West Virginia University
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Requirements for Content Endorsements for Special Educators
for Grades 5-Adult

Individuals in the 5 Year Teacher Education Program's Special Education Major seeking additional endorsement in Multicategorical Special Education Program for Grades K-6 and 5-Adult must also earn a content endorsement for special educators in the academic content area(s) in which they are assigned to teach.

Content Endorsement Requirements

There are two way to meet content endorsement requirements:

  1. certification in at least one (1) of these areas: biology, chemistry, English, general science, mathematics, physics, reading education or specialist, and/or social studies; this provides a standard content endorsement in that area;
    OR
  2. completion of 15 credits in one of the following areas: English,
    mathematics, biology, general science, or social studies;
    AND
    completion of 6 credits including these content methods courses:
    RDNG 422 Reading in the Content Areas; and
    SPED 668 Secondary Content Methods: Special Needs.

NOTE: RDNG 422 is required as part of the professional education sequence and SPED 668 is required as part of the special education major .

Students in a program option for Grades 5-Adult who are NOT otherwise acquiring certification in a content area should discuss what courses they will need to take to complete the content endorsement in a specific area. The faculty advisor will review the undergraduate transcript to determine what courses have already been completed that satisfy state requirements for a specific content area.

Courses for Content Endorsements for Special Educators

Courses apply to content endorsement ONLY if they meet these criteria:

  • address the required topic area;
  • appear on the transcript for academic credit; and
  • earned a grade of C or better.

Courses that were completed for Advanced Placement (AP) credit or passed by examination through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) may only be counted if they appear on the transcript with credits assigned. In cases where courses were waived for some reason and do not appear on the transcript, the faculty advisor can choose to substitute a more advanced course in the same content area. Courses completed on the appropriate content topic but with a grade of D will need to be repeated.

Completion of Additional Content Courses

Individuals who need additional content courses to satisfy the 15 credits requirement may need to complete one or more courses in the specified content topics. These courses may be completed at any regionally accredited college or university, but must be approved by the faculty advisor as meeting content area requirements.

Content Courses Available Online at WVU

WVU currently offers some content courses online during summer sessions:

ENG 101 Composition and Rhetoric I 3 cr.
ENG 102 Composition and Rhetoric II 3 cr.
MATH 126 College Algebra 3 cr.
STAT 211 Elementary Statistical Inferences 3 cr.
CS 101 Introduction to Computer Applications 3 cr.
GEOL 101 Planet Earth 3 cr.
HIST 152 Growth of the American Nation before 1865 3 cr.
HIST 250 West Virginia History 3 cr.
PSYCH 101 Introduction to Psychology 3 cr.

Additional courses may be available online in future years.

Content Courses Available at Other Institutions of
Higher Education in West Virginia

Information about content courses offered at other colleges and universities in West Virginia is available from the the West Virginia Department of Education.

Department of Special Education