Many teachers are driven by the desire to impart the knowledge and skills that will help students thrive throughout their lives. However, some students have specialized education needs due to a disability or disorder, which means accomplishing this goal may require additional training. If you’re considering pursuing a graduate degree and eventual career in special education, you have some important choices to make. Some students may want to pursue a general master’s degree program in special education, while others may want to focus on specific types of students or roles within special education.
Your choice depends upon several factors including your passion and your educational background. Naturally, you will need to have a related bachelor’s degree before you can apply for a master’s degree program. Ideally, you should also consider your answers to the following questions before making your decision:
- What’s motivating you to earn a special education master’s degree?
- Do you have a desire to help students who have an emotional disturbance?
- Would you like to concentrate your efforts toward students who have a physical disability such as blindness or deafness?
- Would you prefer to teach students living with intellectual disabilities?
- Do you want to evaluate and diagnose learning disabilities and, in conjunction with a team of other professionals, determine the best type of placement for students with such conditions?
- Would you prefer to teach students who have already been diagnosed with learning disabilities by an educational diagnostician?
While a special education career may include teaching all of these types of students, choosing a program that connects with what really drives you is always a good starting point. Let’s look at some online programs from The University of Texas Permian Basin and consider how the curriculum of a specific program can guide your choice of special education master’s degree track.
Choose From Three Online Special Education Master’s Degree Paths
UT Permian Basin offers three online master’s-level special education degree programs to help you prepare for or advance within a rewarding career in special education. Choose our general master’s program or one of our two specialized tracks:
Master of Arts in Special Education
We designed this program for individuals who want to help students with developmental and learning disabilities enjoy fuller, more independent lives. Our master’s degree in special education emphasizes the critical role of technology and innovation in today’s special education classroom and empowers students to overcome many of the specific issues today’s teachers face, including resource limitations, the struggle to create a diverse, inclusive environment, and determining and meeting the needs of individual students.
Select highlights of this program:
- Finish in as little as one year.
- Get started with no GRE.
- Pay for your program with help from a TEACH grant, if eligible.
Master of Arts in Special Education, Autism Spectrum Disorders track
We created this program for individuals who desire to fulfill the unique needs of students on the autism spectrum. Our MA in special education, autism spectrum disorders track explores the place of technology and innovation in today’s special education classrooms and demonstrates how educators can prevail over contemporary challenges such as resource constraints, parental participation, and diversity and inclusion issues, all with regard to students on the autism spectrum.
Select highlights of this program:
- Finish in as little as one year.
- Get started with no GRE.
- Pay for your program with help from a TEACH grant, if eligible.
Master of Arts in Special Education, Educational Diagnostician track
We developed this program for individuals who wish to focus on diagnosing and assessing the learning requirements of students. Our MA in special education, educational diagnostician track examines the function of technology and innovation in the modern special education classroom and delivers wide-ranging instruction in the use of standardized and curriculum-based methods for recognizing learning or developmental disadvantages in students.
Select highlights of this program:
- Finish in as little as two years.
- Get started with no GRE.
- Pay for your program with help from a TEACH grant, if eligible.
- Become eligible for Texas Educational Diagnostician Certification.
What It’s Like to Earn a Special Education Degree Online From UT Permian Basin
When you choose a master’s degree in special education from UT Permian Basin, you’ll experience many advantages. Our programs are delivered in a 100% online, asynchronous format that gives you the flexibility to complete coursework on your own schedule, from just about anywhere in the world, with no campus visits. You’ll find these benefits invaluable if you’re trying to balance earning a graduate degree with your ongoing work and family commitments.
All of our online courses feature the same curriculum taught by the same renowned faculty who teach on campus. That means you can expect a high-quality educational experience from our program whether online or on campus. Class sessions last just eight weeks—or seven weeks during Summer A and Summer B sessions—enabling you to add new skills at an accelerated pace, with assistance available to you 24/7.
Develop the expertise you need to excel in special education with an online master’s degree from UT Permian Basin!
Sources:
https://www.dodea.edu/dodeaCelebrates/upload/Disabilities_Defined_IDEA.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/facts.html
https://www.ncedonline.org/
http://personnelcenter.org/edu_diag.cfm
http://aasep.org/career-center/career-profiles-in-special-education/educational-diagnostician/index.html