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GCE - Dean's Office
Wheatley Hall, Floor 01, Room 00077
Tel. 617-287-7600
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Special Education Program – Moderate Disabilities
If you are interested in taking one or two courses as a non-degree student prior to applying to the program, you can contact the Office of Student Services at 617-287-7610 for information.
The UMass Boston offerings in special education are focused on social justice in urban schools, emphasizing students with disabilities and the knowledge, dispositions and practices necessary to combat disproportional representation. Through courses, field-based experiences, and practica, the program affords general educators, special educators, and other specialists in related fields an opportunity to acquire the necessary assessment, instructional, and consultation skills for working effectively with culturally and linguistically diverse children and/or adolescents who are at risk and who have special educational needs. Course work and experiences focus on the design and implementation of, and advocacy for, inclusionary learning settings for children with and without disabilities, designed in collaboration with their teachers and parents. The urban, multicultural school provides the central context within which graduate students are guided to reflect on their teaching practices and to view themselves as active contributors to school improvement.
Our program offers the following courses of study:
1. Graduate Certificate Leading to Initial Licensure in Moderate Disabilities
(PreK-8 or 5-12)
Individuals completing this Certificate fulfill the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requirements for Initial Licensure as Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities. The Certificate offers matriculated students a 27-credit sequence of course work, including 75 hours of monitored pre-practicum field-based experience and a minimum semester-long supervised practicum (including at least 75 hours in an inclusive setting). The Initial License is valid for five years. Certificate courses are also part of the M.Ed. Leading to Progressive Licensure in Moderate Disabilities.
*For teachers who currently hold an initial licensure in elementary education, the courses in this Certificate fulfill requirements for Professional Licensure in Elementary Education and Initial Licensure in Moderate Disabilities, resulting in dual licensure.
2. M.Ed. Leading to Successive Licensures in Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8 or 5-12)
For those seeking both Initial Licensure and Professional Licensure in Moderate Disabilities within a Master’s degree, we offer a 39-credit graduate program which meets the academic requirements for both licenses. This program focuses on using data-based teaching practices to develop academic and social skills in a range of learners, emphasizing strategies to combat disproportional representation. The core courses emphasize cross-disciplinary instruction informed by assessment and adapted for a range of learners, including those whose first language is other than English. In the capstone project, students implement units they have developed and evaluate the impact of this instruction on their own students.
*Students who completed the 27-credit Graduate Certificate Leading to Initial Licensure in Moderate Disabilities Program can continue in this Master’s program. They are only required to take four additional courses, which fulfill the academic requirements for both Professional Licensure in Moderate Disabilities and a Master’s Degree in Special Education.
3. M.Ed. leading to Professional Licensure in Moderate Disabilities
For those who already hold Initial Licensure in Moderate Disabilities and wish to earn Professional Licensure through a Master’s degree, the University offers a 36-credit Master’s of Education program which meets the academic requirements for that license. Each individual’s background and academic history will be reviewed to customize the coursework in the program. This program, as all our offerings, focuses on using data-based teaching practices to develop academic and social skills in a range of learners. In the capstone project, students implement units they have developed and evaluate the impact of this instruction in their own classroom.
4. Post-Master’s Certificate for Professional Licensure in Moderate Disabilities
For those who received Initial Licensure in Moderate Disabilities through an approved Master’s of Education program in this area and wish to fulfill academic requirements for Professional Licensure in Moderate Disabilities, the University offers a 12-credit Post-Master’s Certificate. The course of study in this certificate emphasizes cross-disciplinary instruction and informed assessment practices adapted for a range of students, including those whose first language is other than English.