In the 2009–2010 academic year, the University of Valencia awarded degrees to the last cohort of graduates with a Diploma in Special Education and Hearing and Language. The University of Valencia’s Bachelor’s degree in Early Years and Primary Education provides only very basic training in meeting special educational needs. Although students on the current Bachelor’s degree programme can choose one of two optional specialisations related to this Master’s degree – ‘Specialisation in Hearing and Language’ and ‘Specialisation in Therapeutic Pedagogy’ – which supplement their training by incorporating skills that enable them to address the diversity and individual differences of pupils within the mainstream classroom, the specific training provided remains basic.

As for the Bachelor’s degrees in Pedagogy, Social Education and Psychology, they provide basic, general knowledge and skills, including aspects related to Special Educational Needs (SEN hereafter). In this regard, the Master’s degree in Special Education enables students to build on these studies, specialising in the specific support of pupils with SEN.