Master of Education in Special Education Online
Become a better teacher advocate for students with special needs.
Program Overview
Insight into our online master's in special education program
The Master of Education in Special Education online program at Worcester State enhances your ability to work with a diverse group of students with moderate disabilities in all grade levels and beyond. Taught by distinguished, engaged faculty who set high standards of academic rigor and care about your goals and achievements, this TEACH Grant-eligible* program is designed for working professionals who are interested in special education.
You will learn to cultivate the literacy development and communication skills of those with exceptionalities, helping them to live enriched, successful lives. Your value as an educator will increase with your ability to integrate theoretical frameworks and develop special education services and outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities and their families.
With an initial teaching license in Massachusetts, you may use this online education degree in the field of special education to self-petition for professional licensure in Massachusetts. Neither a teaching degree nor teaching experience is required if you are not planning to petition for licensure. Students entering this program, however, should have some work experience in formal or informal learning environments. This master's degree is also helpful for parents and community health workers engaged with special education.
Worcester State University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
In this M.Ed. in Special Education online program, you will learn how to:
- Articulate special education terminology and develop the progression of children with special needs
- Apply special education law and regulation
- Evaluate, design, and implement current assistive technologies and communication systems in the classroom, school, community, and system levels
- Create, modify, and integrate instructional strategies to enhance the learning experience of individuals with exceptionalities
- Build and distinguish strategies to enhance literacy development and communication skills of a diverse group of students
- Create an educational research design to evaluate professional practice and enhance continuous instructional improvement
- Evaluate the ethical practices and legal implications of the profession as related to current and emerging issues in the special education field
- Integrate theoretical frameworks regarding collaboration and conflict resolution models to enhance special education services and outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities and their families
- Articulate special education terminology and develop the progression of children with special needs
- Apply special education law and regulation
- Evaluate, design, and implement current assistive technologies and communication systems in the classroom, school, community, and system levels
- Create, modify, and integrate instructional strategies to enhance the learning experience of individuals with exceptionalities
- Build and distinguish strategies to enhance literacy development and communication skills of a diverse group of students
- Create an educational research design to evaluate professional practice and enhance continuous instructional improvement
- Evaluate the ethical practices and legal implications of the profession as related to current and emerging issues in the special education field
- Integrate theoretical frameworks regarding collaboration and conflict resolution models to enhance special education services and outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities and their families
Special education career outcomes:
- Special Education Teacher in a private setting
- Intervention specialist
- Inclusion teacher
- Career and transition teacher
- Special Education Teacher in a private setting
- Intervention specialist
- Inclusion teacher
- Career and transition teacher
Online M.Ed. degrees also available:
Worcester State University offers a variety of quality education degree programs online. Explore all our online education programs.
Tuition
Discover the value of our low-cost tuition
Worcester State tuition is extremely affordable. Plus, you can pay by the course—making it easy to budget. Worcester State is committed to offering a high-quality education that is accessible to students at all levels of financial need. The M.Ed. in Special Education online program is TEACH Grant eligible.*
*The maximum grant amount can vary by year. TEACH Grants are available to qualified applicants who enroll in a TEACH-Grant eligible program and require approved recipients to sign a service agreement for certain teaching service obligations. If you do not meet the requirements of your service obligation, the grant will turn into a loan that must be repaid, with interest. For more information, please visit: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/teach or contact the Worcester State University Financial Aid Office.
| Program | Per Credit Hour | Per Program |
|---|---|---|
| Master of Education in Special Education | $409 | $15,133 |
Additional Fees
Application: $50
**Tuition and fees as of Fall 2024. Worcester State reserves the right to change tuition and fees at any time. Accelerated online programs are not eligible for tuition remission benefits, waivers and vouchers.
Financial Aid
The Financial Aid Office at Worcester State is here to assist you with the guidelines and process of financing your education. We will work with you to ensure that you have a clear understanding of your financial aid options while attending Worcester State.
Worcester State online programs are eligible for financial aid, which is available for those who apply and qualify. The first step in applying for financial aid is to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Worcester State's Federal School Code is 002190.
Contact the financial aid office at:
Financial Aid Office
Shaughnessy Administration Building
Academic Mall, 1st floor
Office 150
508-929-8056
508-929-8194 (fax)
[email protected]
Calendar
Explore important dates for our online students
It’s always a good time to earn your degree from Worcester State University online. We offer six start dates during the year so you can begin your program when it’s most convenient. Check out the chart below for important dates.
Now enrolling:
| Session | Start Date | Application Deadline | Registration Deadline | Document Deadline | Tuition Deadline | Last Class Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 2 | 7/14/25 | 6/27/25 | 7/9/25 | 7/4/25 | 7/9/25 | 8/31/25 |
| Fall 1 | 9/8/25 | 8/22/25 | 9/3/25 | 8/29/25 | 9/3/25 | 10/26/25 |
| Fall 2 | 11/3/25 | 10/17/25 | 10/29/25 | 10/24/25 | 10/29/25 | 12/21/25 |
| Spring I | 1/26/26 | 1/9/26 | 1/21/26 | 1/16/26 | 1/21/26 | 3/15/26 |
| Spring 2 | 3/23/26 | 3/6/26 | 3/18/26 | 3/13/26 | 3/18/26 | 5/10/26 |
| Summer 1 | 5/18/26 | 5/1/26 | 5/13/26 | 5/8/26 | 5/13/26 | 7/5/26 |
| Summer 2 | 7/13/26 | 6/26/26 | 7/8/26 | 7/3/26 | 7/8/26 | 8/30/26 |
Admissions
Find your fit for our online education program
The admission process is the first step toward earning your degree at Worcester State! Please read the admission guidelines to ensure you qualify.
- Complete online application for admission
- Pay $50 application fee
- Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited (or equivalent) institution with a minimum 2.75 overall GPA
- Submit official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework from regionally accredited institutions
- Some work experience in formal or informal learning environments (submit two academic or professional references)
- If applicants do not have an undergraduate degree or minor in
Education, it is recommended that students have the following coursework
completed on the undergraduate level:
- a course in Child Growth and Development (or a CLEP Human Growth and Development score of 50 or higher)
- a Curriculum course in Early Childhood Education or Elementary Childhood
- Education course in Reading Foundations
Official transcripts may be mailed or emailed directly from the granting institution(s) to:
Mailing Address:
Graduate Admissions Office
Worcester State University
486 Chandler Street
Worcester, MA 01602
Email: [email protected]
Courses
See the topics you'll study in our online special education classes
For this special education online program, you are required to take 12 three-credit courses and a one-credit portfolio course for a total of 37 credit hours.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Learn about services provided by other agencies for individuals with disabilities
- Comprehend about rights and responsibilities of students, parents, teachers, and other professionals, and schools related to exceptional learning needs.
- Identify issues in definition and identification of individuals with exceptional learning needs, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
- Family systems and the role of families in the educational process.
- Learn about cultural perspectives influencing the relationships among families, schools and communities as related to instruction.
- Analyze differing ways of learning of individuals with exceptional learning needs including those from culturally diverse backgrounds and strategies for addressing these differences.
- Describe concerns of families of individuals with exceptional learning needs and strategies to help address these concerns.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Articulate and apply principles of behavior analysis, classroom management and PBIS for students with moderate special needs in a classroom setting.
- Describe the implications of federal laws regarding behavior management and discipline for teachers of students with moderate special needs.
- Design curriculums to support the cognitive and social demands in the classroom for students with moderate special needs.
- Analyze learning behaviors in the classroom and intervention strategies with classroom modifications and accommodations for students with moderate special needs.
- Analyze and critique social learning modules that reflect the principles of behavior modification and PBIS.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Articulate the principles of UDL in K-12 settings and the implications for K-12 educators
- Explore and study cases that utilizes the UDL framework in the practice of Inclusion in K-12 settings.
- Synthesize and critic UDL and co-teaching models.
- Analyze the practice of inclusion for special education students,
- Develop and implement a learning unit with a focus on teaching content to students with disabilities through the UDL framework.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Explore and articulate the various frameworks of collaboration and consultation, and interprofessional collaborative practice with IEP teams.
- Study the interprofessional collaborative competencies required to participate successfully in collaboration and consultation processes.
- Study group dynamics, interpersonal and communication skills in school systems and special education services.
- Study dimension of diversity in family structure, incorporates real-world interactions and challenges when working with parents and families.
- Explore and articulate the cultural structures in various collaboration frameworks, problem solving models and community collaboration.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Compare and contrast the central philosophies and major psychological theories which have guided American education and their influence on educational practice.
- Articulate a personal philosophy of education and align that philosophy with classic philosophical and psychological theories and with classroom practice.
- Demonstrate critical insight into the role of research in current educational practice and apply conventions to document research using APA style.
- Use library and internet resources for research purposes and evaluate research studies in light of philosophical and psychological assumptions and application to practice.
- Demonstrate knowledge of key educational reform movements in the United States, the major figures related to these movements, their philosophical tenets, and impact on teaching and learning
- Improve use of technology in research, analysis, and presentation of information.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the critical role that teachers play in helping students think and learn with text
- Understand that assessment is a continuous process that makes use of multiple methods of gathering relevant data for instructional purposes.
- Develop techniques and strategies for using text structure in order to think deeply about ideas encountered during reading.
- Plan differentiated lessons which will enable all learners to be successful in reading and processing content text.
- Create a content unit of study demonstrating strategies and concepts studied in class
- Develop “text talk” and “writing to learn” activities to help students respond to difficult text.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Gain perspective on the development of mathematics and mathematical thinking as the product of cultural realities and community participation.
- Provide effective instruction to learners from other cultures whose language and past experiences may get in the way of understanding how mathematics is taught and learned in the United States.
- Develop the ability to assess for understanding based on a variety of assessment measures.
- Engage in mathematics discourse as they grapple with pure mathematical content through problem solving activities situated in real-life, and how different cultures around the world. used algorithms to provide mathematical answers.
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Review the evidence-based research and key issues in contemporary America on differentiation of instructions.
- Identify major characteristics of differentiated instruction.
- Examine models of differentiated instruction.
- Recognize the needs of targeted student populations, e.g., gifted, inclusion, and special education students.
- Use arts and technology tools to skillfully and creatively differentiate instruction.
- Reflect on how differentiating instruction can enhance teacher practice and student achievement.
- Utilize strategies including assignment tiering, graphic organizers, critical thinking skills, reflection and assessment strategies customized for a mixed- ability classroom.
- Plan and develop a differentiated education plan/unit.
Course rotation:
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