Master of Education in Special Education

This is an archived copy of the 2019-2020 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit catalog.shsu.edu.

The Master of Education in Special Education is designed to prepare professional educators with advanced competencies related to the field of special education. This program provides students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to apply research, methods, and recommended practices for the effective assessment and instruction of learners with special needs in diverse school and community settings. This is a 36-hour degree plan that originates in the School of Teaching and Learning. The candidate must successfully complete a departmental comprehensive examination. Candidates must be enrolled in coursework during the semester they take the comprehensive examination.

This program's course of study also provides the academic foundations necessary for the Standard Educational Diagnostician Certification. To be eligible to receive the standard Educational Diagnostician Certificate, a candidate must:

Successfully complete an educational diagnostician preparation program that meets the requirements of TAC §239.82 (complete all the requirements on the SHSU Course Plan) and TAC §239.83.
Successfully complete the examination based on the standards identified in TAC §239.83.
Hold, at a minimum, a master's degree from an accredited institution of higher education that at the time was accredited or otherwise approved by an accrediting organization recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating board.
Hold a valid classroom teaching certificate.
Have three creditable years of teaching experience as a classroom teacher (2 years of service may be earned while enrolled in the program)

To be regularly admitted to the Graduate School and educational diagnostician certification program, applicants must submit the following to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

Graduate Application
Application fee
Pay the $35 Texas Education Accountability System for Educator Preparation Programs Fee (paid to the TEA as required by TAC 229.9.7)
Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, both undergraduate and graduate, that reflect a 2.75 GPA overall or in the last 60 hours.
Two Recommendation letters
Writing Sample
Copy of applicant's Teaching Certificate
Official GRE scores, if GPA in last 60 hours is below a 2.75 (Minimum scores required are listed in the table below.)
Teacher Service Record with at least 1 year of creditable service as a teacher of record
Interview with program faculty

GRE revised General Test Score Bands to be used for Admission to an Educator Preparation Program under the 10% Exception Rule in 19 TAC §227.10(a)(3)(B)

GRE
Self-reported Undergraduate GPA	GRE Verbal Reasoning¹	GRE Quantitative Reasoning¹	GRE Analytical Writing²
B-(2.7 GPA)	143-157	140-155	3.0-4.5

GRE Verbal and Quantitative scores are reported on a 130 to 170 scale.

GRE Analytical Writing scores are reported on a 0 to 6 scale in half-point increments.

Under these circumstances, the GRE may not be waived.