Special Education

The Special Education Program offers a graduate course of study that leads to a California Educational Specialist Credential and/or a Master's of Arts Degree. Students may choose to specialize in one of the following areas: Mild/Moderate Disabilities, Moderate/Severe Disabilities, or Early Childhood Special Education. There are several changes that are being implemented in the Special Education Program this year. Please check back to this site frequently to stay informed!

Before being fully admitted to the Special Education Programs, prospective students must attend an Information Session either at the San Bernardino campus or the Palm Desert campus. Reservations are not required for Information Sessions on the San Bernardino campus. If you have questions, please contact us at (909) 537-7406. Reservations are required for the Palm Desert Campus so please contact us at (760) 341-2883 ext. 78145. For the Palm Desert Campus, sessions usually begin at 10am and are held in the College of Education Office/Indian Wells Building. There is a $5 fee for parking on both campuses. Please check out the section on Program Options and Admissions Information for admissions deadlines.

All student teachers must now apply for Supervision one quarter prior to the quarter during which you are planning on doing student teaching. The application for Supervision is available in the New and Current Credential Student Forms section. Please submit the application to the Supervision staff in the College of Education Student Services according to the instructions on the application.

Current students who are planning to apply for the Preliminary or Level I credential at the end of the current quarter who wish to continue with Level II need to apply to the Level II program for permission to enroll in ESPE 633 which is the first course in Level II. The application form must be complete and submitted with a Level I credential pre-evaluation to Credential Admissions staff in the College of Education Student Services. The Level II application form can be found in the New and Current Credential Student Forms. The Request for a Pre-evaluation can be found in the Student Services Credential Processing webpage.

University Center for Developmental Disabilities in Palm Desert

Interested in the Program?

Applicants interested in the program at the Palm Desert Campus should contact:

Alice Pedersen
Mary Stuart Rogers Gateway Building

Administration Office
37-500 Cook Street
Palm Desert, CA 92211
Phone: (760) 341-2883 ext. 78145
Fax: (909) 537-8186

Or at CSUSB:

Judith Sylva
Director
CSUSB
5500 University Parkway
San Bernardino, CA 92407
Phone: (909) 537-7406

Application Process:

Step One: Admission to the University

Step Two: Complete a Graduate Application

Step Three: Complete a Program Form

Important note: Transcripts from all colleges are needed for the application process.