jackson | afjacks@udel.edu | special education, instruction and assessment |
| Niki Kendall | robertsn@udel.edu | special education, multi-tiered systems of support, positive behavioral interventions |
| Sarah Mallory | smallory@udel.edu | special education, autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities |
| Jessica Namkung | jnamkung@udel.edu | special education, mathematics learning difficulties |
| Kristen Ritchey | kritchey@udel.edu | special education, instructional methods, reading and writing disabilities |
| Joshua Wilson | joshwils@udel.edu | special education, instructional methods, teaching and learning of reading and writing, automated essay evaluation |
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