Special Education, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8), (Initial Licensure), MEd

Department: Special Education

Learning Outcomes: CEC Standards and Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standards

Admission Requirements

Candidates must meet all College of Graduate Studies requirements and have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0
Candidates must submit evidence that they have passed the Communication and Literacy Skills Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure^® (MTEL)
Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work

Early Admission Program

The Early Admission Program is for seniors at Bridgewater State University majoring in Elementary Education, Special Education Concentration, BSE, who wish to take one graduate course in Special Education for undergraduate credit, and thereby accelerate the completion of their MEd in Special Education, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) (Initial Licensure) for Elementary and Early Childhood Teachers. Students can complete a BSE and MEd in Special Education within five years if they choose to be a full-time student. The application fee for students seeking early admissions to the relevant graduate program will be waived.

If accepted, students will be granted special status to enroll in one graduate course in Special Education for undergraduate credit. The graduate course that will be taken for undergraduate credit is SPED 501 - Professional Practices in Special Education (3 credits). Tuition for this course will be at the undergraduate course rate.

Admission requirements include:

be a Bridgewater State University senior, enrolled in the Elementary Education, Special Education Concentration, BSE;
be enrolled in Education Cluster III of their Elementary Education major;
file an application for admission to the College of Graduate Studies, MEd in Special Education, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) (Initial Licensure) for Elementary and Early Childhood Teachers, to begin graduate course work during the practicum semester of the BSE program; and
have a GPA of 3.0.

Undergraduate students’ financial aid package will apply to the graduate course taken for undergraduate credit. The graduate course taken as an undergraduate will be counted as part of the requirements for the Elementary Education, Special Education Concentration, BSE. Once the student completes their BSE, the graduate course that they have completed will be applied to their MEd requirements if they receive a minimum grade of “B”.

Program of Study

In consultation with an advisor, candidates will undertake the appropriate course work and activities including the following.

Candidates must complete SPED 510 - Teaching Exceptional Children in Schools (or equivalent) with a minimum grade of “B”
Candidates must, prior to the student teaching experience:
1. complete an appropriate psychology course (either PSYC 224 - Child Psychology or PSYC 336 - Developmental Psychology or equivalent) or ELED 120 - Child Study in the Early Childhood and Elementary Education Classroom
2. have passed the General Curriculum MTEL^®
3. complete SPED 509 - Teaching Reading to Learners with Disabilities (or equivalent) with a minimum grade of “B”
4. have passed the Foundations of Reading MTEL^®

Required courses (18 credits)

Licensure courses (18 credits)

Exit requirement

Successful completion of a comprehensive examination is required. Please see the Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog for additional information.

Total minimum credits: 36*

* On a case-by-case basis an individual course may be waived to bring the minimum number of credits to 33. For students in the Early Admission Program at BSU, one graduate course (3 credits) in Special Education taken as an undergraduate and completed with a minimum grade of “B” may be applied to fulfill MEd program requirements.