Introduction
Special Education is a rewarding and important field. It is also a high-need certification area in our K-12 schools, which means there are numerous unfilled job openings across Washington and beyond. Further, there is a growing need for teachers to be trained to work with multilingual learners. Our Special Education plus Multilingual Education Dual Endorsement program prepares candidates to work as special education teachers with expertise in the delivery of instruction to multilingual youth. The program is rigorous, and the expectations are high. However, the rewards are also high, and the job opportunities are abundant. This program will prepare you to be an excellent teacher in whichever age group you eventually choose. The outcomes for our candidates are a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree and recommendation for Washington State initial residency certificate with P-12 Special Education endorsement and P-12 ELL/Bilingual endorsement.
Student Resources
Department website: Education Leadership and Inclusive Teaching
Contact information: Aaron Perzigian, 360-650-4349, perziga@wwu.edu
Department advising: Learn more about the program at the Special Education webpage.
Degree Works: Current students should also log on to Degree Works to check student-specific program progress.
Career Services Center: Connect major to a career
Sample Careers: Sample Careers: Special Education and Elementary Education teacher (P-8), Special Education and Secondary Education Teacher (6-12), Transition Specialist, School-based Parent Advocate for Students with Disabilities, Multilingual specialist.
How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):
Category of Major : Capacity-constrained major
We invite prospective candidates to contact us for more information about the program. Please contact Woodring pre-admissions advisor Jacob Brown prior to submitting an application: brownj68@wwu.edu or 360-650-4256.
Students must be admitted to both Western Washington University and Woodring College before starting the Special Education plus Multilingual Education program. The program accepts cohorts of up to 30 students that begin every Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. Admission requirements include:
- Satisfaction of all of Western’s General Education Requirements, or a transferable AA degree from a Washington state community college.
- Completion of program prerequisites: ASLC 101 or LING 201; MATH 111 or 112 within the last five years (or C or better in Intermediate Algebra or Pre-calculus within last five years). All prerequisites must have a C grade or higher.
- Minimum grade point average of 2.75 overall or for the most recent 45 quarter credit hours.
- Meet the basic skills requirement. This may be met by a) Taking the West-B exam or b) Having SAT or ACT scores sent to WWU by College Board. There is no minimum score requirement for admission. See the Woodring admissions website.
- English composition course, completed with a B- or better.
Enrollment restrictions apply in all teacher education programs. Meeting the above criteria makes the applicant eligible for admission, but does not guarantee admission. Students who meet all criteria are further evaluated by the department to determine the most qualified applicants. Retention also requires maintenance of a 2.75 quarterly GPA for each quarter after admission.
Grade Requirements
Students must earn a grade of C (2.0) or better in the special education professional program and in all courses required for the endorsement.
