Master of Education in Special Education 

Cleveland State University's Master of Education in Special Education program provides advanced course work in the education of learners with exceptional needs. Program options permit concentrated study in one of three areas: Early Childhood Special Education, Learners with Mild/Moderate Educational Needs, and Learners with Moderate/Intensive Educational Needs. While all three concentrations include course work and fieldwork that may be applied toward Ohio licensure as an Intervention Specialist, eligibility for such licensure may require further study, depending on the student's previous educational background.

The College of Education and Human Services is committed to preparing special educators to work within diverse educational settings and communities. Therefore, all three program options require that students have a working knowledge of issues related to the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students, gifted children, children with special needs, and gender issues in education concentrations. To that end, completion of EDC 500, or its equivalent, is a prerequisite to all special education concentrations.

The goal of the Early Childhood Intervention Specialist concentration is to prepare professionals to work with children from birth to age eight with exceptionalities. The Moderate/Intensive Intervention Specialist concentration prepares teachers and professionals from related disciplines to work with children and youth ages 5 through 21 who have moderate, severe, or profound mental retardation; severe emotional disorders; and/or multiple disabilities. The Mild/Moderate Intervention Specialist concentration prepares teachers and professionals from related disciplines to work with children and youth ages 5 through 21 who have specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and/or other health impairments.

With additional licensure-related courses, this degree may lead to an Ohio Intervention Specialist license.

 

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Department of Teacher Education
Phone: 216.687.4600
adminte@csuohio.edu

Admission Requirements

  • Application Form
  • Application Fee
  • Undergraduate Transcripts
  • For all programs that do not lead to a teaching license through the Ohio Department of Education, candidates must have a score at the 50th percentile on the Miller Analogies Test or on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of Graduate Record Examination. However, a student applying for any program except Counseling is exempt from this requirement if:
     
    • The baccalaureate degree is less than six years old at the time of application AND the undergraduate cumulative grade-point average is at least 2.75; OR
    • The baccalaureate degree is more than six years old at the time of application AND the undergraduate cumulative grade-point average is at least 3.0; OR
    • The student has completed twelve or more semester credits of Cleveland State graduate course work (including EDB 601  or HPR 601 ) AND received a grade of B- or better in EDB 601  or HPR 601  with a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 and grades of B or better in the other courses.
  • To be admitted to a teaching licensure program in the College of Education and Human Services as a graduate student, all candidates must satisfy the following requirements:
    • Test requirement.  Candidates must receive acceptable scores within the past six years on one of the following content knowledge tests, demonstrating performance in approximately the top 50% of the national distribution:
      • ACT: math 20, reading 20, English 20
      • SAT:  math 510, reading 500, writing 490
      • Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (CASE):  math 150, reading 156, writing 162
      • GRE:  quantitative 152, verbal 151, writing 3.5
      • Miller Analogies Test: 50th percentile rank for total group
    • Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better. 
      • Candidates admitted as a non-degree graduate student must earn a GPA of 3.0 or above after completing 12 graduate credit hours, including EDB 601, and satisfying all other licensure program admissions to be admitted into a licensure program.
    • Proficiency in math and English at the college level.
      • Grade of B- or better in a college level math and college level English class.   (Candidates for the Chinese language teaching licensure are required to satisfy the program's TOEFL admission requirements in lieu of this requirement.)
    • Background check. 
      • All prospective licensure candidates must pay for an initial BCI/FBI check at the time of their initial visit to the Education Student Services Center (except for MUST and international students, who are required to have a BCI/FBI check prior to starting their first field experience).  Throughout their licensure program, candidates are required to pay for and complete additional BCI/FBI fingerprinting checks to ensure that a valid report is always on file with the Office of Field Services as required for field placement. Prospective candidates with criminal records indicating convicted offenses considered by the Ohio Department of Education to be "absolute bars" to licensure will be denied acceptance to the college and any registration permissions for subsequent semesters will be revoked.  Prospective candidates with criminal records indicating convicted offenses eligible for rehabilitation will be referred to the Ohio Department of Education Office of Professional Conduct to determine whether they will be able to obtain a teaching license.
    • Post-baccalaureate and graduate candidates who complete all academic content courses prior to CSU professional course work (e.g. adolescent/young adult or middle grades licensure areas) must take and pass the relevant Ohio Assessments for Educators content knowledge assessment prior to admission.  Candidates who need to take content courses at Cleveland State are allowed to take content knowledge assessments prior to student teaching.

-International students are required to have met at least one of the following English language proficiency requirements:

  • TOEFL iBT (Internet-Based): 78 (including at least 20 in reading, 21 in listening, 17 in writing, and 20 in speaking)
  • TOEFL PBT (Paper-Based): 550
  • IELTS: 6.0 and at least 5.0 in each section
  • PTE (Pearson’s Test of English): 50
  • iTEP: 5.0

Admission Deadlines

All applications must be submitted and complete on the following application deadline dates:

  • Domestic Students
    • Rolling
  • International Students
    • Fall Semester - May 15th
    • Spring Semester - October 15th
    • Summer Semester - March 15th

 

Program Requirements

 

  • EDB 601 - Educational Research
  • ETE 501 - Technology Strand

  • Select one of the following courses:

    • EDB 604 - Social Issues & Education
    • EDB 606 - Philosophy of Education
    • EDB 608 - School & Society In The American Past
    • ECE 500 - Foundations Of Early Childhood Education
  • EDC 501 - Child Development
  • EDC 500 - Diversity in Educational Settings
  • ESE 500 - Introduction to Special Education
  • ESE 512 - Collaboration & Partnerships Among Parent & Professionals In Special Education
  • ESE 513 - Supporting Medical & Intensive Education Needs
  • ESE 514 - Curriculum & Interventions For Infants & Young Children W Special Needs
  • ESE 515 - Assessing Young Children

Electives

If a candidate for a second licensure receives credit for prerequisites or specialization courses, electives would be chosen with advisor approval to reach a minimum total of 30 credit hours for the degree.

Exit Requirements

  • Select one of the following exit requirements:
    • Comprehensive Exam
    • EST 698 Master's Project 
    • EST 699 Thesis 

Additional Requirements for Licensure 

  • EDL 500 - Phonics Assessment & Instruction
  • EDL 501 - Beginning and Intermediate Reading Instruction & Assessment
  • EDL 511 - Emergent Literacy
  • EDL 512 - Literature-Based Reading Methods For Children
  • ECE 515 - Mathematics Instruction and Assessment In Preschool & The Primary Grades
  • ESE 511 - Classroom Management & Intervention For Severe Behavior Problems
  • EST 576 - Internship One: Early Childhood Special Education
  • EST 586 - Internship Two: Early Childhood Special Education

 

  • EDB 601 - Educational Research
  • ETE 501 - Technology Strand
  • Select one of the following courses:
    • EDB 604 - Social Issues & Education
    • EDB 608 - School & Society In The American Past
  • EDC 501 - Child Development
  • EDC 500 - Diversity in Educational Settings
  • ESE 500 - Introduction to Special Education
  • ESE 511 - Classroom Management & Intervention For Severe Behavior Problems
  • ESE 512 - Collaboration & Partnerships Among Parent & Professionals In Special Education
  • ESE 516 - Life Skills & Career Planning In Special Education
  • ESE 521 - Assessment for Instructional Needs
  • ESE 522 - Assessment-based Curriculum and Instruction for Students w Mild/Mod Dis

Electives

If a candidate for a second licensure receives credit for prerequisites or specialization courses, electives would be chosen with advisor approval to reach a minimum total of 30 credit hours for the degree.

Exit Requirements

  • Select one of the following exit requirements:
    • Comprehensive Exam
    • EST 698 Master's Project 
    • EST 699 Thesis 

Additional Requirements for Licensure

  • EDL 500 - Phonics Assessment & Instruction
  • EDL 501 - Beginning and Intermediate Reading Instruction & Assessment
  • EDL 505 - Content Area Literacy
  • EDL 512 - Literature-Based Reading Methods For Children
  • EDL 513 - Literature-Based Reading Programs For Adolescents
  • ECE 515 - Mathematics Instruction and Assessment In Preschool & The Primary Grades
  • EST 587 - Internship Two: Mild/Moderate Disabilities

 

  • EDB 601 - Educational Research
  • ETE 501 - Technology Strand
  • Select one of the following courses:
    • EDB 604 - Social Issues & Education
    • EDB 608 - School & Society In The American Past
  • EDC 501 - Child Development
  • EDC 500 - Diversity in Educational Settings
  • ESE 500 - Introduction to Special Education
  • ESE 510 - Diagnostic Assessment&Multifactored Eval for Students w Mod/Severe Dis
  • ESE 511 - Classroom Management & Intervention For Severe Behavior Problems
  • ESE 512 - Collaboration & Partnerships Among Parent & Professionals In Special Education
  • ESE 513 - Supporting Medical & Intensive Education Needs
  • ESE 516 - Life Skills & Career Planning In Special Education
  • ESE 520 - Assess/Curr/Instruct to meet Acad/Behav Needs of Students w Mod/Int Disabilities

Electives

If a candidate for a second licensure receives credit for prerequisites or specialization courses, electives would be chosen with advisor approval to reach a minimum total of 30 credit hours for the degree.

Exit Requirements

  • Select one of the following exit requirements: 

    • Comprehensive Exam
    • EST 698 Master's Project 
    • EST 699 Thesis 

Additional Requirements for Licensure

  • EDL 500 - Phonics Assessment & Instruction
  • EDL 501 - Beginning and Intermediate Reading Instruction & Assessment
  • EDL 505 - Content Area Literacy or EDL 511 - Emergent Literacy 
  • EDL 512 - Literature-Based Reading Methods For Children
  • ECE 515 - Mathematics Instruction and Assessment In Preschool & The Primary Grades
  • EST 588 - Internship Two: Moderate/Intensive Educational Needs

 

Did You Know?

In 2017–18, the number of students ages 3–21 who received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was 7.0 million, or 14 percent of all public school students.

National Center for Education Statistics

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Career Outcomes

  • This program prepares special educators to work within diverse educational settings and communities across the public and private sectors. 
  • These are some of the local institutions that are hiring CSU grads: Parma City Schools, Mentor Public Schools, Cleveland Heights School District, Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County, and Cleveland Metropolitan School District.