Admission

Applicants seeking admission to the master's degree programs must satisfy the general admission requirements for the School of Graduate Studies. The following additional criteria are also required:

• A one-page, handwritten letter of intent stating professional background, experience and rationale for wanting to be admitted to the department
• Two letters of recommendation
• Resume
• An interview with the chair or program coordinator

An undergraduate cumulative QPA of 2.8. If average is below 2.8, the student may be admitted provisionally. No Cs may be earned during a probationary period.

Retention

Students must complete the criteria listed in the College of Education, Policy 3.1 for Advanced Programs prior to the completion of 21 graduate credits. Required GPA, field/diversity experiences, TB screening, child abuse, federal criminal history and criminal record clearances, and liability information is described within the policy.

Graduation

Students seeking the M.S. in Special Education must complete requirements as listed below.

Requirements — Special Education (M.S.)

• Choice A: Thesis option — 30 hours course work plus six credits for thesis OR
• Choice B: Department paper option — 36 hours of course work plus department pape

Prerequisite course requirement (3 credits): SPECED 101 or SPECED 516, or equivalent

Core requirements (15 credits)

SPECED.502 Principles of Special Education Law
SPECED.565 Special Education Research Methods I
SPECED.567 Special Education Research Methods II
SPECED.575 Seminar in Current Issues in Special Education
SPECED.591 Practicum in Special Education

Specialization Area requirements (12-18 credits)

Students enrolled in the M.S. in Special Education program will be required to specialize in a graduate program content area. Depending on their selected specialization students will be required to take 12 to 18 graduate credits in that area.

The approved specialization areas are:

Special Education (12-15 credits)
Special Education Supervisory Certification (18 credits + 6 cr. within core requirements = 21 cr. total)
Behavior Intervention and Support (12 credits)
Counseling (12 credits)
Curriculum and Instruction (12 credits)
Early Intervention (12 credits)
English Second Language Certificate (12 credits)
Instructional Technology (12 credits)
Literacy and Reading (12 credits)

Thesis

PROFSTUD.599 Master's Research Paper (for graduate students electing Choice A only)