SPECIAL EDUCATION/ COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
Associate Professor Robert Rhodes, department head
Professors De Leon, Gallegos; Associate Professors Derer, S. Farmer, Kimbarow, Stout; Assistant Professors Brobeck, Chinn, J. Farmer, Lopez, Poel, Salas, Wood
(505) 646-2402
DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Education
MAJOR: Special Education
MAJOR: Communication Disorders
The Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders offers two undergraduate programs that prepare professionals to work with exceptional populations in school, community, hospital, and residential settings. The Special Education program prepares students to provide appropriate educational services to individuals with disabilities. The Communication Disorders program provides training for students interested in speech-language pathology or audiology.
MAJOR: Special Education
The undergraduate program is designed to prepare students for licensure in special education. Students receive training in a broad based curriculum appropriate for teaching and other career options related to special education and developmental disabilities. In addition to special education course work, students complete an academic teaching field and may elect to pursue course work in a variety of focal areas including early childhood special education, developmental disabilities, or counseling and educational psychology. Dual licensurein special and regular education (elementary or secondary) may be obtained.
General Requirements
See "General Requirements" in the "College of Education" section. Students must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program as a condition for enrolling in courses that lead to licensure.
Program Requirements (minimum 132 credits; minimum 55 upper-division)
The curriculum is designed to enable students to develop competencies identified for licensure. See "DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Education; MAJOR: Special Education" earlier in this chapter.
MAJOR: Communication Disorders
The Communication Disorders curriculum provides specialized preparation for students who plan to enter a graduate program to become speech-language pathologists or audiologists. Students supplement their academic study of normal communication, communication disorders, and clinical management with observation and supervised clinical experiencein the department's Speech and Hearing Center. To begin the clinical practicum sequence (C D 321, C D 462, and C D 479) a student must have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
The undergraduate program provides approximately one-half of the academic requirements needed for certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensure by the New Mexico State Department of Education. Certification and licensure at state and national levels requires completion of the master's degree. Details regarding certification are available from the Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders.
Professiona lemployment opportunities for speech-language pathologists and audiologists are numerous in school systems, community clinics, medical centers, hospitals, private practice, residential programs, and schools for individuals with disabilities.
Program Requirements Required course work(132 credits;minimum 55 upper-division credits):
General Requirements
See "General Requirements" in the "College of Education" section at the beginning of this chapter. A list of specific general education courses is available at the Education Advisement Centerin O'Donnell Hall, Room 200.
Communication Disorders (63 credits)
C
D 221, Introduction to Communication Disorders*........................................... 3
C
D 321, Clinical Methods ................................................................................................... 3
C
D 360, Language Acquisition* ...................................................................................... 3
C
D 370, Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism........................ 3
C
D 380, Introduction to Speech Science.................................................................... 3
C
D 390, Phonetics .................................................................................................................. 3
C
D 393, Clinical Computer Applications..................................................................... 3
C
D 452, Articulation and Phonology............................................................................ 3
C
D 453, Language Disorders ............................................................................................ 3
C
D 456, Neural Bases of Communication Disorders............................................. 3
C
D 462, Clinical Procedures............................................................................................... 3
C
D 464, Audiology/Aural Rehabilitation* .................................................................. 3
C
D 479, Clinical Practicum ................................................................................................. 6
C
D 481, Professional Issues................................................................................................ 3
C
D 490, Training in Professional Teamwork .............................................................. 3
CEP 110, Human Growth and Development ............................................................ 3
SPED 350, Exceptional Leaners......................................................................................... 3
Electives (Selected from the list of recommendations from the
CD program)................................................................................................................... 9
*Courses recommended for students who plan to enter a graduate program in education of the deaf/hard of hearing.
Graduate Program (50 credits)
Students entering the graduate program with an undergraduate major in Communication Disorders can expect to complete the program in two years and be awarded a Masters of Artsin Education with emphasis in Communication Disorders and specialization in Speech-Language Pathology. Graduate programs for students without a communication disorders background are generally one year longer. Enrollment in graduate courses in Communication Disorders is limited to persons who have been accepted