Special Education Master’s Degrees
Master’s Degree Programs
The program offers two master’s degrees: The Master of Education (EdM) in Special Education and the Master of Arts in Special Education (MA). The EdM degree program is offered online and on the Pullman and Vancouver WSU campuses. The MA degree is offered on the Pullman and Vancouver WSU campuses.
Given the Specialized nature of our master’s degree programs there are prerequisites that include coursework and working experiences applicants must have in order to be considered for admission. They are:
Teaching/working experience. One or more of the following is required:
- Teaching experience at the P-12 level, one or more years
- Significant public school teacher substitute experience; paraprofessional experience
- Student teaching at the K-12 level
- Significant experience working with adults with disabilities in agency services/employment services
Knowledge foundation.
- Coursework on special education/students with disabilities (one or more courses)
Experience with people with disabilities
- Experience working with students/adults with disabilities (in schools, agencies, camps, recreation activities, and/or other programs)
Master of Education (EdM)
On Campus/Online
The Master of Education (EdM) degree is designed for students wishing to extend their knowledge and skills in education, expand their content knowledge, and/or pursue leadership roles in schools and organizations/agencies. The EdM degree program consists of 35-37 credits, 33 of which must be graded course work on a passing A-F grading scale. A minimum of one, three credit research course and one, three credit foundations course must be included in the 33 graded credits. A minimum of 2 credits of Spec_Ed 702 are required and usually involve research/scholarship activities associated with the special project and final examination. The performance criteria in Spec_Ed 702 are based on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory scale, as opposed to a letter grade (A-F scale). For all requirements access the master’s degree handbook (see below).
Master of Arts in Special Education (MA)
The Master of Arts (MA) degree is designed for students who desire to study and explore educational research. The MA degree is well suited for those students wishing to eventually pursue a doctoral degree or a research/leadership role in schools or organizations/agencies. The MA degree program consists of a minimum of 30 semester credit hours, 21 of which must be graded course work on a passing A-F grading scale. Three research courses, three credits each, and one foundation course (3 credits) are included in the 21 graded credits. A minimum of nine additional credits of Spec_Ed 700 (independent research work) are required and usually involve research/scholarship activities associated with the thesis and final oral examination. The performance criteria in Spec_Ed 700 are based on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory scale, as opposed to a letter grade (A-F scale). For all requirements access the master’s degree handbook (see below).