Master's Degree (MEd) in Special Education
Master's Degree in Special Education Overview
The Master of Education (MEd) in Special Education degree from Grand Canyon University (GCU) prepares you to become a special education teacher. This program is designed for any type of student, including those who are changing careers or currently working in education. This master’s degree in special education is for people who are passionate about working with K-12 children with mild to moderate disabilities.
In this special education master's degree program, you will learn teaching and classroom strategies and skills that suit the needs of special education students. Graduates of the Master of Education in Special Education degree program at GCU are prepared to teach any subject, from math to language arts, to students with mild to moderate disabilities. These teaching methods will take into account the language, emotional development and physical and cognitive disabilities of each student.
Special education master’s program graduates will be prepared to impact populations with mild to moderate disabilities in culturally and linguistically diverse environments. In addition, they are prepared to develop and implement individual education plans for students with special learning needs.
Benefits of Getting a Special Education Master’s Degree Online
Special education is a rewarding field in its own right. Beyond the professional benefit of obtaining a master's degree in special education from GCU, is that your level of knowledge and practice will be of great service to your students. Your practical experience during the program will help you bring modern, cutting-edge teaching to your exceptional students who need it the most.
Because qualified special education teachers are in such high demand, GCU has made it easy for interested students to pursue their passions. The online master’s degree in special education program means that anyone who wants to be a special educator can find a way to do so. The online master's in special education program is staffed by tenured professors and expert adjunct staff. You will gain the ability to navigate the changing landscape of special education laws and procedures from the people who have worked in the environment for years.
The Master of Education in Special Education degree qualifies graduates to apply for initial teacher licensure. During the program, you will complete 99 hours of observation and fieldwork. Additionally, the special education degree program is wrapped up with a full-time, 15-week student teaching practice completed under the observation of a certified special education teacher. These experiences ensure that master’s in special education graduates are fully prepared for their own classrooms. If you have already obtained a teaching license, consider our Master of Education in Special Education (Does Not Lead To Initial Teacher Licensure) program.
What You Will Study While Earning a Master’s Degree in Special Education
Special education teachers need to know how to teach all subject areas while also supporting students with special needs. This highly specialized learning is the cornerstone of the GCU master’s program. You will be immersed in theory and research surrounding how to implement specialized designed instruction, including how to adapt, modify and accommodate learning based on the needs of a student with mild to moderate disabilities. Throughout the program, you will learn how to become an advocate for your own students.
Common areas of study in the special education master’s degree programs include:
- Introduction to the educational needs of students with mild to moderate disabilities and their families
- Survey professional ethical principles, professional practice standards, law and regulations that guide special educators
- Survey theories and models for effective collaboration and communication
- Assessment strategies
- Learning environments and classroom management strategies
- Behavior management and improvement, functional behavior assessments, adaptive behaviors, positive behavior interventions and supports
- Instructional and transition planning
- Typical and atypical language development, and associated disabilities and disorders
- Investigate the use of augmentative and alternative assistive technology to enhance the communication skills of students with mild to moderate disabilities
- Examine the fundamentals of the legal, historical and educational foundations of Structured English Immersion (SEI)
- Select, adapt and use research-based instructional strategies and interventions in academic and specialized curricula
Potential Careers With a Master’s Degree in Special Education
With this coursework and your master’s degree in special education, you may be able to find work as a:
- Elementary school special education teacher (including kindergarten)
- Middle school special education teacher
- Secondary school and all other special education teacher
- Special education teaching assistant
- Postsecondary education teacher
Teachers hoping to work with students with special needs have big hearts and the drive to make a difference. Join your fellow special educators in the Master of Education in Special Education degree program at GCU today.
Master’s Degree (MEd) in Special Education FAQs
Yes. The master’s degree in special education qualifies graduates to apply for initial teacher licensure. You will graduate fully prepared for your own classroom after completing a full-time, 15-week student teaching mentorship and complete 99 hours of observation and fieldwork.
Students who pursue special education as a career have an incredible impact on the students and families they work with. If you choose to dedicate your life to students with learning differences, earning an online master’s in special education from GCU is well worth the investment.
GCU’s master’s degree in special education does not require any degree specific prerequisites. However, to apply to a GCU graduate program, such as MEd Special Education, applicants must follow the established university’s GPA requirement and have a bachelor’s degree (not in special education).
A master’s degree in special education offers several opportunities for both personal and professional growth. A master’s program in special education may lead to more effective teaching styles, fostering a desire of lifelong learning and impacting the lives of students and their families, which is highly rewarding. A special education master’s degree sets you apart in the eyes of employers and may open doors to new career paths you never imagined.
1 Retrieved from Online Schools Report, Best Online Master’s in Special Education, in May 2020
If seeking licensure or certification, applicants to the program are responsible for contacting their state department of education for licensure requirements and program approval. In addition, fingerprint/background clearance is required.
Core Courses
Course Description
Teacher candidates will survey the philosophical, historical, and sociological influences upon which special educational theories and practices are constructed, and explore a variety of the common issues, trends, and opportunities that professional special educators face in the field. Special Education Teacher candidates will prepare for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University by developing and strengthening the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in the College of Education. Practicum/field experience hours: 6. Fingerprint clearance not required.
Course Description
Teacher candidates are introduced to the educational needs of students with mild to moderate disabilities and their families, including the definitions, characteristics, prevalence, causes and educational approaches to these disabilities and disorders. Teacher candidates will identify cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional patterns of learning and development for students with mild to moderate disabilities. Teacher candidates also survey the special education process involving the application of various laws and regulations. Practicum/field experience hours: 6. Fingerprint clearance not required.
Course Description
Teacher candidates survey professional ethical principles, professional practice standards, law and regulations that guide special educators. Teacher candidates build upon the foundational knowledge to understand the multiple roles and complex situations of professional practice that require attention to a variety of legal, professional, and ethical issues. Practicum/field experience hours: 6. Fingerprint clearance not required. Prerequisite: SPD-500 or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate of Completion: Special Education, Mild to Moderate.
Course Description
Teacher candidates survey theories and models for effective collaboration and communication with students with exceptionalities, colleagues, other school professionals, families and community members. In addition, teacher candidates apply collaboration and communication theories and models, incorporating technology, across a wide range of contexts to ensure active involvement in the education process for students with exceptionalities. Practicum/field experience hours: 6. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: SPD-510.
Course Description
Teacher candidates will investigate diagnostic and assessment tools. Teacher candidates will build foundational knowledge regarding the use of multiple methods of assessment and data-sources for diagnostic and educational decisions for individuals with mild to moderate disabilities. Practicum/field experience hours: 6. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: SPD-500 or SPD-502 or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate of Completion: Special Education, Mild to Moderate or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate in Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS 1).
Course Description
Candidates examine the United States Constitution, and the constitution of the State of Arizona. From this foundational review, candidates will explore application of the United States Constitution and the constitution of the State of Arizona in educational contexts. Practicum/field experience hours: 3. Fingerprint clearance not required.
Course Description
Teacher candidates examine how to create safe, inclusive, culturally responsive learning environments through collaboration with colleagues so that individuals with disabilities become active and effective learners and develop emotional well-being, positive social interactions, and self-determination. Teacher candidates focus on behavior management, functional behavior assessments, adaptive behaviors, positive behavior interventions and supports, and behavior improvement plans. Practicum/field experience hours: 9. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: SPD-500 or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate of Completion: Special Education, Mild to Moderate.
Course Description
Teacher candidates will examine how instructional planning advances the learning of students with mild to moderate disabilities by drawing upon knowledge of central concepts, structures of the discipline, and tools of inquiry of the academic subject-matter content areas and a variety of specialized curricula. Teacher candidates build foundational knowledge about individualized education plans and transition plans for a wide range of settings and different learning experiences. Teacher candidates engage in organizing knowledge, integrating cross-disciplinary skills, and developing meaningful individualized learning progressions through drafting an IEP. Practicum/field experience hours: 9. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: SPD-510 or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate in Learning Behavior Specialist 1 (LBS 1).
Course Description
Teacher candidates explore components of typical and atypical literacy development for students with exceptionalities. Coursework emphasizes research-based phonics development and the science of reading, including phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Teacher candidates focus on assessing developmental and other literacy concerns, including dyslexia, and differentiation strategies to support literacy development in students with exceptionalities. Practicum/field experience hours: 9. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: SPD-510 or ESD-530.
Course Description
In this course, teacher candidates examine the fundamentals of the legal, historical, and educational foundations of Structured English Immersion (SEI) and other instructional programs for English language learners. Theoretical principles of language acquisition and the role of culture in learning are examined. Methods of assessment are identified and analyzed. Teacher candidates identify strategies to promote English language development and improve student achievement. Through Universal Design for Learning they plan, deliver, and evaluate standards-based instruction for English language learners. Practicum/field experience hours: 15. Fingerprint clearance required.
Course Description
Teacher candidates build foundational knowledge on a variety of research-based instructional strategies to encourage individuals with mild to moderate disabilities to develop understandings and connections within content areas, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways. From this foundational knowledge, teacher candidates select, adapt and use research-based instructional strategies and interventions in academic and specialized curricula to advance the learning of students with mild to moderate disabilities with focused attention upon mathematics. Practicum/field experience hours: 12. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisite: SPD-550 or ESD-530 or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate of Completion: Special Education, Mild to Moderate.
Course Description
Teacher candidates explore the language processing requirements of proficient reading and writing, including explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multisensory instruction that integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In addition, disabilities, such as dyslexia, are reviewed to understand how they affect the acquisition of reading skills and how they vary in presentation and degree. Teacher candidates select, adapt, and use research-based instructional strategies and interventions in academic and specialized curricula to advance the learning for all students, including those with mild to moderate disabilities, with attention focused on literacy and reading. Practicum/field experience hours: 12. Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisites: (SPD-550 and SPD-578) or approved enrollment in the Graduate Certificate of Completion: Special Education, Mild to Moderate.
Course Description
Teacher candidates are engaged in the student teaching experience that includes practical classroom experiences, research, analysis, and teaching to support the creation of a Student Teaching Evaluation of Performance (STEP). Fingerprint clearance required. Prerequisites: Successful completion of all courses in POS and content area; a 3.0 GPA; successful completion of NES or your state’s mandated content area exams; and approval and placement by College of Education Office of Clinical Practice. All paperwork for student teaching must be submitted by the due date the semester prior to student teaching.
Pursue a next-generation education with an online degree from Grand Canyon University. Earn your degree with convenience and flexibility with online courses that let you study anytime, anywhere.
Grand Canyon University’s evening programs cater to the demands of working professionals who prefer an in-person learning environment. Our night classes meet just once per week and offer the interaction and discussion of a typical college classroom.
* Please note that this list may contain programs and courses not presently offered, as availability may vary depending on class size, enrollment and other contributing factors. If you are interested in a program or course listed herein please first contact your University Counselor for the most current information regarding availability.
* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Programs or courses subject to change.