Thank you for your interest in our highly regarded programs.  We offer programs leading to initial certification and cross-endorsement endorsement in special education (Comprehensive Special Education, #165, K-12) with options for MA specializations in autism, literacy or math-science.

 

Who are we? Our Departments’ mission statement says it all: our work is grounded in current research, theory, and evidence based practice.  We accomplish this through close faculty mentorship, rigorous coursework, and supervised fieldwork. Graduates develop professional skills and dispositions to effect positive change for students with specialized learning needs (Department of Special Education, 2013.) We believe in the power of developing informed, ethical practice in our graduate candidates.  Likewise, we believe in the power of integrating academic and behavioral supports for individuals with disabilities.

 

Recent innovations include course embedded clinical practica. We are excited to have partnerships with Bloomfield Schools, African Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities, Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress and Department of Children and Family Services.  Soon, we will have a state of the art Center for Integrated Education, focused on autism and applied behavioral analysis, located right on campus.  At the University of Saint Joseph, you will benefit from knowledgeable, supportive faculty who don’t just teach you in the university classroom but who actually facilitate and observe your work in school, agency, and hospital settings. The Department is currently in discussions with the State Department of Education to accept on-campus practica courses for cross-endorsement.  We welcome candidates with initial certification in elementary and secondary education, who wish to upgrade their skills and obtain a position in today’s competitive teaching market.   We also welcome career changers who wish to obtain initial certification in special education.  Did you know that the percentage of positions in private special education programs unfilled due to lack of qualified applicants rose from 8% in 2010 to 22% in 2013 and that special education remains a shortage area in the state and region?

 

Faculty in special education are excited about our programs, expanded course offering and our students.  Recently, we have commented that among graduate students that there is a buzz - a palatable excitement about the field and what it has to offer.  Come and see for yourself! Become an expert. Become an advocate. Make a difference in the lives of students and their families.

 

Lydia Conca 

 

 

Lydia Conca, Ph.D.