Special Education, Moderate-Severe Disabilities Option, M.S.

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Special Education Programs of Study

Faculty: Jacki L. Anderson (Coordinator, Moderate-Severe Disabilities), Ann T. Halvorsen, Linda Smetana (Coordinator, Mild-Moderate Disabilities)

The Special Education program prepares their graduates for careers in direct teaching and for leadership roles in Special Education. Programs are offered which lead to the Master of Science degree and/or to the Education Specialist: Mild-Moderate and Moderate-Severe Disabilities Credentials.

The emphasis is on providing students with a wide range of practical methods for enhancing the lives of individuals with exceptional needs. To this end, coursework is taught by successful practitioners in the field. Also, the programs provide extensive supervised fieldwork in settings that are appropriate to each student’s professional goals.

Additional Program Requirement:

To earn the Preliminary Education Specialist Credential in Mild-Moderate Disabilities all candidates must:

(1) hold a valid Multiple Subject or Single Subject Teaching Credential, or

(2) be enrolled in the joint Multiple Subject/Education Specialist (TED/SPED) program.

M.S. in Special Education

The M.S. in Special Education may be obtained in one of two paths, either:

(a) in conjunction with the Special Education credentials, or

(b) through a combination of the Special Education credential and research coursework listed below.

Candidates who want to pursue only the master’s degree without Specialist teaching credentials will follow the program outlines below. These candidates may obtain an M.S. degree in Special Education with an Option in either Mild-Moderate or Moderate-Severe Disabilities.

The master’s degree requirements include both coursework and fieldwork, as well as research and advanced study, including completion of a culminating Department (Mild-Moderate Disabilities Option) or University (Moderate- Severe Disabilities Option) thesis.

Applicants will apply for admission to the Department of Educational Psychology: Special Education, and will follow the departmental as well as the university application procedures.

The number of units required for the degree is 46-50 units.

Prerequisite Course

Units not included in deree totals.

EPSY 5021 - Introduction to Educating all Students in Diverse Classrooms Units: 4

Core Electives (8 units)

Choose two of the following:

Moderate-Severe Disabilities Option (38 units)

EPSY 6023 - Research in Applied Behavioral Sciences Units: 4
EPSY 6129 - Advanced Study in Collaborative Service Delivery, Education, and Transition Units: 4
EPSY 6137 - Instructional and Behavioral Support: Moderate-Severe Disabilities Units: 4
EPSY 6140 - Curriculum: Students with Moderate-Severe Disabilities Units: 4
EPSY 6142 - Assessment: Students with Moderate-Severe Disabilities Units: 4
EPSY 6143 - Positive Behavior Supports Units: 4
EPSY 6207 - Advanced Studies in the Education of Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities: Research and Professional Practice Units: 4
EPSY 6860 - Advanced Fieldwork I Units: 2-4 (students in this program are required to take as a 4-unit course)

Moderate-Severe Capstone

(students in this option are required to take this course for 6 units)

EPSY 6910 - University Thesis Units: 1-9

Other Degree Requirements

In addition to departmental requirements, every student must also satisfy the university requirements for graduation which are described in the Graduate Degree Information chapter in this catalog. These include the 32-unit residence requirement, the five year rule on currency of subject matter, the minimum number of units of 6000-level courses, the 3.00 grade point average, and the University Writing Skills Requirement. For information on meeting the University Writing Skills Requirement, see the Testing Office website at www.csueastbay.edu/testing or call 510.885.3661.