Master of Science

Special Education (Inclusion and Special Education)

Advance Your Teaching Skills and Work with Children with Special Needs in Inclusive Classrooms

Gain advanced teaching skills that enable you to create learning-inclusive general education classrooms and successfully instruct students with special educational needs in inclusive classroom settings.

If you've already received initial certification to teach grades 1-6 and initial certification to teach students with disabilities in grades 1-6, you can achieve professional certification in both areas by completing this master's degree in special education.

The 30-credit curriculum includes a series of special education courses, electives in reading and educational psychology, and an individually designed capstone research project.

This program is designed for completion over a longer period of time as students usually take classes part-time while teaching or substitute teaching. Although you may study full-time keep in mind that there might be possible course conflicts since the programs are not designed for full-time study.

Program of Study
NYS Teacher Certification
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PROGRAM OF STUDY

Special Education

Developing Reading Comprehension and Content Knowledge for Students with Disabilities
Math and Inquiry Instruction for Students with Disabilities
Managing School and Classroom-wide Student Behavior to Promote Efficient and Effective Instruction
Assessing Students with Disabilities
Instructional Environments and Practices for Students with Disabilities

Educational Psychology

Basic Data Analysis or Statistical Methods I
Research Project in Educational Psychology (must be taken in last semester)
Choose one of the following: Educational Psychology, Assessment in Education, or Advanced Educational Psychology

Literacy

Choose two: Children's Literature, Literacy in Society, Teaching Writing, or Integrated Literacy Instruction

See the Graduate Bulletin for details.

For more information contact Professor Saddler at [email protected].

NYS TEACHER CERTIFICATION

This master's in special education program enables initially certified childhood and special education teachers to further develop their skills instructing disabled students in inclusive elementary school classrooms as well as more severely challenged students in special education environments.

The program leads to professional certification in teaching children in grades 1-6 and professional certification in teaching students with disabilities in grades 1-6.

What If I'm Certified to Teach Grades 1-6, But Not Certified to Teach Students with Disabilities?

If you possess initial certification in elementary education but haven't received initial certification to teach students with disabilities, you can become a qualified special education instructor by enrolling in the special education graduate internship program.

This program is approved for licensure or certification in New York State and the institution has not made a determination regarding the educational requirements for any other state.

Admissions Requirements

Deadlines

Fall: June 1
Spring: Rolling
Summer: Rolling

There is no departmental assistantship consideration for this program.

Required Application Materials

Transcripts from all schools attended
Three letters of recommendation
Official GRE scores

Supplemental Documents

Prior teaching certificate in Elementary/Childhood Education and Special Education 1-6

Available information for applicants.

Special Notes

NY State Certification program. This program is not available to international applicants. Full consideration will be given to applicants who apply by the Priority Review Deadline. Prior teaching certificate in Elementary/Childhood Education and Special Education 1-6 required. The test score requirement is for application Fall 2016 and forward. The department will also accept the following exams in lieu of GRE: edTPA, GMAT, Miller's Analogies, or Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators. Please contact the Pathways Into Education Center (518-442-3529) with questions regarding the entrance exam requirement.

Applicants to this program should include copies of teaching certifications held and copies of test scores. Be aware that candidates applying for certification on or after May 1, 2014 or candidates who applied for certification on or before April 30, 2014 but did not meet all the requirements for an initial certification on or before April 30, 2014 must now complete the following certification exams: edTPA; Educating All Students Test (EAS); Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST), and the revised Multi-Subject Content Specialty Test (CST). Applicants to the Inclusion and Special Education program must also include a copy of the test scores on the Special Education Content Specialty Test. In addition, as of December 31, 2013, all applicants for certification are required to complete six clock hours in DASA (Dignity for All Students Act) training. Admission is contingent on proof of valid New York State Teaching Certification and passing grades on these examinations for all applicants.

Please note: This program is licensure qualifying. Students who have previously been convicted of a felony are advised that their prior criminal history may impede their ability to complete the requirements of certain academic programs and/or to meet licensure requirements for certain professions. If applicants have concerns about this matter please contact the Dean’s Office of the intended academic program.

Accreditation

This teacher education program is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for the 10-year period of 2011 to 2021.

See accreditation data for details.

The School of Education's teacher and leader education programs are accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for the 10-year period of 2011 to 2021. Below is institutional and programmatic data in accordance with this accreditation.

The School of Education offers programs that prepare new teachers and also those that already hold NY teacher or leader certification. Additionally, some of our programs lead to multiple certifications. As such, data on employment does not reflect the many career opportunities our graduates are afforded. For example, our Literacy MS leads to NY certification as a Literacy Specialist in grades B-6 or 5-12. This program requires prior NY teacher certification so not all graduates pursue positions in Literacy after degree completion, but remain in their current specialty area. The following SUNY website provides data on those graduates only working in NY and the wages earned after a specified time after graduation: https://www.suny.edu/gradwages/

Our graduates that elect to pursue NY State certification must successfully complete related certification exams. Our exam pass rates can be found at: https://title2.ed.gov/Public/Home.aspx

Consumer information about the University at Albany can be found at: https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/defaultmanagement/cohortdetail_3yr.cfm?sno=0&ope_id=002835

The satisfaction of degree completers is valuable data for our programs. University collected data is available at: https://www.albany.edu/ir/assesss_tableau1945c.html

Additionally, our teacher and leader programs are completing a self-study during the 2020 and 2021 academic years. Data is being collected and analyzed on employer satisfaction, degree completion and on the impact our graduates have in the field of teaching. Results of the self-study will be published to meet requirements set forth by the self-study process.

Students in our masters and certificate programs have six calendar years from the date of initial registration in the program to complete their program. Additionally, masters and certificate students are not required to enroll every semester. As such, time to graduation varies. Please see here for data on enrollments and degree awarded. https://livealbany.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/web_soe/EeQ4ahViFkJFtgIWv447_FABOdOi5bMX66zRo9kbc1rVQg?e=vFMhiQ

Student Learning Objectives

Learning objectives that UAlbany students are expected to attain through their course of study within their academic program.

Master of Science

Students will demonstrate a broad knowledge of the theoretical basis of educational psychology.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the research basis of educational psychology and will have methodological competence to carry out primary statistical analyses and to evaluate the credibility of research findings.
Students will be able to design and carry out a small-scale research study that addresses a relevant issue in the field of educational psychology.

Careers and Advisement

The Pathways Into Education (PIE) Center is the central office on campus serving undergraduate, graduate, and prospective students interested in pursuing careers in education and programs leading to teacher certification.

Please call or email to schedule an appointment.

Graduate Advisement:
Email Graduate Advisement
(518) 442-3529

Program Statement