Introduction to the career planning and development process through an understanding of one’s own career journey. Overview of how counselors assist individuals in the career decision process.

Introduction to counseling aspects and counseling skills that focus on the understanding of self and others from a multicultural perspective.

Introduction to effective interpersonal communication skills.

Overview of and introduction to areas of the counseling profession.

A comparative study of the major theories in the field of family counseling.

The course is designed to provide counselors, teachers, and administrators with increased awareness of a wide variety of work experiences.

Orientation to the profession of counseling including its historical, social, and cultural foundations. Declaration of the minor in counseling or admission to the Ed.S. in Counselor Education.

An overview of the characteristics of optimal holistic wellness and human functioning. Practical application of theoretically and empirically supported wellness models and interventions to enhance social, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Emphasis on current professional approaches to college mentoring and development of leadership and mentoring skills. Students must participate in Minority Assistance Program. Upper division undergraduate standing or admission to a graduate program and consent of instructors.

A seminar focusing on current professional issues in counseling.

Human relations principles applied to the counseling interview.

Issues facing student athletes regarding their personal and career development beyond athletics.

A survey of design thinking and computer science education topics and skills. Students will (a) use design thinking to solve problems and develop products and (b) explore a variety of technologies and their applications in the workplace, with hobbies, and within PK-12 schools.

Study of multimedia elements (e.g., graphics, animation, audio, and video) including the creation and editing of materials. Instructional applications, copyright issues, and technology limitations will be explored.

Supervised field-based experiences in the design, development, evaluation, and implementation of technology-based instructional and training projects.

Application of instructional design criteria to computer and noncomputer interactions. Analyses include requisite cognitive processes, affective outcomes, and ethical standards. Design and formative testing of interactive exercises.

The role of historical events, politics, media, race, gender, and other issues in shaping how disability is viewed. A critical framework for understanding how disability is viewed in Western culture and the effects of those views on individuals with disabilities.

Carolina Core: GSS

Introduction to autism including definition, characteristics, causes, and evidence-based practices.

Introduction to the principles of behavior and their application to improving educational and behavioral outcomes of students with disabilities.

Introduction to procedures used in school settings for reducing challenging behaviors through conducting a functional behavioral assessment and writing and implementing a behavior intervention plan.

Introduction to concepts and methods of assessment in special education with emphasis on administering, scoring, and analysis of standardized educational tests.

Knowledge and skills critical to special education practitioners in fostering healthy and productive relationships with fellow professionals, students, and families.

Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department chair is required for undergraduate students.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research

Experience in the observation and teaching of Pk – 12 students with exceptionalities across settings appropriate to special education teaching certification. Admission to Internship I in Special Education required.

Synthesis of the knowledge and skills acquired through course work and field experiences during special education teacher preparation. Admission to Internship II in Special Education required.

Inclusion strategies and accommodation planning for students with mild disabilities in general education classrooms.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy

Application of effective teaching techniques and organization of instructional settings for exceptional learners in special education. Admission to Internship II Special Education required.

Overview of the field of education for exceptional children. Basic course for those entering the field of special education.

Symptomatology, behavioral manifestations, and resources for care and treatment of orthopedic conditions and other types of health problems in children and youth.

An overview of early childhood special education for young children with disabilities and their families.

Children with average/above average intelligence and specific learning impairments; diagnostic and remedial techniques. (Offered by both the College of Education and the Department of Psychology).

Types and characteristics of the gifted and talented.

A study of the skills and knowledge required to implement direct instruction procedures when teaching reading, with opportunity for application of skills. Research and theoretical foundations will also be evaluated.

Research, theory, and instructional practices related to providing reading instruction in content areas for youth with disabilities, with a focus on developing disciplinary literacy in inclusive settings.


Research, theory, and instructional practices related to mathematical readiness and instruction for children and youth at risk for mathematical difficulties.

Data-based instruction for teaching students with significant disabilities: task and developmental analysis, individualizing instruction, and preparing and implementing instructional programs.

Design, development, adaptation, and implementation of curriculum, language and communication instruction for students with significant disabilities.

Theory and application of current evidence-based procedures for teaching children with specific learning disabilities.

Nature and causes of intellectual disabilities, behavior, and potentialities of persons with intellectual disabilities.

An initial course in educational procedures focusing on intervention strategies for serving young children with disabilities in inclusive environments.

Characteristics, etiology, and major theoretical models for children experiencing emotional and/or behavioral problems in school; special education curriculum, programming alternatives, assessment, and issues concerning this population.

The development of a workable approach to classroom management through an examination of a research-based synthesis of current knowledge in classroom and behavior management.

DEC Practices in Early Childhood Special Education, Assessing and Monitoring Children's Challenging Behavior, and Preventive Strategies for Challenging Behavior.

Advanced assessment methods for serving young children with and without developmental delays and their families.

Personal, social, and educational implications of a mild to moderate multi-categorical disability (emotional/behavioral, intellectual, and learning disabilities) throughout the lifespan of an individual.

Theory and application of current evidence-based procedures for teaching children with mild to moderate multi-categorical disabilities.

Basic course for mastery of the literary braille code. Transcription of instructional materials in literary braille.

The psychological, social, and educational implications for persons with visual disabilities; definitions, incidence, characteristics of, and rehabilitative and educational programs for persons with visual disabilities.

Educational implications of philosophy, theory, and research about deafness.

Knowledge and basic skills of finger-spelling and sign forms for communication.

Communication and collaboration skills and strategies for creating and maintaining effective partnerships with a variety of stakeholders involved in educating students with disabilities in PK-12 settings.

Strategies for collaborating and communicating with families and other professionals as members of multidisciplinary teams in Early Intervention and Early childhood Special Education.

Social, political, and historical aspects of diverse educational institutions in American culture with an emphasis on families, schools, and communities. Sophomore standing.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Community Service

Extensive treatment of the social, political, economic, and philosophical influences that have shaped public education. Analysis of the financial, organizational, and legal aspects of education. Library assignments provide a working knowledge of professional standard references and journals. Junior or higher standing.

Basic concepts, issues, and practices of antiracist education. Topics include individual and institutional racism, overt and covert racism, curriculum, textbooks, power relationships, teacher-student relationships, and privacy.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Leadership Experiences

Analysis of educational institutions, organizations, processes, and their effects in contemporary society.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy

Understanding of schooling in a global society. An introduction to comparative and international education and its major theories practices and research methodologies with an examination of educational issues, levels and system in a variety of cultural contexts and countries.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning

Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department chair is required for undergraduate students.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research

A survey of the history, philosophy, administration, and legal bases of American education.

Development of educational institutions in Southern society with special attention given to South Carolina.

Basic course designed to familiarize the prospective teacher with the patterns of social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of the individual. Development of these growth patterns from the prenatal stage to the onset of adolescence.

Basic course designed to familiarize the prospective junior and senior high school teacher with the pattern of social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of the individual during his adolescent years. Recommendation of the advisor(s) required.

Applications of the psychology of learning and development. Special attention to basic statistics and the behavior of the school child.

Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department chair is required for undergraduate students.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research

Overview of psychological theories and research as it applies to education, including theories of learning, child and adolescent development, cognitive processes, classroom practices, individual differences/student diversity, and motivation.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Leadership Experiences

Field experience integrated with course on lifespan development and learning with an emphasis on individual and group diversity.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Internships

Examines free-choice (or informal) learning and the characteristics of settings and activities outside of formal schooling that effectively promote learning and development.

A resource for members of the Teaching Fellows Program to successfully complete yearly program requirements. Topics include: qualities of an effective teacher, how to give constructive classroom feedback, students' needs decision making, leadership styles, valuing diversity, and factors that influence/contribute to effective teacher leadership. Restricted to students enrolled in the USC Teaching Fellows Program. Instructor permission only.

Study abroad course in which students apply social science knowledge and analytical methods to understand the ways in which culture, society, politics, and global forces affect education and schooling in diverse international settings. May be repeated as content varies by destination.

Carolina Core: GSS

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning

Case study in the clinical application of pedagogy and methods related to classroom management, including relational, procedural and instructional aspects of a classroom management approach.

Selected educational problems will be identified and explored, and probable solutions developed. Emphasis will be on providing practicing school personnel an opportunity to work cooperatively, under supervision, toward solutions to those problems which are of immediate concern to them. Activities will include seminars, review of literature, observations, case studies, materials development, and other applicable approaches. Emphasis will be placed on the development of a comprehensive proposal designed to alleviate or solve the problems identified.

Selected educational problems will be identified and explored, and probable solutions developed. Emphasis will be on providing practicing school personnel an opportunity to work cooperatively, under supervision, toward solutions to those problems which are of immediate concern to them. Activities will include seminars, review of literature, observations, case studies, materials development, and other applicable approaches. Emphasis will be placed on the development of a comprehensive proposal designed to alleviate or solve the problems identified.

Selected educational problems will be identified and explored, and probable solutions developed. Emphasis will be on providing practicing school personnel an opportunity to work cooperatively, under supervision, toward solutions to those problems which are of immediate concern to them. Activities will include seminars, review of literature, observations, case studies, materials development, and other applicable approaches. Emphasis will be placed on the development of a comprehensive proposal designed to alleviate or solve the problems identified.

Selected educational problems will be identified and explored, and probable solutions developed. Emphasis will be on providing practicing school personnel an opportunity to work cooperatively, under supervision, toward solutions to those problems which are of immediate concern to them. Activities will include seminars, review of literature, observations, case studies, materials development, and other applicable approaches. Emphasis will be placed on the development of a comprehensive proposal designed to alleviate or solve the problems identified.