MAT: Special Education

Thinking about becoming a Special Education Teacher?

This Master of Arts in Teaching program was designed for people who are pursuing a master's degree along with a generalist Special Education license to teach in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. The MAT Special Education program provides candidates with a case-based curriculum designed to prepare candidates to meet the needs of children and adolescents with mild to severe disabilities.

Candidates interested in applying to the program are required to have completed a baccalaureate degree within any concentration area. Please refer to the Admission Requirements  for additional information about the application process. Upon acceptance, teacher candidates will meet with a MAT Special Education advisor to determine a program plan of study.

Please bring transcripts during the required initial advising session, it will be determined if any previous course will meet the prerequisite requirement at that time. The initial advising session can be completed by attending a Program Information Meeting or scheduling a meeting with the Graduate Program Specialist.

Access the Special Education Advising Guide (Acrobat Icon 83 KB) to see the list of required courses for this program.

Students will be working within various K-12 classrooms in conjunction with their coursework. The number of required field experience hours is based on the content of each particular course. Download the  Special Education Field Experience Handbook (Acrobat Icon 186 KB) for more information.

Students will be completing their master's thesis within the Capstone Lesson Study course during the last semester of the program. For more information, refer to the  Capstone Handbook (89 KB).