BEd Special Education
Specialization in secondary special education or severe disabilities and autism
FAQs
Eligibility
Students are required to have a laptop to successfully participate in this program. The laptop requirement provides students the option of using financial aid to purchase one. Students need a laptop that runs a full operating system (i.e., Windows 10 or Mac OSX 10.11 and above). For example, Chromebooks or mobile tablets like an iPad or Android mobile device are NOT sufficient to run the required software for our program. If you need help determining which computer to purchase, please refer to and contact: http://www.hawaii.edu/its/help-desk/
No. Beginning in Fall 2018, the basic skills requirement can now be verified through being accepted into our bachelor of education program. You no longer need to have submitted ACT/SAT/Praxis Core exam results in order to apply and begin our programs.
If you already have a Bachelor’s degree, then you can pursue this program as a second Bachelor’s degree. It will still take 2 years to complete and would be considered a full-time program. Another option would be to pursue our Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Special Education that is designed specifically for those who already have a degree. If you would be interested in teaching at the middle and high school level, we have an additional program option called our Master of Education in Teaching, Dual Secondary & Special Education program.
No, all of our BEd Elementary programs require 40 hours of documented leadership experience. While we encourage applicants to seek out opportunities in gaining experience in special education, it is not mandatory.
Yes, this program is accessible to students on all of the islands in the state of Hawaii. Candidates are able to complete their coursework in an online/hybrid format and will be placed into a local school for field requirements. A limited number of face-to-face meetings are required each semester, where neighbor island candidates will travel to Oahu for classes on chosen weekends. As funds permit, some travel stipends are made available to students who do not live on Oahu to help offset travel costs.
Our programs use online synchronous class sessions in the late afternoon, allowing you to possibly work during the day. If you work in a school setting, it may be possible to use that setting for one or more of your field courses. Please inquire with the program specialist and placement coordinator, as all placements are approved on a case-by-case basis.
Employment outside of school settings may conflict with the hours needed to complete supervision requirements unless work hours are flexible. Please inquire to learn more about your current position and whether it is possible to complete our programs while maintaining employment.
Candidates who have completed an articulated A.A. degree from a UH Community College are considered to have met the UH-Mānoa General Education Core Requirements with possible exceptions (see an academic advisor).
Articulated programs include:
- AAT from Leeward Community College
- AS in Human Services w/Early Childhood Specialization from Maui College
- AA in Liberal Arts, Concentration in Education from Kapiolani Community College
- AS in Early Childhood Education, Preschool Option from Honolulu Community College
- AS in Early Childhood Education from Kauai Community College
- AS in Early Childhood Education from Hawaii Community College
Please contact our Office of Student Academic Services (osas@hawaii.edu) for more detailed information.
Unfortunately, one of the requirements regarding international student visas is that they participate in traditional, face-to-face coursework on campus. Our online/hybrid programs would not meet this requirement; therefore we can not admit international students to these programs/coursework at this time. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
However, our department does offer two different programs using a traditional, face-to-face format that can accommodate international applicants:
- Bachelor of Education, Exceptional Students and Elementary Education
- PhD in Education, Exceptionalities Specialization
If you are already living in Hawaii and do not require a student visa, then you may be eligible to apply for our programs. Applicants with international transcripts may need to submit additional materials, such as an English Proficiency exam score and a transcript evaluation. Please inquire or visit the international student website to learn more:
Finally, international candidates looking to be employed with the Hawaii DOE upon completion of a program may also require additional documentation and eligibility requirements for employment. Please contact the Hawaii DOE to inquire.
Funding
Due to the need for special education teachers, there is a year-to-year contract agreement between the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) and UH that provides tuition stipends for completing the special education coursework within the teacher licensure program.
To be eligible for the stipend, students must agree to teach special education in a HIDOE school for a minimum of 3 years after completing the program. Stipends are contingent upon yearly renewal of the DOE-UH contract and will be automatically offered to all students who were admitted that enrollment year.
The following programs are eligible for the DOE tuition stipends. This stipend funding typically covers half or more of our dual-licensure programs, and then most or all of our special education-only licensure programs. Stipend amounts shown are based on current in-state tuition rates, however, stipends may apply to out-of-state or WUE tuition rates as well:
- BEd, Early Childhood & Early Childhood Special Education (36 credits, $16,920)
- BEd, Exceptional Students and Elementary Education (33 credits; $15,543)
- BEd, Special Education (60 credits; $28,260)
- Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Special Education (33 credits; $15,543)
- Master of Education in Teaching, Dual Secondary & Special Education (31 credits (graduate tuition rate); $20,150)
You do not need to apply for this funding opportunity. Students who have been admitted to one of these programs would automatically receive the stipend packet to complete and return prior to the start of their first semester.
Students are responsible for securing their own funding for applicable prerequisites, additional program credits, and/or any additional program costs related to travel, books, and testing/licensure fees.
For content areas or specializations that are considered “high need,” there are many special funding sources available. There are three sources of funding for those specifically interested in teaching special education:
In addition, candidates can also seek out general financial aid and scholarships.
Coursework
In our hybrid programs, classes will be presented through the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Laulima course site. Each course has a website that includes various components, such as the syllabus, course schedule, assignments, quizzes/tests, and other resources. Some courses may include recorded video lectures. Student should expect to study/work approximately 9 hours per week for each 3-credit course.
All courses will include periodic synchronous online class sessions (some may meet weekly; some may meet less often than weekly). A synchronous online class session is a LIVE class in which students and their course instructor get together online at the same time using video-conferencing technology. At UH Mānoa, we use Zoom for our synchronous class sessions. These sessions are very much like a typical face-to-face class session held on campus: The instructor may provide some lecture, facilitate group discussions and activities, and respond to student questions. Each synchronous class session will be held for 1-3 hours, in the late afternoon on weekdays (typically not on Fridays). A schedule of the synchronous online class sessions will be provided by each instructor at the beginning of each semester. You can expect to designate one night a week for each class you are enrolled in.
In addition, as part of your class there will be about 2 face-to-face Saturdays each semester on Oahu. Then finally, for field work each student would expect to fulfill their field placement during the school day which is typically two to three days per week.
Our licensure programs are designed in a cohorted format. Candidates are enrolled as a group and they matriculate through the entire program together. The benefit of participating in a cohorted program is that it provides a strong support system, as you would bond with your fellow cohort members throughout the two years in the program and beyond. This cohorted model also allows for us to systematically design the coursework to build off one another each semester, allowing for a more rich and comprehensive learning experience. We have higher retention and graduation rates using this model, however the one downside is that these programs then do not have the flexibility to allow candidates to pick and choose the courses they take each semester. Candidates will progress through the program as designed. However, in the rare occasion requiring students to either stop or retake courses, the program advisor would work with the candidate to develop an alternative plan.
Our hybrid program models do have some flexibility to allow candidates already working in school settings to possibly use their paid positions in meeting the field requirements. However, each position must go through a formal process and is approved on a case-by-case basis by the placement/program coordinator.
Typically, when reviewing positions for approval, we are looking for the following:
- The position matches your chosen level of licensure (early childhood (Pk-3), elementary (K-6), or secondary (6-12). Although the elementary licensure states K-6, candidates can not be working in a 6th grade position at an elementary school if they are pursuing secondary (6-12) licensure and vice-versa.
- The position matches your specialization (e.g., mild/moderate or severe/autism). You must be working regularly with these students, therefore typical substitute teaching positions can not be approved.
- For dual licensure program options, the position must also give you opportunities to work with general education students as well. Inclusive settings where a general education and special education teacher are co-teaching together would be ideal for our dual certification options. For the MEdT Secondary/SPED, candidates need to be in a position that allows them to also teach in their chosen content area.
If approved, students will be able to use the paid position to fulfill the program field requirements. The most common types of positions receiving approval are emergency hires or classroom educational assistants. Positions requiring candidates to work one-to-one with a student can not be approved (e.g., RBTs, skills trainers). In addition, prior teaching experience can not count toward program field/student teaching hours.
The field placement or program coordinator has the responsibility to find and coordinate student field placements. Candidates are not allowed to make their own field arrangements. For candidates already working in school settings, the field placement coordinator will conduct a review for approval and determine whether a paid position meets the field/student teaching requirements.
Application
If you are not already a UH student prior to applying for this program, then you must complete a UH System Application Form and submit a $70 application fee. This would be common for transfer students or students coming back for a second Bachelor’s degree.
However, if you are transferring from a local community college, then you should look into the Ka‘ie‘ie program, and if eligible you can have your application fee waived. To learn more, please visit: https://uhcc.hawaii.edu/kaieie/index.php
All students, including students who are already at UH, would also need to complete the College of Education Makalei application (makalei.coe.hawaii.edu), which is a free application.
General
Our programs are cohorted, which means we admit people in groups and they complete the entire program together from beginning to end. Our cohorts typically have between 15-25 people, although some programs run more than one cohort at a time. Having the same people in your classes every semester helps to build community and we have found our cohorts come to support each other like family. Another benefit of this cohort model is the fixed course schedule. All the programs courses are pre-designed and taken in a specific semester. Our faculty intentionally build on the coursework so what you learn in the second semester will build on the first and so on. This provides the opportunity to have much richer and deeper learning experiences since everyone has the same prerequisite knowledge as you progress through the program. The courses are open to only those in your cohort, so you don’t have to worry about waking up early to be the first to register or courses filling up and not being able to register. The classes are also guaranteed to run so you don’t have to wonder whether what you need to graduate will be available.
One downside of the cohorted model, is that we lose some flexibility. If a program is part-time, you can’t finish in half the time by taking double the classes; if a program is full-time, you can’t just take half the classes. And if something comes up and you need to take a semester off, you might need to wait a year in order to jump back in with the next cohort. However, we feel the benefits of the cohorted model outweigh the limited flexibility it brings. As a result of the cohort model, our programs are much more successful, as we have higher retention and graduation rates.
