Other Services Credential Programs
Clinical or Rehabilitative Services: Orientation and Mobility
The Clinical or Rehabilitative Services Credential qualifies graduates to work as Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialists. This credential authorizes the holder to teach orientation and mobility techniques to individuals who are visually impaired or blind from infancy through adulthood. O&M Specialists teach people who have visual impairments the specific skills needed to find their way through their environment and to travel safely and efficiently at home, school, work, and through the community. Instruction is provided to students individually rather than in large groups. O&M instruction may include learning skills such as using a long cane, orienting oneself to new environments, using public transportation systems, crossing streets safely, use of low vision devices and electronic environmental sensors, and by learning to fully use one's other senses.
O&M Specialists work in a variety of professional settings, including public schools, residential schools for students with visual impairments, private and state rehabilitation centers, and Veteran Administration Medical Centers. There are excellent employment opportunities due to a national shortage of O&M Specialists.
Admission requirements for the Clinical or Rehabilitative Services: Orientation and Mobility Credential include the following:
- Completion of a baccalaureate degree
- Official transcripts
- A minimum 3.0 GPA is required for admission to credential programs and must be maintained for continuation in the program
- All applicants are also required to apply to the Master of Arts Degree in Special Education plus credential program. If a prospective applicant already has a master’s degree, they may petition the department chair to be exempt from this requirement.
- Satisfy Basic Skills Requirement: successful passage of the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), CSET Multiple Subjects Test plus Writing Skills Test, OR an approved out-of-state basic skills exam. Refer to the Department application for additional ways of satisfying the Basic Skills Requirement using the ELM/ EPT, SAT, and/or ACT scores.
- Complete Certificate of Clearance: Fingerprint Clearance via LiveScan and Commission on Teacher Credentialing online application process.
Program Requirements (49 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SPED 655 | Basic Orientation and Mobility for Learners with Visual Impairments | 3 |
| SPED 726 | Workshop: Student Teaching Support Sessions for Mild/Moderate Support Needs or Orientation Mobility | 3 |
| SPED 730 | Student Teaching: Special Education | 9 |
| SPED 731 | Special Education Field Experience | 3 |
| SPED 747 | Physical Disabilities and Sensory Impairments | 3 |
| SPED 749 | Medical, Educational, and Rehabilitative Implications of Visual Impairment | 4 |
| SPED 753 | Living Skills Assessment and Instruction for Learners with Visual Impairments | 3 |
| SPED 756 | Orientation and Mobility Seminar | 3 |
| SPED 757 | Visual Impairment: Special Populations | 3 |
| SPED 760 | Methods in Orientation and Mobility I | 3 |
| SPED 788 | Law, Ethics, and Instructional Planning | 3 |
| SPED 792 | Methods in Orientation and Mobility II | 3 |
| SPED 822 | Methods in Orientation and Mobility III | 3 |
| SPED 823 | Methods in Orientation and Mobility IV | 3 |
Apply for student teaching, with annual deadlines of February 28 for fall enrollment and September 28 for spring enrollment.
Submit a Credential Approved Program (CAP) prior to student teaching reflecting all course work completed or to be completed and non-curricular requirements (submitted with the application for student teaching).
Speech-Language Pathology Services Credential: Language, Speech & Hearing
The Speech-Language Pathology Services Credential (SLPSC) qualifies graduates to work as language, speech, and hearing specialists. To work in public schools, completion of the Master of Science in Communicative Disorders is required in addition to the credential. At SF State, the SLPSC is required as part of the M.S. program. Program requirements for entry to the Speech-Language Pathology Services Credential include the following:
- Completion of a baccalaureate degree in Communicative Disorders. If the baccalaureate degree is in another area, the applicant must complete the 13 undergraduate courses in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences as listed on SF State's Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences website, or an equivalent: http://slhs.sfsu.edu.
- Formal application to the department and university through CalState Apply: https://gcoe.sfsu.edu/current-students/how-apply
- Official transcripts with minimum 3.0 GPA are required for admission to the graduate program.
- Satisfy Basic Skills Requirement: successful passage of the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), CSET Multiple Subjects Test plus Writing Skills Test, OR an approved out-of-state basic skills exam (required for admission). Refer to the Department application for additional ways of satisfying the Basic Skills Requirement using the ELM/ EPT, SAT, and/or ACT scores (https://slhs.sfsu.edu/prospective).
- Complete Certificate of Clearance: Fingerprint Clearance via LiveScan and Commission on Teacher Credentialing online application process (required for admission to the Department).
Academic Requirements (post-baccalaureate)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ISED 797 | Seminar in Educational Research | 3 |
| SLHS 701 | Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences | 3 |
| SLHS 706 | Counseling in Communicative Disorders | 3 |
| SLHS 707 | Serving School Communities in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (optional) | 3 |
| SLHS 708 | Neurogenic Disorders of Language | 3 |
| SLHS 709 | Speech Sound Production | 3 |
| SLHS 710 | Seminar in Dysphagia | 3 |
| SLHS 712 | Internship Workshop Seminar: Communicative Disabilities (concurrent with SLHS 882) | 1 |
| SLHS 714 | Interprofessional Education & Family-Centered Practice | 1 |
| SLHS 754 | Voice and Resonance | 3 |
| SLHS 755 | Fluency Disorders | 3 |
| SLHS 756 | Right Hemisphere Syndrome, TBI, Dementia in Communicative Disabilities | 3 |
| SPED 788 | Law, Ethics, and Instructional Planning | 3 |
Clinical Practica and Internship Courses (56 units)
(as required by master’s degree, including clock hours that meet ASHA certification)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SLHS 702 | Social Communication Development | 3 |
| SLHS 711 | Seminar in Therapy for Functional Communicative Disorders | 1 |
| SLHS 713 | Seminar in Therapy | 1 |
| SLHS 880 | Advanced Communication Therapy (repeat a minimum of three times @ 2 units each time = 6 units) | 2 |
| SLHS 882 | Advanced Internship (experience with adults in a hospital placement- 6 units total) | 6 |
| SLHS 884 | Advanced Diagnosis in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (all ages) | 3 |