Certificate in Dyslexia Studies

As many as 10 percent of school age children struggle to read. Intervention helps. With a certificate in dyslexia studies, students will gain the knowledge and skills required to support students with this common reading disability.

Certificate Overview

Intervention supports can have a substantial positive effect for students’ reading and future academic outcomes. This certificate will provide graduate and professional students with the additional knowledge and skills required to support students with dyslexia in the educational system.

The curriculum is designed to provide participants with current research on assessment and intervention for students with dyslexia and similar learning disabilities. Students will learn about the challenges students with dyslexia may encounter, engage in administration and interpretation of instructional literacy assessments, and prepare and implement evidence-based literacy interventions for students with or at-risk for dyslexia and other reading disabilities in Grades K-12.

The program is best suited for students in education-related degree programs who seek careers in educational systems that will serve and support students with dyslexia.

Headshot photo of Jeanne Wanzek

Jeanne Wanzek, Currey-Ingram Chair in Special Education

"This certificate will be particularly helpful to anybody who is currently working or plans to work in schools or clinic settings that serve school-aged children. The knowledge from the certificate will allow graduates to work with these populations in a much more effective way, as well as be more marketable for jobs within their field."

Certificate Details

Certificate Directors: Jeanne Wanzek

Required Hours: 12

Prerequisites: Completed Bachelor's degree plus current enrollment in a master's or doctoral degree program within Vanderbilt University

Home Academic Department: Special Education

Note: Not all Peabody professional degree programs include enough elective credits to make earning an additional certificate possible. Students are encouraged to confer with their program director as well as with certificate directors to ensure they can meet all requirements for both degree and certificate programs.

Certificate Curriculum

Required Courses:

  • Language and the Brain (PSY-PC 7190)
  • Teaching Reading to Students with Severe and Persistent Academic and Behavior Difficulties (SPEDH 7410)
  • Advanced Reading for Students with Severe and Persistent Academic and Behavior Difficulties (SPEDH-7420)
  • Advanced Fieldwork in Special Education (SPEDH 7953)

Note: Certificate courses are subject to change.

Certificate Outcomes

Upon completion of the certificate, students will be able to:

  • Identify the brain networks associated with reading and writing and their disorders
  • Describe the brain basis of lexical processing
  • Understand processes for identifying students with dyslexia
  • Interpret formative literacy assessments
  • Use data to make instructional decisions for students with reading disabilities
  • Develop and implement instructional lessons for students with or at-risk for reading disabilities
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