Graduate Diploma in Special Education

Three specialisations are offered within the Graduate Diploma in Special Education:

• Early intervention: Enables graduates to work as early intervention teachers or in other roles to support young children with special needs.
• Hearing Impairment: Enables graduates to work with deaf and hearing impaired learners across a range of settings and levels.
• Vision Impairment: Enables graduates to provide educational support to learners who are blind or vision impaired across a range of settings and levels.

Core and specialist courses from Hearing and Vision Impairment specialisations are offered full-time. The Early Intervention specialisation is offered part-time over two years.

Programme Highlights

• Ability to choose from a range of courses and specialisations to suit your area of interest.
• A range of delivery options available.
• Enables you to advance your career and salary prospects.
• Opportunity to continue with further study to postgraduate, masterate and doctoral level.

Opportunities

The Graduate Diploma in Special Education offers comprehensive professional development opportunities for educators from early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary areas. Teachers who hold a bachelors degree, or advanced diploma of teaching, and complete a stand-alone level 7, 120 point qualification may be eligible for Q3+ salary status. Early Intervention teachers with a Graduate Diploma in Special Education may progress to the next salary step. 

Content

Those enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Special Education complete two core courses as well as courses in one of the three specialisations.

Study location

Offered as face-to-face and on-campus block courses at Epsom Campus. EDUC 342 includes flexible self-directed study. Depending on location of applicants, Early Intervention courses may also be offered off-campus.

Length

Equivalent to one year full-time study with part-time study options available for some specialisations.

Fees

Updated tuition fee information will be available at www.auckland.ac.nz/fees.

You may be eligible to apply for scholarships, University awards or Ministry of Education study awards available to help you pay for your study. For more information, call the faculty direct on +64 9 623 8920 or visit www.auckland.ac.nz/scholarships.

Entry criteria

1. To be admitted to this programme a student needs to have:

either

a.

• a teaching qualification

and

• New Zealand teacher registration

and

• at least two years teaching experience.

or

b. If specialising in early intervention

• an early childhood teaching qualification

and

• New Zealand teacher registration

and

• at least two years teaching experience in the early childhood sector.

2. Admission to this programme is at the discretion of Senate or its representative.

Note: To be admitted, a student must have personal qualities that show suitability for this programme. An interview may be required.

Programme structure

Requirement: at least 120 points

Core Courses:

• 30 points: EDSPEC 301, EDUC 342
  

and one of the specialisations listed below

Early Intervention

Requirement: 90 points including:

• 75 points: EDSPEC 310-314
• 15 points from EDSPEC 390-393

Hearing Impairment

Requirement: 90 points:

• 90 points: EDSPEC 320-325

Vision Impairment

Requirement: 90 points:

• 90 points: EDSPEC 340-345

View summary of courses offered in 2010 (Not all courses are offered every year)
 
Further Study

You can continue with your professional development and maximise your career and salary prospects by completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Education or Educational Leadership. You could then go on to study at masters and doctoral level.

Supplementary information

To gain entry into this programme, you need to supply us with supplementary information. Click on the link below to download a supplementary information form, complete it, and return it to the Faculty of Education as soon as possible.