The School Education offers an undergraduate major in special education, which entitles the student to qualify for the State of Illinois Professional Educator License with the Learning Behavior Specialist I endorsement. The special education major prepares teachers to teach students with disabilities, elementary and secondary levels of education receiving services along the full continuum of service delivery options. This program is fully approved by the Illinois State Board of Education and National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).
To be considered a Special Education major students must meet the criteria for admission into the Teacher Education Program.
Transfer students must meet University admission requirements to be a Special Education major. Students who are currently enrolled or previously attended SIU in a major other than Special Education may request admission to the Special Education program.
September 2025
School of Education
Southern Illinois University,
MC 4624,
CARBONDALE,
Illinois,
62901, United States
Students need to have Transcripts from high school and/or college. At SIU Carbondale, applicants for admission will be eligible for automatic admission if they are on track to complete our course pattern requirements and who meet one of the following criteria: A cumulative high school GPA of 2.75; A ranking in the top 10% of their graduating class.
English Language Requirement: Any one of the following methods will automatically meet the minimum English requirement. Applicants who do not meet the automatic English language admission requirement will undergo a holistic review to determine potential admissibility.
TOEFL (IBT internet-based test) - 68
TOEFL (paper based test) - 520
ITEP - 4.0 (academic plus only)
IELTS - 6.0
2 Face-to-face English composition classes taken in the U.S. at the college level with a grade of A or B
More than 48 college-level credit hours completed at a U.S. institution
If an applicant is from a country whose primary language is English
Graduation from a U.S. high school having spent the final 2 years in the U.S.
Meeting the SAT or ACT requirements for admission of domestic freshmen
Duolingo English Test (accepted during COVID-19 closures)- 95
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
