Special Education, MED, Significant Disabilities

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Purposes

The purposes of the Master of Education in Special Education are to:

1. Prepare highly qualified and effective teachers for Louisiana students with exceptionalities, from birth to 12th grade.
2. Provide candidates with opportunities to develop pedagogical content knowledge, expert knowledge of learners with special needs, and competencies reflecting the knowledge skills and dispositions needed to reach their full potential.
3. Develop candidates’ capabilities to provide professional services, leadership, and advocacy for students with exceptionalities in schools, school districts, and professional organizations.
4. Offer curriculum and instruction for earning a master’s degree that is guided by the high standards of state and national standards.
5. Provide intensive study in candidate’s selected areas of concentration.
6. Enhance the candidates’ potential for serving students with exceptionalities, parents, colleagues, and others in the education community.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for the Masters of Education degree in Special Education, an applicant must:

1. Meet all University requirements, which include:
   1. An application for admission.
   2. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
   3. Documentation of graduation with a baccalaureate degree (or its equivalent) from an accredited university.
   4. Documentation of a grade point average (GPA) that meets the Southeastern Graduate Studies requirements for admission.
   5. Documentation of satisfactory standing at the last institution attended.
   6. A non-refundable fee to the Controller’s Office prior to the established deadline.
2. Submit a valid teaching certificate. This program does not lead to initial certification.

For add-on certification to an existing Louisiana teacher certificate, please contact the Graduate Coordinator or consult the Department of Teaching & Learning section of the catalog.

Due to the coursework requirements typical of education courses, which frequently include clinical practice hours, the Department of Teaching & Learning considers fulltime enrollment to be 6 credit hours per semester for graduate students enrolled in programs through Teaching & Learning.

As part of the College of Education focus on performance-based outcomes, students enrolled in the Teacher Preparation Program will submit products to the current electronic assessment system. The products will allow the students to demonstrate their understanding of how they meet the program outcomes; provide a process by which students can become reflective practitioners to foster continuous improvement; document growth in the program; and demonstrate how the students meet the requirements for knowledge, skills, and professional and ethical behavior required by the state certification in the selected area.

Please consult your advisor for the sequence of coursework.

Requirements for Degree

To receive the Master of Education degree in Special Education, a student must:

1. Complete all requirements stated in the catalog and the candidate’s degree plan.
2. Submit products in the electronic assessment system to verify candidate mastery of content pedagogical knowledge.
3. Satisfactorily complete all graduate work with a cumulative “B” average. Degree candidates must earn an average of “B” or higher, both cumulative and in the major area of concentration, with not more than six (6) semester hours with a grade of “C” counted toward a degree. No credit below “C” will be accepted for graduate degree credit.
4. Satisfactorily complete an action research project with supporting products (e. g. written article, presentation).
5. Be recommended for the degree by the student’s major professor.