Department Information

Special Education & Communication Sciences and Disorders 128 Porter, 734.487.3300 

David Winters, PhD, Department Head

Program and Advisor Information

Ana Claudia Harten, PhD, Program Director, 128A Porter, 734.487.3300

Contact the department for advisor information.

Teacher Certification

Successful completion of this course of study, in the context of other program requirements with respect to K-12 teacher licensure, satisfies the undergraduate portion of the requirements for the professional entry-level credential at the master’s degree level. This program leads toward, but does not satisfy, the requirements for recommendation to the Michigan Department of Education for K-12 endorsement as a Teacher of Students with Speech-Language Impairment, endorsement code SB, and Michigan Standard Elementary Teaching Certificate. The Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) covering this field is #057, “Speech-Language Impairment.”

In Michigan, an endorsement must be attached to either an elementary or secondary teaching certificate. Students are required to pair this major with either the Teaching and Learning (with Secondary Certification) [BS]  or the Elementary - Early Childhood Teaching and Learning (with Certification) [BS]  (including one single grade band).

Initial Teacher Preparation Program

To pursue the sequence of courses necessary to complete eligibility for a recommendation for certification, one must satisfy the teacher preparation program’s checkpoint criteria. The requirements are standard for all teacher preparation programs.

Satisfying the teacher preparation program checkpoint requirements is not automatic. Please see Teaching and Learning (with Secondary Certification) [BS]  or Elementary - Early Childhood Teaching and Learning (with Certification) [BS]  for specific requirements.

Program Admission

Students must meet the following requirements for admission:

• A minimum grade of “C+” in SPGN 251  
• A minimum grade of “C+” in CSD 135L4  

After completing SPGN 251 and CSD 135L4 with a minimum grade of “C+,” students must meet with their advisor before continuing their program of study. Students are required to regularly meet with their program area faculty advisor to expedite their program of study.

Double Major Requirement

Students are required to pair this major to either the Teaching and Learning (with Secondary Certification) [BS]  or the Elementary - Early Childhood Teaching and Learning (with Certification) [BS]  (including one single grade band).

General Education Requirements:

For specific requirements, see General Education  or view the General Education Worksheet [PDF] .  

Major Requirements: 35 hours

To graduate from this degree program, a student must complete all CSD courses with a grade of C+ or higher, at the time of graduation.

Minor Requirement:

This major does not require a minor.

Students are required to pair this major with either the Teaching and Learning (with Secondary Certification) [BS]  or the Elementary - Early Childhood Teaching and Learning (with Certification) [BS]  (including one single grade band).

Program Total:

Students must earn a minimum total of 120 credits at the 100-level or above.

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements (or their equivalents) of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

Minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University

Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult this catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

• Earn a minimum total of 120 credit hours at the 100-level and above.
  • Courses numbered below 100 are not counted toward this degree requirement.
  • At most, eight credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses are counted toward this requirement.
• Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below), including completing a Writing Intensive (GEWI) course in the student’s major.
• Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details).
• Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
• Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
• Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor. A double major automatically satisfies the need for a minor unless one of the two majors requires a specific minor. Students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required. 
• Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits over the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
• Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
  • Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
  • Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
  • Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
• Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used to calculate an EMU GPA.
• Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses a student takes at EMU and those applied to their major or minor are used to calculate their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements - EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education  section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.