Graduate Certificate or Diploma of Special Education overview
Graduate certificates are an ideal way to enter the field of special education, either by progressing to further study or specialising an existing education career. Flinders University and others provide these courses, delivering units in mobility, understanding behaviour, vision impairment, literacy difficulties and more. These courses take between six months to a year depending on study commitment.
Graduate diplomas offer the same information as certificates with additional electives of the student’s choice. Units can include behaviour analysis, numeracy education, professional practice and more. Macquarie University and similar institutions provide this option for students who desire a more extensive education, taking between one and two years to complete.
Employment options
The list of employment options and specialisations mentioned here are a great choice for graduates. Special education teachers can refine their expertise to suit a variety of conditions, including deafness, blindness, autism and all manner of physical conditions that might prohibit walking, concentration and more. Every student is different; so too are special education teachers.
Students are advised to make sure their chosen course leads to teacher registration, as there are plenty that don’t. Students seeking such registration are advised to gain general teaching qualifications in the form of a bachelor degree or seek courses that do should they wish to progress to employment from these programs.
Scholarships and funding
There are a variety of scholarships opportunities available to special education students who wish to educate others in the field. Some of these include:
- Incentive Scholarships from the University of New England that provide $2500 plus another $1000 upon gaining employment in teacher education
- NSW Department of Education Teacher Education Scholarships providing $5000 to education students per year of study with a $3000 appointment allowance
- Teacher Education Scholarships from the University of Sydney
These are great opportunities many other subject areas don’t have, making them well worth applying for if teacher education sounds like a desirable career path. Those wishing to seek traditional employment in schools and special education facilities would be advised to apply for general scholarship opportunities, which are available in abundance here.
Prerequisites and selection process
Students need to hold an approved bachelor degree in teaching to access either of these programs, as they build upon prior knowledge. Flinders University allows students to have completed a bachelor degree in an array of disciplines in addition to teaching, including psychology, disability studies, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and more.
Some institutions require students to have achieved a credit GPA (65%) in a prior study, but this isn’t typically the case for graduate certificates. If students fail to meet this requirement when applying for a graduate diploma, completion of a graduate certificate is an equally valid method of entry into any higher special education program, including master degrees.