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College of Education & Human Development Educational Psychology Special Education

Educational Psychology - Special Education
250 Education Sciences Building - 56 East River Road - Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA
Tel: 612-626-0367 - Fax: 612-624-8241

Master of arts (M.A.)

eight students

The master of arts in special education degree leads primarily to careers in research and to further studies leading to the doctor of philosophy in special education. The M.A. does not lead to licensure. If you are interested in K-12 licensure, please look at the M.Ed. program.

Admission

Admission to the program

Choosing a specialization

The five specializations available are listed in the next section below. Rather than choosing a program based on specialization, however, we recommend that you choose a specialization based on the faculty member whose research is most interesting to you. Please take some time to examine faculty research projects, and then contact the appropriate faculty member before applying.

Specializations

There are five specialization areas in the program:

  • Deaf/hard of hearing
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Early childhood special education
  • Emotional and behavioral disorders
  • Learning disabilities

Degree requirements

10 educational psychology core course credits

  • statistics
  • measurement
  • learning
  • social psychology
  • personality

4 credits in special education foundations

6 credits in a related field or minor

Thesis or project/paper credits

Plan A option (thesis)

  • 10 thesis credits

Plan B option (project or paper)

  • 6 credits in Research Problems + 4 additional coursework credits

Language requirements

None

Final exam or project

The final exam is oral

Minor requirements for students majoring in other fields

A master's minor requires at least 6 credits of graduate-level EPSY courses.

Graduate program support for students of color

Career information

More information about the field of special education, the job outlook, and earnings are available from the following sources: Occupational Outlook Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and ISEEK.  

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The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Last modified on February 11, 2009