Special Education
Teaching students with disabilities and diverse learning needs.
Special education prepares you to teach and support students with a wide range of disabilities and learning differences, combining general education methods with specialized training in individualized instruction, behavior support, and legal requirements (like IEPs). It's a demanding, highly relational field.
Field placements include work in specialized classroom settings, and coursework covers how to design individualized education plans, adapt instruction, and collaborate with families, therapists, and general education teachers as part of a support team.
Typical courses you might take
- ✓Foundations of Special Education
- ✓Characteristics of Learning Disabilities
- ✓Behavior Management & Support
- ✓Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Development
- ✓Assistive Technology
- ✓Inclusive Teaching Methods
- ✓Special Education Law & Policy
- ✓Student Teaching Placement
Sample four-year plan
Illustrative, not a registration planOne possible way these courses could be sequenced alongside general education and elective credit. Real programs vary in order, pacing, and prerequisites by school, use this to get a rough sense of the arc, not to plan actual registration.
- ✓Foundations of Special Education
- +General education requirement
- ✓Characteristics of Learning Disabilities
- +General education requirement
- ✓Behavior Management & Support
- +General education requirement
- ✓Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Development
- +Free elective
- ✓Assistive Technology
- +Free elective
- ✓Inclusive Teaching Methods
- +Elective in the major (or minor coursework)
- ✓Special Education Law & Policy
- +Elective in the major (or minor coursework)
- ✓Student Teaching Placement
- +Capstone, thesis, or culminating project (common in many programs)
Skills you'll build
This major might be a good fit if you...
- ★Deeply patient and committed to supporting diverse learners
- ★Comfortable with individualized, adaptive teaching approaches
- ★Interested in the legal and advocacy side of education
- ★Resilient and steady in emotionally demanding situations
Common minors & double-major pairings
Psychology · Human Development · Educational Psychology
Roles this major could lead to
Factual, day-to-day descriptions from our Career Role Encyclopedia, not a guarantee this major leads to any specific job.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Special Education major?
Teaching students with disabilities and diverse learning needs.
What courses do Special Education majors take?
Typical coursework includes classes like Foundations of Special Education, Characteristics of Learning Disabilities, Behavior Management & Support, among others, see the full course list above for this major's typical lineup.
What skills do you build in a Special Education program?
Special Education coursework typically builds skills like Individualized instruction and accommodation design, Behavior support strategies, Understanding disability law and IEP processes, Collaboration with families and specialists.
Is Special Education a good major for me?
It tends to be a good fit if signals like "Deeply patient and committed to supporting diverse learners" or "Comfortable with individualized, adaptive teaching approaches" describe you. See the full "good fit if you..." list above for more.
What can you do with a Special Education degree?
Majors in this field often go on to roles like Special Education Teacher. See our Career Role Encyclopedia for more, a major shapes what you study, not a guarantee of any specific job.
What other majors pair well with Special Education?
Common minor or double-major pairings include Psychology, Human Development, Educational Psychology.
How is Special Education different from Elementary Education?
They're related but distinct. Special Education: Teaching students with disabilities and diverse learning needs. Elementary Education: Training to teach across subjects in grades K-5 or K-6. Use the compare tool to see courses and skills side by side.
How long does it take to earn a Special Education degree?
Most bachelor's degrees, including this one, are designed to be completed in about four years of full-time study. Exact timing depends on your school, course load, transfer credit, and any changes of major along the way.
Printed from majoratlas.com/majors/special-education