The M.Ed. in Special Education is designed for individuals who desire advanced professional preparation in Special Education. The program encompasses theory, research, and practice relating to individuals who experience disabilities. Our mission is to prepare graduate students for teaching roles that support the educational growth and? development of children experiencing disabilities. This mission is consistent with the mission of the College of Education and emphasizes innovation, excellence, and collaboration. There are three major goals of the Special Education program. The primary goal of the program is to prepare teachers to work with people who have disabilities. The second goal of the program is to provide services to people who experience disabilities, their families, and school districts. These services are provided through graduate students during their internship experiences. Students gain the experience they require to become competent special educators and the community benefits from their service. The third goal of the program is to actively pursue an ongoing program of research related to our profession. The special education faculty feels that all three professional activities; i.e., teaching, service, and research, are important to the advancement of our profession.
The general special education masters (mild disabilities) requires 36 credits and is offered on the web by distance delivery. For details on course length, entry requirements, previous experience required, and endorsement as a special educator in Alaska, please contact one of the Special Education team.
A Type A Regular Teacher Certificate is required to enroll in the endorsement course work. Candidates who do not have a Type A certification may be permitted to take the Master’s degree without the endorsement coursework but are not eligible for the endorsement. For Elementary or Secondary teachers, we are able to recommend that a Special Education endorsement be added to their current teaching certificate after successful completion of the endorsement courses (currently 24 credits). We are authorized to make the recommendation for the endorsement ONLY for the current Type A developmental level held by the candidate. To be more specific, if an applicant has a K-6 endorsement, the special education endorsement will be for K-6 only. Similarly, if the applicant is endorsed for 7-12, that is the only developmental level we can provide for the added special education endorsement. It should also be noted that the candidate has to take a substantial Internship in the area for which the endorsement applies (K-6, K-8, or 7-12 etc). We are not able to offer a recommendation for a P-12 or K-12 endorsement unless the type A certificate held is P-12 or K-12.
Meeting Internship Requirements (Mild Disabilities)
The Special Education endorsement program for the Master of Education in Special Education requires 6 credits of Advanced Internship in either EDSE 695E Advanced Internship in Special Education Elementary or EDSE A695S, Advanced Internship in Special Education Secondary. The 6 credits of EDSE 695 require the candidate be placed in a special education setting with full responsibility for teaching special education classes under the supervision of a special education mentor. The internship must be for the required time with full special education class teacher responsibilities.
Graduate Endorsement We now offer a Graduate Certificate in Special Education. This is a 24 credit certificate at the graduate level. Once successfully completed the candidate can request an institutional recommendation which they will send to the state to have a special education endorsement added to their existing teaching certificate. The Graduate Certificate in Special Education does not require the GRE for admission. Only 12 additional credits of coursework is required for a Master's of Education in Special Education once the Certificate is completed. Candidates will need to apply to UAA graduate school to be admitted to the M.Ed. program.
We have worked with Enrollment Services to waive the application fee for students who have completed a Graduate Certificate at UAA and wish to continue on with us for a master's degree. To take advantage of the application fee waiver, please let students know they should select
UAA Grad Cert to Master Degree on the drop down menu when they view the
Select a Waiver screen during the application process.
Applications to Add Another Developmental Level UAA does not have the authority to recommend endorsements beyond those described above. We are aware that some people seek to have their endorsement broadened to include additional developmental levels but we are unable to help in these cases unless the applicant is able to add another level of regular education endorsement. For example, if an applicant has a Type A certification with a K-6 endorsement, and then upgrades their qualifications to add a 7-12 endorsement, this person may apply to take further course work and an extended Internship to gain the additional developmental level for special education endorsement. The prescribed course work will vary based on the educational background and experiences of the applicant and must be approved by the Chair of the Department of Special Education.
