PreK-12 Special Education

A major in PreK-12 Special Education is meant to prepare students for a career as a highly qualified Special Education teacher in Pennsylvania. To earn state teaching certification, students must meet all of the teaching competencies and certification requirements set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

To successfully complete the Special Education major, the following coursework is required:

• 81 credits of Required Coursework
• 37 CORE Credits
• 2 General Elective Credits
• A minimum number of 120 credits are required for degree, the last 30 of which, and 50% of the major must be earned at La RocheUniversity. Developmental course work does not count toward the minimum number of required credits for graduation.

NOTE: Education majors enter La Roche as a candidate for the teaching certification programs. In order to become an Official Education Major, students must complete the following requirements by the time they earn 60 total credits (including transferable credits):

• Overall GPA of at least 3.0
• Security Clearances within the past six months
  • PA Child Abuse History Clearance
  • PA State Police Criminal Record Check
  • FBI Fingerprinting Check
• Basic Skills Requirement
• Passing scores for Reading, Writing, and Math exams (could include eligible scores from SAT, ACT, PAPA, and CORE)