The Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree with an emphasis in General Curriculum is developed for students entering the master’s program who have completed undergraduate training in a teacher education field and who have a teaching certificate. This advanced program includes rigorous study of research methods and findings that allow students to become skilled consumers and producers of research. The primary distinction between the M.Ed. degree program in special education is the formality of the research product. M.Ed. students conduct research as an applied project.
An emphasis in General Curriculum is for individuals interested in teaching students with mild disabilities who are primarily following the general curriculum. Training in this emphasis area will prepare teachers to work in collaboration, inclusion or resource models. The special education students who are most frequently served in these settings will include those with behavior disorders (BD), learning disabilities, (LD), mild intellectual disabilities (MID), other health impaired (OHI), and some students with autism or Asperger’s (ASD or AS). Course work includes characteristics of these high-incidence disabilities, assessment, instructional and collaborative practices, and applied behavior analysis. Federal personnel preparation grants support training in autism spectrum disorders (COPPA, CAATT).