Special Education M.A.E.
Special Education Major
This major is designed to prepare special education professionals for leadership positions and for advanced professional studies. For students pursuing the Special Education Consultant emphasis, to be eligible for Endorsement 250 Special Education Consultant, the student must have four years of successful teaching experience, two of which must be congruent with the desired Special Education Consultant endorsement.
Students interested in this program must submit a completed Application for Admission to Graduate Study and should refer to their MyUNIverse Student Center To-Do list or contact the Department of Special Education for other application requirements. Graduate information and application for graduate admission can be found at https://admissions.uni.edu/application.
The Graduate Record Examination (General Test) is not required for admission to the program.
Only graduate courses (course numbers 5000 or above) will apply to a graduate degree, even if the undergraduate course number (4999 or less) is listed. No exceptions will be made.
This major is available on the thesis and non-thesis option. A minimum of 30 semester hours is required for the non-thesis option and a minimum of 33 hours is required for the thesis option. A minimum of 18 hours of 6000-level course work is required for both thesis and non-thesis options.
Students on the thesis option must complete 6 hours of SPIE 6299 Research and present a defense of the thesis. Students on the non-thesis option must complete 3 hours of SPIE 6299 ending with a culminating research paper, and successfully complete a final written comprehensive examination.
| Required professional core | ||
| Educational Psychology: | ||
| EDPSYCH 6214 | Foundations of Instructional Psychology | 3 |
| Measurement and Research: | ||
| MEASRES 6205 | Educational Research | 3 |
| Required special education | ||
| SPIE 6260 | Special Education Law and Policy | 3 |
| Special Education: | ||
| SPIE 6289 | Seminar | 3 |
| or SPIE 4180/5180 | Interdisciplinary Study of Disability | |
| Research: | 3 or 6 | |
| Research | ||
Thesis Option (6 hours) | ||
Non-thesis Option (3 hours) | ||
| Emphasis in special education (choose one from below) | 15 | |
| Total hours (non-thesis option) | 30 | |
| Total hours (thesis option) | 33 | |
Instructional Emphasis
| Required | ||
| Special Education: | ||
| SPIE 6293 | Qualitative Research in Special and Inclusive Education | 3 |
| SPIE 6295 | Single-Subject Research Applications | 3 |
| Approved electives | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Special Education Consultant Emphasis
| Required | ||
| Special Education: | ||
| SPIE 6293 | Qualitative Research in Special and Inclusive Education | 3 |
| SPIE 6240 | Collaborative Consultation I: The Relationship | 3 |
| SPIE 6245 | Collaborative Consultation II: The Process | 3 |
| SPIE 6290 | Practicum | 3 |
| Approved electives | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Learning Outcomes
Special Education, M.A.E.
The Department of Literacy, Early Childhood, and Special Education values the continuous development of special, inclusive educator's dispositions, knowledge, and skills to support, educate, serve, and learn alongside all students, considering students' diverse historical, social, cultural, linguistic, and other multi-dimensional identities that intersect with their disability experiences in educational contexts. This occurs through endorsement program goals using collaborative frameworks that center a plurality of perspectives to orient educators to their leadership, teacher work, and voice through the:
- use of skills, knowledge base, and dispositions that support child and adolescent growth and development by adhering to philosophical, historical, cultural, and state/federal law for special, inclusive education from collaborative frameworks related to curriculum, instruction, intervention, and assessment of children with disabilities.
- demonstration of knowledge of the characteristics of learners identified with disabilities appropriate to the pursued endorsement area
- explanation and use of unbiased assessment, diagnosis, and evaluation procedures to make decisions about individualized support of learners eligible for special education services that draw from a plurality of universally designed methods and materials that are culturally responsive, age-appropriate, and provide curricular and instructional support for eligible individuals (UNI SLO - Content Knowledge and Skills)
- co-creation of positive, inclusive learning environments that support students’ emotional well-being and facilitate positive social interactions across universally designed and culturally responsive settings that build on the reflexivity of teacher learning that accounts for intersectionality and theories of academic, social, and emotional support for individuals with disabilities. (UNI SLO - Critical Thinking)
- communication and collaboration with existing and potential partners to support individuals with disabilities (e.g., families, classroom teachers, support services personnel, paraprofessionals, community partners, and others involved in the education program) and transitional collaboration, including individuals with disabilities, while honoring their multi-dimensional identities. (UNI SLO - Communication)
- development of updated skills, knowledge, and dispositions to support positive long-term personal and professional learning plans, quality collaborative relationships, and positive educator self-care.