Special Education (MEd)

The M.Ed. in Special Education is designed for:

• Special educators interested in completing a master’s degree.
• General educators seeking to enhance their skillset with additional knowledge of special education.
• This online program does not provide licensure. If you hold a bachelor’s degree and are interested in seeking initial licensure to become a teacher you can complete the online program and receive the master’s degree for half of the licensure program, then finish the license in a face-to-face program at Xavier University campus.

Note: If you are seeking an endorsement in addition to a master’s degree, you can complete the master’s core classes online and then complete the endorsement courses on campus face to face.

This online program does not provide licensure. If you hold a bachelor’s degree and are interested in seeking initial licensure to become a teacher you can complete the online program and receive the Master’s degree for half of the licensure program, then finish the license in a face-to-face program at Xavier University campus.

Students must complete 30 credit hours and the program takes 1.5 years to complete.

Professionals and Educators who have expertise in the special education field, come from all walks of life and are a diverse group. Graduates with a master’s degree in special education have ample opportunities to expand their professional career path to new horizons. Possible Careers include:

• Behavior intervention specialist:
  • A behavior intervention specialist is a jack of all trades. Typical job duties include counseling students, advising teachers, providing academic program planning, coordinating academic program development and giving academic assessments. The goal of this job is help students grow in all areas of mental and physical health and wellness.
• Special education instructional coordinator:
  • A special education instructional coordinator develops and implements curriculum for special needs students or a diverse student population.The primary responsibility for the instructional coordinator is helping teachers to develop and implement individual educational programs to meet the needs of students.
• Special education teacher
  • Special education teachers are often found in general education classrooms in public and private school. They provide specialized instruction in education geared towards the emotional, social and vocational needs of children with disabilities. There are many different opportunities for a special education teacher to pursue.
    • Working with early childhood and pre-K to 12
      • Special education Teachers working at this level work with children with mild to moderate disabilities and tailor the curriculum to meet the child’s specific needs.
    • High incidence disabilities
      • Special education Teachers working at this level may work with children that have mild to moderate autism, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, and speech language disorders. The special education teacher works alongside the general education teacher to allow children to stay in the general education classroom throughout the day, and help to refine curriculum to meet the needs of their student.
    • Low incidence disabilities: Sensory, developmental, and/or multiple and severe disabilities
      • Special education Teachers working at this level work with children that have severe physical or cognitive disabilities in a self contained classroom setting, which provides students with special education to meet their basic needs.
    • Emotional or behavioral disorders
      • Special education Teachers who specialize in emotional or behavioral disorders work and council children that have aggressive behaviors, ADHD, depression, anxiety or multiple disorders. They may provide instruction in a general education environment or self contained classroom.
    • Autism spectrum disorders
      • Special education Teachers who work with students on the autism spectrum may work in settings ranging from general education classrooms to self contained classrooms.
• Special education diagnostician or tester:
  • Special education diagnosticians are a type of special education teacher who assesses, diagnoses and helps children that have learning problems. Also called learning consultant and learning disabilities teacher, special education diagnosticians work with the parents, counselors, psychologists, and district social workers to evaluate the child and design solutions such as remedial classes or tutoring.
• Learning behavior specialist:
  • The primary role as a learning behavior specialist is to observe, assess and help children who have emotional or behavioral issues. Students may require the assistance of a learning behavior specialist due to depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder, varying levels of autism, of other physical or neurological conditions. The learning behavior specialist functions as a go-between to help each student to effectively communicate with parents, teachers, and peers.
• Counseling
  • A mental health counselor helps students with developmental or learning disabilities,their families, teachers and caregivers. This position will require state licensure to work in the school system or start a practice. Other opportunities including working with clinics, hospitals, family service agencies and residential facilities.
• Rehabilitation Counselor
  • Rehabilitation counselors work with private, state and government rehabilitation programs and long-term assisted living facilities to help those with disabilities live more independently. Rehabilitation counselors may also need to take state licensure examinations to open a private practice, work for a hospital or agency.
• Inclusion specialist
  • An inclusion specialist does their best to integrate a child with academic, physical and social development delays into the mainstream classroom. They establish a clear objective for each child, develop learning strategies, and educates and informs teachers and parents of objectives and progress.
• Reading specialist
  • Reading specialists, also called literacy coaches, are specialists in teaching skills that children and adolescents need to in order to be successful at reading. Reading specialists provide tactics to teachers to improve literacy instruction and help school administrators revamp reading programs to accommodate all students’ learning needs.

No, the degree is from Xavier University and is awarded on meeting coursework standards that are independent of course delivery.

If you are new to online learning at Xavier University, we encourage you to go through the student orientation for online courses.

HLC (High learning commission) is a regional accreditor that provides accreditation to graduate education institutions in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Regional accreditation validates the quality of the institution as a whole and specific aspects including programs offered, governance, administration, mission, finances and resources. The accreditation process is based on a system of peer reviews and evaluations.