Welcome to Special Education

Dear First Year Students,

We are excited that you will be joining us this fall. We offer a rigorous program with extensive field-based experiences - approximately 800 hours of student contact time - in the areas of severe disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, and deaf/hard of hearing.

If you do not know your area of interest at this time, you have your freshman year to figure that out. In the fall ,you will be enrolled in a 1-credit seminar that will provide you with an overview of each program and the opportunity to visit special education classrooms; which will help you make your decision.

Upon completion of our program you will be licensed to teach students in grades K-12, so you will have experiences at all grade levels during your four years at Vanderbilt.

A second major is not required, but is highly recommended. Many students select a second Peabody major in the areas of Elementary Education, Human Organization and Development (HOD), Child Development, or Cognitive Studies. A second major from Arts and Science is also possible; current students have second majors in the areas of Spanish, Sociology, Theatre, English, French, and Economics.

You are joining a group a students and faculty who are dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with disabilities through teaching and research, and we look forward to working with you over the next four years.

With best wishes,

Professor Kim Paulsen
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Teaching and Learning