Special Education (MEd, Graduate Certificate, Post-Master’s Certificate, Teacher Licensure) — Degree Requirements
MEd in Special Education: Track without Licensure (36 cr.)
This program is suitable for students with an interest in the field of special education who are not seeking licensure. Its curriculum is identical to that of the Initial Licensure Track (see below), with the exception that students substitute two approved 3-credit elective courses for SPE G 698: Moderate Practicum.
MEd in Special Education: Track with Initial Licensure, Pre K-8, 5-12 (36 cr.)
This program offers matriculated students a 36-credit sequence of coursework, including 75 hours of monitored pre-practicum, field-based experience and a practicum (300 clock hours minimum) leading to Initial Licensure as a Teacher of Children with Moderate Disabilities at either the Pre K-8 level or the 5-12 level. To receive the license, students must meet additional Department of Education requirements, as described in the section titled “State Licensure Requirements” below.
Courses required for the track include:
SPE G 602: Language Acquisition and Theories of Reading
SPE G 607: Behavioral and Classroom Management
SPE G 621: Developmental Patterns
SPE G 624: Standardized Assessments for Students with Moderate Disabilities, Pre K-12
SPE G 629: Consultation and Interpersonal Skills I
SPE G 633: Legal and Political Issues in Special Education
EDU G 646: Understanding Reading
SPE G 691: Research Seminar in Special Education
SPE G 698: Moderate Practicum (6 cr.)
For Pre K-8 License:
SPE G 625: Literacy Assessment and Instruction for Students with Moderate Disabilities, Pre K-8
SPE G 626: Math, Science and Social Science Assessment and Instruction for Students with Moderate Disabilities, Pre K-8
For 5-12 License:
SPE G 631: Clinical Teaching: Secondary
SPE G 632: Alternative Strategies
Successful completion of a capstone experience (a final research paper with two readers) is also required; students complete it while registered for SPE G 691, normally in their final semester.
MEd in Special Education: Track with Professional Licensure (36 cr.)
This is a 36-credit clinical program for those who already hold initial licensure in special education and who wish to earn professional licensure in moderate disabilities. This program focuses on building literacy skills through data-based teaching practices, as well as on development of assessment techniques adapted for a range of learners, including those with disabilities and those whose first language is other than English. In the capstone project, students will implement units they have developed and document the impact of this instruction on their own students. For more information on Department of Education requirements for the professional license, see below under “State Licensure Requirements.”
Courses required for the track include:
SPE G 630: Building Collaborative Partnerships with Families of Students with Disabilities
SPE G 647: Assessment-Based Instruction (Subject to final University approval)
SPE G 684: Technologies in Special Education
SPE G 685: Inclusive Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development for Pre K-12 Classrooms
SPE G 691: Research Seminar in Special Education
EDU G 617: Literacy Diagnosis and Instruction
EDU G 621: Teaching Writing in the K-12 Classroom
EDU G 622: Integrating Curriculum
EDU G 640: Reading in the Content Areas
EDU G 663: Assessment in Teaching
APLING 625: Second Language Acquisition
APLING 671: The Bilingual Child with Special Needs
Successful completion of a capstone experience (a final research paper with two readers) is also required; it is normally completed in the student’s final semester.
Special Education Post-Master’s Certificate with Professional Licensure (18 cr.)
For those who hold Initial Licensure as a Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities and who wish to go on to earn professional licensure in moderate disabilities, the University offers an 18-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.
Courses required for the certificate include:
SPE G 647: Assessment-Based Instruction (Subject to final University approval)
SPE G 685: Inclusive Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development for Pre K-12 Classrooms
EDU G 622: Integrating Curriculum
EDU G 640: Reading in the Content Areas
APLING 671: The Bilingual Child with Special Needs
Choice of:
EDC G 621: Teaching Writing in the K-12 Classroom or
SPE G 684: Technologies in Special Education
MEd in Special Education: Track in Teaching of Students with Visual Impairments (37 cr.)
The program offers matriculated students a 37-credit sequence of coursework, including 75 hours of monitored pre-practicum, field-based experience and a practicum (300 clock hours minimum), leading to licensure as “Teacher of the Visually Impaired.” For more details on Department of Education requirements for licensure, see below under “State Licensure Requirements.”
Courses required for the TVI track include:
SPE G 514: Visual Functioning (3 cr.)
SPE G 515: Braille I (3 cr.)
SPE G 516: Implications of Low Vision (3 cr.)
SPE G 541: Methods of Orientation and Mobility (4 cr.)
SPE G 619: Braille II (3 cr.)
SPE G 620: Education of Students with Visual Impairments (3 cr.)
SPE G 621: Developmental Patterns (3 cr.)
SPE G 622: Technology for Individuals with Visual Impairments (3 cr.)
SPE G 642: Assessment and Instructional Strategies Visual Impairments (4 cr.)
SPE G 643: Strategies for Assessing Students with Multiple Disabilities (4 cr.)
SPE G 698B: TVI Practicum (4 cr.) (Subject to final University approval)
Students in the TVI Track must submit a capstone portfolio, normally in the final semester of their program. Students seeking initial licensure must pass all teaching test requirements of the state in which they seek licensure before being placed in an Internship.
Special Education Graduate Certificate in Orientation and Mobility (19 or 28 cr.)
This certification-qualifying program provides students with a sequence of coursework, field-based experiences, and practicum-fulfilling requirements prescribed by the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI). Successful completion of the curriculum, along with faculty recommendation, qualifies students to sit for the national Professional Examination in Orientation and Mobility offered by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP).
- O/M Certification for vision professionals (19 credits)
Required courses:
SPE G 511: Physical and Functional Aspects of Orientation and Mobility (3 cr.)
SPE G 512: Orientation and Mobility Assessment and Instructional Strategies: Children (4 cr.)
SPE G 513: Orientation and Mobility Assessment and Instructional Strategies: Adults (4 cr.)
SPE G 541: Methods of Orientation and Mobility (4 cr.)
SPE G 598: Internship in Orientation and Mobility (4 cr.)
- O/M certification, expanded curriculum for related services professionals (28 credits)
Required courses:
The five courses (19 credits) required in (1) above, plus 9 more credits, as follows:
SPE G 514: Visual Functioning (3 cr.)
SPE G 515: Braille I (3 cr.)
SPE G 516: Implications of Low Vision (3 cr.)
Please note: Students may combine the 28-credit O/M Certificate with the 12 core credits required for the MEd in Teacher Education: Track without Licensure, to create a 40-credit Master of Education degree with a specialization in Orientation and Mobility. See the director of the Orientation and Mobility Certificate Program for details.
State Licensure Requirements
The licensure of educational personnel requires a bachelor’s degree and the completion of a program that has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Education, with course- and fieldwork that includes at least 75 hours of pre-practicum field observations and a supervised student teaching experience or internship. In addition, the Massachusetts Department of Education requires satisfactory performance on a test of proficiency in written and spoken English, and on competency examinations in a field of knowledge. For individuals seeking licensure in Moderate Disabilities at the elementary level, and Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, the field of knowledge is covered in the General Curriculum Test, which addresses the range of subjects covered in the elementary curriculum. Individuals seeking licensure in Moderate Disabilities at the secondary level may take either the General Curriculum Test or a subject area test in a specific discipline taught at that level. Candidates must also pass a Foundations of Reading Test. Individuals who have completed such a program and have passed the Massachusetts Tests for Teacher Licensure will be granted “Initial Licensure,” and are eligible to teach in a public school.
Those holding initial licensure have up to five years from the time they are first employed to complete the additional requirements for “Professional Licensure.” These include a master’s degree and successful teaching experience. Professional Licensure is renewable every five years; re-licensure requires the accumulation of “Professional Development Points” and the payment of a fee. More details concerning licensure and re-licensure are available in a booklet available from the Department of Education, 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023, or at www.doe.mass.edu.