Special Education M.Ed.

Total Semester Credit Hours = 36

The School of Education offers the Master of Education degree in Special Education. The Master of Education degree program is designed to fulfill academic requirements for certification as an educational diagnostician. The Master of Education degree with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Specialization with a UT Tyler Certificate is designed to support requirements as a Behavior Specialist.

Emphasis in educational diagnosis provides the student with the opportunity to assess the competencies of individuals in language, sociological, physical, and behavioral/emotional areas, intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, and educational performance using informal and formal measures, and prescribe individualized education plans based on test results. The educational diagnostician certificate requires classroom teaching experience as defined by the Texas Administrative Code, an earned master’s degree, and successful completion of the TExES examination for certification.

Emphasis in emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) provides students with the opportunity to understand and support students with EBD and educators working with the students. The emotional and behavioral disorders educational diagnostician certificate requires classroom teaching experience as defined by the Texas Administrative Code, an earned master’s degree, and successful completion of the courses to earn a UT Tyler Certificate.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the graduate program in special education, the individual must:

1. Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
2. Hold a Texas teacher certification (any field).
3. An official copy of your complete teacher service record.
4. All official transcripts. 
5. The GRE is waived when one of the following requirements have been met:
   
   • Last 60-hour undergraduate GPA OR overall bachelor’s degree GPA of 2.75 or higher. 
   • Overall graduate degree GPA of 3.0 or higher 
6. If your GPA does not meet the requirements in Item 4, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores obtained within the past five years are required:

• Verbal section of GRE and score at least 143.
• Quantitative section of GRE and score at least 140.
• Writing section of GRE and score at least 3.0.

7. Official TOEFL iBT minimum scores accepted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA; TAC 230.11):

• Reading 18-23
• Listening 17-21
• Speaking 20-24
• Writing 17-23 

8. Complete an Admission Interview with Program faculty.

9. Have an appropriate GPA as set by Texas Administrative Code and other administrative units.

     10. Complete the Student Information Sheet and Statement of Purpose.

     11. Complete a reference request form for 2 professional recommendations:

  a. One recommendation must be from your current principal. If you are not currently employed, the recommendation must come from your former principal. 

          For the Master's Degree in Special Education with Certification as an Educational Diagnostician:

1. Current EC-12 Texas Teacher Certification in any field (Texas residents only).
2. 1 year teaching experience as the teacher of record at a Texas accredited school

For the Master’s Degree in Special Education with a UT Tyler Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Specialization:

1. Current EC-12 Teacher Certification in any field (Texas residents and non-residents).
2. 1 year teaching experience as the teacher of record at an accredited school in any state.

 For the Master's Degree in Special Education with an Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Specialization (Texas Residents and non-Texas Residents):

1. Current EC-12 Teacher Certification in any field.
2. 1 year teaching experience as the teacher of record at an accredited school in any state.

12. Upon admission, students must:

1. Sign and submit an acknowledgement of admission and departmental agreements.
2. Pay the Graduate Program fee of $250 which will be added to the first tuition bill. This program fee is used for supervision during field work and is a one-time fee that will not be added to the tuition beyond the first semester. 

NOTE: In accordance with Texas Administrative Code, all applicants must be fully admitted prior to taking any coursework in the area in which they are seeking certification. Therefore, no provisional admission is allowed.