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Gain the skills to become a teacher, therapist, or specialist for people with visual impairment.
UMass Boston’s Vision Studies MEd was ranked as one of the Best Online Graduate Education Programs by U.S. News & World Report. This program focuses on training professionals to assist people with visual impairment to achieve their goals, including high-quality education, fulfilling employment, and safe, independent travel. It’s designed for teachers and other professionals who want to work with people with visual impairment and help them lead safe, productive, and independent lives.
Explore cutting-edge learning technologies and gain practical hands-on experience through fieldwork. Apply these skills to assist people of all ages in different settings — school districts; veterans rehabilitation hospitals; nonprofits; state, federal, and private agencies; and more. This program prepares you to receive initial licensure to teach in Massachusetts and prepares you to sit for national professional exams through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals.
The program consists of four tracks: Orientation & Mobility (O&M), Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI), and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT), and Assistive Technology for Individuals with Visual Impairment (AT).
The O&M track teaches you how to evaluate needs of adults and children with visual impairments. You’ll learn how to teach them how to use equipment, such as the long cane, and low vision aids, as well as the integration of a professionally trained dog guide so they may orient themselves and travel safely with confidence. The program prepares you to sit for the national professional examination in O&M offered by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP).
The TVI track trains you to work with students who are blind or have low vision, as well as their families. TVI students include general education leaders, special educators, and other specialists in related fields. The program also includes a practicum that partially fulfills the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requirements for initial licensure.
The VRT track teaches professionals how to enhance the vocational opportunities, independent living, and educational development of people with vision loss. You’ll learn how to evaluate and teach daily living skills and strategies for safe, independent living for those with visual impairment. This program fulfills the eligibility requirements of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired and prepares you to sit for the national certification exam from the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP).
The AT track is designed for professionals who want to work in areas that enhance technological skills to enhance opportunities in various settings, including vocational, educational, independent living, and avocational settings. This program prepares you to sit for the national certification exam from the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP).
Ranked as one of the Best Online Graduate Education Programs by U.S. News & World Report.
Ranked as one of the Best Online Graduate Education Programs for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report.