DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire has launched the state's first graduate certificate in special education administration approved by the New Hampshire State Department of Education in an effort to address a critical shortage of special education administrators in the state.

Designed for experienced educators, the graduate certificate program will be offered beginning in January 2012.

"Special education has a long history of being a critical shortage area. The positions are difficult to staff. The Education Department has prepared educators for special education teaching positions but only recently have we been able to develop the program necessary to offer a preparation for the administrators who manage and lead special education programs," said Todd DeMitchell, UNH professor of education and administrator of the new graduate certificate program.

UNH is a state leader in preparing the next generation of educators and has a long history of excellence in scholarship, teaching, and professional preparation.

"Our educator preparation programs are well recognized and valued not only in New Hampshire but also throughout the Northeast and the rest of the nation. In the spring we had panel of educators from Utah visit our faculty to discuss how they can incorporate many of our preparation practices into their program. Our year-long graduate internship serves as a recognized model for the current reform discussion about the importance of creating extended immersion programs in schools for interns," DeMitchell said.

The new graduate certificate in special education administration expands the department's already strong academic offerings in special education, which include a master of education in special education and state certification in general special education, learning disabilities, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is the department's third graduate certificate; the department also offers graduate certificates in mentoring teachers and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

For additional information on the UNH Department of Education's extensive graduate and undergraduate academic programs, visit http://www.unh.edu/education/.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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