Online Master of Education in Moderate Disabilities

Online Master of Education — Moderate Disabilities

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Help students realize their dreams.

The Master of Education in Moderate Disabilities 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.

In this 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

View the Catalog View the Online Program

Explore sample courses in this program.
ED-905: Introduction to Special Education
This course is designed to address the physical, cognitive, behavioral, and psychological aspects of atypical development of children and adolescents with varying disabilities. The course examines special education laws, educational policies and regulations, and legal and ethical responsibilities of special educators in inclusive classroom settings and as an active member of a multidisciplinary learning team. Emphasis is also given to the conceptual frameworks for understanding cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, and linguistic differences and how they influence learning of individuals with exceptionalities. Participation of parents and the community in the educational process is addressed.
3 credits
ED-906: Analysis and Implementation of Interventions to Support Learning of Students with Moderate Disabilities
This course focuses on the knowledge and skills of behavior analysis to enable special educators to design curricula that support the social and cognitive demands of the environment for students with moderate special needs in a general education setting. It emphasizes “positive behavior intervention support” (PBIS), modification and accommodations to promote students’ positive and appropriate behaviors and classroom management. Special emphasis is placed on developing a functional behavioral plan to efficiently and effectively identify the interventions to address students’ needs.
3 credits
ED-907: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Inclusion
This course focuses on the principles of Universal Design for Learning and the practice of inclusion for special education students. Topics related to the implementation of UDL principles and instructional design and inclusion in K-12 setting are discussed. The course also focuses on teaching content to students with disabilities through the UDL framework.
3 credits
ED-908: Special Education and Related Services: Consultation, Collaboration, and Interprofessional Skills
The course focuses on the frameworks and principles involved in collaboration, consultation, and interprofessional collaborative practice. The Individualized Education Program (IEP), interprofessional collaborative practice processes, and competencies are explored. Discussions include dynamics of team process, roadblocks to communication, analysis of a school system, and special education services.
3 credits
ED-981: Advanced Foundations of Education
The course explores historical, philosophical, psychological, legal, and cultural foundations for education and school practices.
3 credits
ED-982: Research in Education
The course examines different research methods and designs, including writing hypotheses, reviewing literature, gathering data, and preparing research proposals.
3 credits
ED-993: Seminar: Research in Content Concentration
The course focuses on educational issues. Students conduct a formal study that seeks to investigate teaching and learning in the student’s content strand of concentration.
3 credits
CD-910: Speech/Language Development, Differences, and Diversity
Students gain an in-depth understanding of speech/language development, knowledge of cultural differences, and the disorders of speech/language.
3 credits
ED-914: Teaching and Learning Literacy across Multiple Disciplines
The course presents meaningful theory and related teaching strategies to aid pupils in reading and learning from their content area textbooks.
3 credits
ED-929: Mathematics Assessment and Instruction for Diverse Learners
This course presents mathematical concepts, methods, and materials to facilitate learning. Emphasis is also placed on supporting students with mild to moderate disabilities learn and understand mathematic contents.
3 credits
ED-913: Differentiated Reading Instruction
This course provides an understanding of the psychological bases of the reading process and applies the theories of the psychologist to classroom situations.
3 credits
ED-996: Research and Evaluation
The course focuses on research and evaluation methods and designs; includes gathering and analyzing data, writing research, and making evaluation reports.
3 credits

Admissions Requirements

  • 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 2 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: gradadmissions@worcester.edu

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