Educational Leadership and Instruction Specialist Degree: Special Education Concentration (582G)
This online degree program prepares already certified teachers in one of six specialized areas: Early Intervention (Birth through 5), Educational Diagnostician, Gifted, Mild/Moderate Grades 1-5, Mild/Moderate Grades 4-8 & Mild/Moderate Grades 6-12. Professional special educators are guided by the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) professional ethical principles and practice standards in ways that respect the diverse characteristics and needs of individuals with exceptionalities and their families.
The specialist degree provides advanced preparation in special education for teachers, administrators, and other professionals. As a research-based graduate program, it prepares practitioners at the highest levels of their profession. Because the special education faculty recognize and value the uniqueness of each candidate’s background, a degree plan is created colloboratively to meet each candidate’s needs.
All applicants must be certified teachers and meet regular admission requirements to the NSU Graduate School. The degree requires a minimum of 30 hours beyond the Master’s degree and includes 24 hours of special education and related coursework, 6 hours of research, 3 hours of statistics, and 6 hours of Thesis or Field Study. Prerequisites include graduate-level courses in Curriculum Development or Curriculum and Instruction (3 hours) and Instructional Improvement and Assessment or Educational Philosophy and Leadership (3 hours). Note: Pending the applicant’s transcript evaluation, additional coursework may be required.
To begin the program, you must first apply for admission. Contact the Graduate School for more information.
If you have taken the GRE, that score, on file at the institution where you completed the Master’s degree, may be forwarded to the NSU Graduate School. A maximum of nine hours of graduate credit from a regionally accredited college or university may be applied to your Specialist Degree. Your assigned major professor will review your transcript to determine which, if any, of these courses will transfer.
Contact Dr. Ginger Kelso, program coordinator, at kelsog@nsula.edu or call 318-357-5862.
