Educational Diagnostician Professional Certification

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Make the Learning Process More Accessible

Do you have a master’s degree in special education and want to become an educational diagnostician? Our 21-hour certificate program may be your answer. It prepares you to analyze assessments, design a plan based on testing results and implement a variety of learning modalities to meet the individual needs of your students. As an educational diagnostician, your job may include consulting with your colleagues and students’ parents as you develop and execute your plan for each student, including the use of learner-friendly language or developing an interactive study guide.

Where It Is Offered Commerce, Mesquite, Online

Duration 1-2 years

Foreign Language No foreign language credits required

Delivery Face-To-Face, Fully Online

Total Credit Hours 21 hours

Thesis Requirements No thesis required

ADMISSIONS DOMESTIC/Current Tabs

Admission

Education Diagnostician Graduate Certificate :: Program Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements

If you are a degree-seeking student pursuing educational diagnostician certification, you must hold a valid teaching certificate. You may complete your required three years of teaching while completing your coursework.
If you are seeking educational diagnostician certification only, you must hold a master’s degree in special education or a closely related field, a valid teaching certificate and three years of teaching experience prior to admission.

Deadlines

Applications are accepted throughout the year.

Your Path to Becoming a Lion

Step 1. Apply to the Graduate School

Submit Application

Submit your application at tamuc.edu/apply.

Select “Create a new graduate school admissions application.”
Select “Texas A&M University-Commerce (Commerce)” as your “Target University.”

Select “Educational Diagnostician Certification” as your “Major.”

Pay the $50 application fee.

Wait to receive an application confirmation email before proceeding to the next step.

After you submit your application, the Graduate School will send a confirmation email within two business days to the personal email account you used for ApplyTexas.

Submit Documents

Submit the following documents after you receive an application confirmation email.

Upload your documents at myLeo > Apps > Check Admissions Application Status & Test Scores or email your documents to [email protected], unless otherwise specified below.

Official Transcripts

Contact your previous institution(s) and request that they send your official transcripts to [email protected].

We recommend that you request transcripts for all of your academic work.

Postal Alternative

If your institution is unable to submit a digital copy, hard copies may be mailed to:

Texas A&M University-Commerce
Attn: Graduate School
PO Box 3011
Commerce, Texas 75429-3011

Personal Statement

Describe your preparation for graduate work, your academic interests and goals in no more than 500 words.

Resume or CV

Submit a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) which includes your academic and professional history and achievements.

Recommendation Letter

Submit a current professional letter of recommendation signed on letterhead.

Look for application updates in myLeo > Apps > Check Application Status

Once an admission decision has been made, you will receive an email to your student email account at myLeo > Apps > Leomail.

Dayla Burgin Graduate Student Services Coordinator: College of Education and Human Services, College of Science and Engineering and College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Step 2. Apply to the Certification Office

Once your application to the Graduate School is complete, you can submit your Educational Diagnostician Certification Program Application right away using TK20. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

Pay the certification and assessment fees

Go to the Educator Certification page on MarketPlace
- Click Educator Professional Fee
- Click the shopping cart plus icon
- Fill in your personal information to be associated with the fee and click “Continue”
Go back to the Educator Certification page on MarketPlace
- Click TEA Assessment Fee
- Click the shopping cart plus icon
- Complete your payment
Download and save your receipts to upload to TK20

Gather Required Documents

You will need to have the following documents ready for upload in order to submit the application:

Certification fee receipt
TEA Assessment fee receipt
Teaching service record
- A minimum of three years of creditable classroom teaching experience is required for admission to the educational diagnostician certification-only program.
Standard Texas Teaching Certificate
- Note: Candidates on emergency permits, intern or probationary certificates will not be admitted.
Official transcripts from the Graduate Office will be reviewed by the certification office.
- Official transcripts from all institutions must be submitted to the Graduate School in order to satisfy TEA certification admission requirements.
- For a certification-only program, applicants must hold a master’s degree.
- A minimum GPA of 3.0 on a conferred master’s degree or a minimum GPA of 2.75 on a conferred bachelor’s degree is required for certification admission. Please note that certification admission requirements may differ from those of the Graduate School and are separate requirements.

If applicable:

TEA Transfers
- If you have previously been admitted to another educator preparation program for educational diagnostician certification.
- Request that a completed TEA transfer form be sent from your previous program to the A&M-Commerce certification office.
Transcripts from outside the United States
- Contact the certification office for any questions about TEA requirements for transcripts from outside the United States.
- If your official transcripts are from institutions outside the United States and the country of origin is not exempt by TEA, send the following documentation to the A&M-Commerce certification office:
  - A course-by-course evaluation from a TEA-approved Foreign Credential Evaluation Service
  - Minimum scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT). Please note that TOEFL scores are only valid for a period of two years. Required minimum scores are 24 for Speaking, 22 for Listening, 22 for Reading and 21 for Writing.
    - As of 3/4/2022, a valid standard Texas educator certificate will be accepted in lieu of TOEFL iBT scores.

Create a TK20 Account

Go to tamuc.tk20.com
Scroll down and click “Admissions”
Select “Click here to create your account.”

Complete the “Create Applicant Account” form.
Note: You will be creating a password for this account.
Store the password you create in a secure location so you can refer to it later.
After completing the “Create Applicant Account” form, TK20 will provide your username.
Store your TK20 username and password in a secure location so you can refer to them later.
- You will use the username to log in to review your admission application once submitted.

Fill out the Educational Diagnostician Admission Application

Log into your TK20 account
- Click on the “back to login” link.
- Enter your username and password.
- Click the green “Log Into Your Account” button.

Click on the “Create New Application” button.

Select “Educational Diagnostician” application
Click the “Next” button.

Complete the application.

Upload Documents

Upload documents by clicking on the “+ Select File(s)” button for the item you are uploading.
Once you have completed all fields in the application, click the “Submit” button.

Look for an email from TK20 confirming your submission.

Check Your Application Status

To check your application status:

Log in to your TK20 Student Admissions account
On the “Home” tab, locate your application under “Recent Messages”
Click on the application.
If you are admitted, the message will indicate your application was “Admitted”
If you lack admission requirements, the message will indicate “Denied.”
- Click on “Review Document” to view your deficiencies and reason(s) for denial.

Interview

Once both the Graduate School and Certification Program Applications are complete, the Educational Diagnostician Program Director will reach out to schedule an interview. Interview days are typically scheduled on a monthly basis.

Sign the Letter of Invitation

Once accepted, please sign and return the “letter of invitation.”

Leesa L. Cannon Professional Certification Coordinator

Step 4. Apply for Financial Assistance

Apply for scholarships and graduate assistantships once you are admitted.
Apply for financial aid by submitting a FAFSA and sending it to school code 003565.
Contact your financial aid advisor with any questions.

Step 5. Register for Classes

Once registration opens and you are eligible to enroll, your graduate enrollment specialist is here to help you complete registration.

View your degree plan in DegreeWorks.
View the Schedule of Classes.
To register for classes, go to myLeo > Student Resources > Registration Menu.

Contact your graduate enrollment specialist if you have any questions regarding your degree plan and registration.

Jennifer Faunce Director of Graduate Enrollment Management

Master of Special education :: Program Admission Requirements International

If you are an H1B or H4 applicant, please contact the Graduate School for details at [email protected].

Note: This program is not available to international students.

Education Diagnostician Graduate Certificate :: Program Requirements

Program Requirements

Once admitted, you must:

Earn a 3.5 GPA on ALL required coursework (no course substitutions may be applied on graduate certificates)
Earn a grade of B or better in PSY/SPED 572, PSY/SPED 573, and SPED 574 (also needed to register for 691)
Submit a Completion of Certificate Request while taking your final graduate certificate courses.

The Texas State Board of Educators also requires you to complete the following:

Three years of full-time classroom teaching experience
Master’s degree
Minimum of 12 graduate-level semester hours completed at Texas A&M University-Commerce, as certifying institution
Approval for TExES registration during last semester of coursework, not to exceed six semester hours

Certification Only Program Plan

Education Diagnostician Graduate Certification :: Course Requirements

COURSE Offerings

SPED 524 Characteristics of Students with Mild Disabilities
SPED 526 Characteristics of Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities
SPED 528 Special Education Law
PSY/SPED 572 Principles of Assessment and Measurement
PSY/SPED 573 Principles of Cognitive Assessment
SPED 574 Principles of Psycho-Educational Assessment
PSY 691 Clinical Practicum Psychology

Educational Diagnostician Graduate Certification Plan

Educational Diagnostician Graduate Course sequence

Education Diagnostician Graduate Certficate :: We are Here to Help!

We are Here to Help!

Marlena E Fisk Administrative Associate III

Sherri Harwell Director Educator Certification and Academic Services

Beth Jones, Ph.D. Professor

Education Diagnostician Graduate Certification :: Request More Information

Contact Us

Psychology and Special Education
903.886.5631
[email protected]