Teaching Major in Exceptional Needs: Early Childhood Special Education (BA/BS)
Ball State's teaching major in exceptional needs: early childhood special education prepares you for a fulfilling career working with infants and toddlers with special needs.
As a graduate, you will work in preschools, developmental centers, and agency-based programs serving young children with disabilities. Included in the early childhood major is coursework that leads to a teaching license in Mild Interventions (K-6).
The bachelor’s degree in special education (early childhood special education) consists of 120 credits with emphasis on special education for babies and young children with special needs. You will complete one semester of student teaching with one placement in an early childhood setting and another placement for the Mild Intervention license.
106 credits
Decision Point 1 Courses -- must be taken prior to Decision Point 2 courses
| SPCE 201 | Introduction to Students With Exceptional Needs | 3 |
| SPCE 266 | Classroom Management | 3 |
| COMM 210 | Fundamentals of Public Communication | 3 |
| SPCE 271 | Introduction to Mild Interventions | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
Decision Point 2 Courses -- must be completed prior to Decision Point 3 courses
| SPCE 361 | Mild Intervention Practicum-Elementary | 3 |
| SPCE 375 | Assessment in Special Education, Including Response to Intervention | 3 |
| SPCE 215 | Assessment of Young Children With Exceptional Needs | 3 |
| SPCE 376 | Teaching Methods in Mild Interventions K-6 | 3 |
| EDFO 420 | Social, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Education | 3 |
| SPCE 402 | Legal and Procedural Foundations of Special Education | 3 |
| SPCE 210 | Theory and Practices in Early Childhood Special Education | 3 |
| SPCE 390 | Early Literacy Instruction for Diverse Learners | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 24 |
SPCE 361 and SPCE 376 are corequisite courses, meaning they are required to be taken concurrently.
SPCE 210 and SPCE 215 are corequisite courses, meaning they are required to be taken concurrently.
Decision Point 3 Courses
| SPCE 489 | Student Teaching: Mild Disabilities | 1 TO 12 |
| SPCE 419 | Student Teaching: Early Childhood Special Education | 1 TO 12 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
Other Professional Education Courses -- can be taken outside of the Decision Point sequence
| EDPS 250 | Human Growth and Development | 3 |
| EDPS 345 | Educational Tests and Measurement | 3 |
| EDRD 204 | Literature for Children | 3 |
| | or | |
| EDRD 318 | Literature for Young Children | 3 |
| EDRD 430 | Literacy Assessment and Intervention in Elementary Schools | 3 |
| SPCE 400 | Mathematics Interventions for Students with Disabilities | 3 |
| SPAA 270 | Language Development | 3 |
| SPCE 277 | Human Relations, Collaboration, and Diversity | 3 |
| SPCE 311 | Developmental Methods for Infants and Toddlers with Exceptional Needs | 3 |
| SPCE 312 | Developmental Methods for Preschool Children with Exceptional Needs | 3 |
| EDRD 300 | Reading and Language Instruction in the Elementary Classroom | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 30 |
Other Required Courses
| BIO 102 | Biological Concepts for Teachers | 3 |
| MATH 100 | Mathematics for Elementary Teachers 1 | 3 |
| MATH 207 | Mathematics for the Teacher of the Exceptional Learner | 3 |
| MUSE 265 | Basic Music for Classroom Teachers | 3 |
| PHYC 101 | Physical Science Concepts for Teachers | 3 |
| SPCE 309 | Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Education | 3 |
| SPCE 331 | Technology in Education | 3 |
| ENG 103 | Rhetoric and Writing | 3 |
| ENG 104 | Composing Research | 3 |
| FIN 101 | Personal Finance for Fiscal Wellness | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 28 |
Total Credit Hours: 106