Admission to the Program

In addition to meeting the minimum university requirements for graduate study, applicants must earn a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record General Examination. To be admitted students must earn a passing score on the PRAXIS I: Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) as set by the District of Columbia. 

Degree Requirements

• 36 credit hours of approved graduate work 

Option to waive course work: Students with the appropriate prior study or professional experience in the field of education may be permitted to waive up to 6 credit hours of course work without replacement. The waiving of credit hours and the specific courses to be waived are determined and approved by the advisor and the SETH dean upon admission to a master’s program. In addition, one of the following may be required: an assessment provided by an educational institution or organization which has criteria and evaluation procedures approved by the School of Education, Teaching and Health; or a portfolio developed in a one-credit independent study offered by SETH and submitted for evaluation and approval to the advisor and SETH dean. 

• Comprehensive examination 
• All students must complete the Praxis II Exam prior to graduation. 

Course Requirements

• EDU-502 Methods of Managing Pupils with Behavior
       Disorders (3) 
• EDU-545 Overview of All Exceptionalities: The Arts in
      Special Education (3) 

or 

EDU-541 Foundations of Special Education for Exceptional Children (3) 

• EDU-605 Methods of Psychoeducational Assessment for
      Learning Disabilities and Emotional Disturbance (3) 
• EDU-606 Theories and Methods of Diagnostic and
      Remedial Mathematics (3)  
• EDU-607 Research Seminar in Special Education (3) 
• EDU-620 Theories of Educational Psychology and Human     Development (3) (or an elective approved by the student’s advisor) 
• EDU-644 Language Development and Remediation (3) 
• EDU-645 Learning Disabilities I (3) 
• EDU-646 Learning Disabilities II (3) 
• EDU-671 Foundations of Reading: Diagnosis and
      Remediation (3) 
• EDU-792 In-Service Training Project (6) 

Combined Bachelor’s Degree and M.A. in Special Education: Learning Disabilities.

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its accelerated bachelor’s/master’s programs. Undergraduate students may complete up to 3 credits for every 9 credits required for the graduate degree that may be applied to the requirements for both degree programs.  The department that oversees the graduate program the student enters will determine if the courses the undergraduate student completes will satisfy master’s degree requirements. Bachelor’s/master’s students must complete at least 18 in-residence credit hours at the graduate level after the bachelor’s degree is earned and  maintain continuous, sequential enrollment in the two programs. 

This program enables highly qualified students to earn both a B.A. or a B.S. in a related discipline and the M.A. in Special Education: Learning Disabilities. 

Requirements

• Students should apply to the master’s program in the second semester of their junior year. Applicants must have a grade point average of 3.00 or higher in major and minor courses and must satisfactorily complete the following: 

EDU-502 Methods of Managing Pupils with Behavior Disorders (3) 

EDU-541 Foundations of Special Education for
Exceptional Children (3) 

or 

EDU-545 Overview of All Exceptionalities: The Arts in Special Education (3) 

• All requirements for the B.A. or B.S. in the student’s major 

Undergraduate students may apply up to 9 credit hours from approved graduate-level courses, including EDU-502 and   EDU-541 or EDU-545 to satisfy the requirements of both degrees. 

• All requirements for the M.A. in Special Education: Learning Disabilities, including a minimum of 18 credit hours completed in residence in graduate status after the undergraduate degree has been awarded. Students must finish the master’s degree requirements within three years from the date of first enrollment in the master’s program.