Master of Education in Special Education (Advanced)
About This Program
The MEd in Special Education (Advanced) includes a heavy emphasis on teaching and learning with assistive technology, evidence-based behavioral strategies, and research. This graduate program has multiple emphasis areas such as options for initial teacher certification preparation, high incidence disabilities, and low incidence disabilities. Students who successfully complete the certificate coursework, state and program requirements, and required exams will be eligible to apply for Texas EC-12 (early childhood-12th grade) Special Education certification. This program is uniquely focused on the needs of students with disabilities.
Competencies
- Professional Dispositions: Students will be able to display positive professional dispositions during courses and practicum settings.
- Understanding and Engaging in Research (EDUC-CO1-LO2): The candidate is able to identify problems and employ one or more research methodologies to develop solutions or understandings.
- Planning, Instruction, and Assessment (EDUC-CO1-LO3): The candidate is able to design clear, well-organized, sequential, engaging, and flexible learning experiences that reflect best practices, align with standards and related content, are appropriate for diverse learners, and address all required accommodations and modifications.
Admissions Criteria
Admission to the Master of Education program is competitive. Some qualified students may not be admitted if demand exceeds the program’s capacity to serve all applicants.
Unconditional Admission
Requires:
- Proof of two or more years of relevant experience.
- Undergraduate transcripts with at least a 3.0 GPA during the last 60 hours or at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. The higher of these GPAs will be used for admission purposes. A 3.0 GPA on the last 9 hours of graduate coursework may be considered in place of the undergraduate GPA.
- Two professional letters of reference. Letters from supervisors are strongly encouraged. Applicants for the MEd in Special Education submit a personal statement of interest. Applicants for MEd in Special Education who are not certification seeking submit only a personal statement of interest rather than letters of reference.
Probationary Admission
- Applicants who have less than 2 years of relevant experience and have a GPA of at least 3.0 and two letters of reference, may be granted probationary admission. The faculty admissions committee may require additional documents (e.g., GRE scores) for consideration. MEd in Special Education program applicants may also be admitted on a probationary status with less than 2 years of relevant work experience, and a personal statement of interest.
- Students granted probationary admission must maintain a 3.0 (B or better) GPA in the first 9 credit hours of graduate coursework in the College of Education program to be converted from probationary to unconditional admission.
Program areas have additional requirements including documents for TEA reporting, including: 1) a written response to the given prompt (fulfills “other screening instrument” as required by The Texas Education Agency), and 2) completion of Attestation and FERPA forms. In addition, some programs require access to an approved Pre K-12 setting. The overall grade point average (GPA) of each incoming class admitted between September 1 and August 31 of each year by an educator preparation program (EPP) may not be less than 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent. Certification programs have additional TAC requirements for GPA (used by the program in addition to, not in lieu of, the requirements stated above).
Deferred Admission
An applicant’s admission may be deferred when a file is not complete or when denying admission is not appropriate.
Denied Admission
An applicant may be denied admission if the conditions for unconditional or probationary admission are not met. In addition, if a student was suspended or expelled from the University of Texas at Arlington or any other university or program for reasons other than academic, that student may be denied admission or readmission to an educator preparation program in the UTA College of Education.
Curriculum
| MEd Foundations | ||
| EDUC 5394 | UNDERSTANDING AND DESIGNING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH | 3 |
| SPED 5302 | APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS FOR TEACHERS | 3 |
| SPED 5305 | ADVANCED LEARNING DISABILITIES | 3 |
| SPED 5307 | SPECIAL EDUCATION LEGAL AND POLICY ISSUES | 3 |
| SPED 5310 | ADVANCED BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS | 3 |
| SPED 5313 | SINGLE SUBJECT RESEARCH | 3 |
| SPED 5315 | MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORT | 3 |
| SPED 5316 | ADVANCED APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS | 3 |
| SPED 5317 | AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS | 3 |
| SPED 5319 | METHODS OF TEACHING STUDENTS WITH MODERATE/SEVERE DISABILITIES AND AUTISM | 3 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Program Completion
Time to Degree
The degree must be completed within six years (time in military service excluded) from initial registration in the Office of Graduate Studies. Coursework that is more than six years old at the time of program completion cannot be used toward meeting degree the requirements. Coursework that is more than five years old cannot be used toward state certification requirements for licensure (further restrictions may apply, depending on program).
Professional Dispositions
Each student/candidate in the College of Education will be evaluated on professional dispositions by the faculty and staff. These dispositions are identified as essential for a highly-qualified professional. Instructors and program directors will work with students/candidates rated as “unacceptable” in one or more stated criteria. The student/candidate will have an opportunity to develop a plan to remediate any digressions. If digression(s) are not, or cannot be successfully remediated as in the case of an egregious digression, a determination will be made by committee on continuation or dismissal from the College of Education.
Changes
Program requirements may change as state requirements change.