The minor in special education includes 18 credit hours in special education, including:
- EDUSP 321: Foundations of Special Education (3)
- EDUSP 320: Characteristics and Diversity of Students with Disabilities (3)
- EDUSP 322: Adaptations, Accommodations, and Assistive Technology (3)
- EDUSP 324: Psychoeducational Assessment (3)
- EDUSP 326: Behavior Management (3)
- EDUSP 325: Methods for Teaching Students with Disabilities (3)
A minor in special education requires six specific courses, three of which must be taken in sequence (EDUSP 320, EDUSP 324, EDUSP 325). At least one-half of the credit hours used to fulfill the minor must be completed at Saint Xavier University. Students must earn a minimum grade of C in all of these courses.
Regardless of the grade level of the Professional Educator License program, the Learning Behavior Specialist I endorsement will be issued for K to age 22. In addition to the courses listed here, an Illinois licensure content test is also required: Learning Behavior Specialist I #290.
This minor has significant career potential as it results in an additional teaching endorsement for those students pursuing teacher licensure in Illinois, the Professional Education License. For those who are not interested in teaching, the additional knowledge and skills about working with persons with disabilities can prove useful in disparate fields such as nursing, exercise science, sports and fitness administration, communication sciences and disorders, sociology, psychology, and others.
It should be noted, however, that there are field experience hours required in the courses and those experiences are integral to the course content.