Master of Science in Special Education

About the Program

Master of Science: 45.0  quarter credits

The Master of Science in Special Education is intended for those interested in gaining greater skills and expertise in the area of Special Education and/or a teaching certificate in the area of special education. Candidates seeking PA special education certification must have been issued a prior PA instructional I or instruction II teaching certificate.

The Master of Science in Special Education seeks to produce professionals who are equipped with the fundamental skills, knowledge, and competencies they will need to meet the needs of students at risk for and with disabilities in multiple settings. The program is a flexible, part-time graduate program consisting of 49.5 credits: 31.5 credits in Core Special Education Certification courses, 12.0 credits in concentration courses, and 6.0 credits in research. The program culminates with each potential graduate completing an action research project and presentation within his or her area of concentration.

Available Concentrations

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Within the past decade, the number of children diagnosed with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome has increased drastically. Consequently, the need for professionals trained in this specialized area has significantly increased. This concentration is designed for those who seek additional expertise in this critical need area. It will provide knowledge and skills for working with both students with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome as well as effective teaching methods, interventions, and supports.

Technologies for Special Education
Best practices in the education of students with disabilities requires educational professionals to be proficient with a wide range of technologies. This concentration is designed for those seeking additional expertise in the area of educational technologies and assistive technology that can be used to create accessible learning opportunities and increased outcomes for students with disabilities.

Language & Cultural Issues
The students in today’s classrooms are not only diverse in the area of abilities and disabilities but also in regards to their language and cultural backgrounds. This concentration is designed for those who are seeking to work with students who are at-risk for or who have disabilities that are also from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The coursework in this concentration can be applied to PA Program Specialist - English as a Second Language (ESL) certification.

Customized Concentration
Students who already posses a special education certification or who are not interested in obtaining a special education certification but want to enhance their skills in specific special education topic areas may choose to take two of the concentrations (24 credits) and 19.5 credits of their choosing from the special education certification core in addition to completing the research courses.

Additional Information

For additional information, visit the School of Education's MS in Special Education page.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the program will follow the university standards for admission to graduate study. Prospective students must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher to be considered for admission (graduate degree GPAs will be considered along with the undergraduate GPA). In addition, prospective students are required to submit the following:

  • Completed Application Form including official transcripts from all universities or colleges attended
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Personal essay
  • Resume
  • Application fee

The admissions committee will evaluate the applicant’s potential and commitment to succeed in graduate study in the online environment. The applicant’s potential to contribute to the overall quality of the program of study will also be considered.

Interviews, in person or by phone, will be conducted by the admissions committee with those applicants who meet Graduate Admission’s standard admissions criteria.

Decisions will be made using dates corresponding to the regular university schedule for rolling admissions in Graduate Admissions.

For more details, contact the School of Education or view the Master's degrees online at Drexel Online Learning. Additional information about how to apply is available on the Graduate Admissions at Drexel University website.

Degree Requirements 

The Master of Science in Special Education requires 49.5 credits consisting of 31.5 credits in Core Special Education Certification courses, 12 credits in concentration courses, and 6 credits in research. For a certification in Special Education, students must have completed 13.5 pre-requisite credits in special education accommodations to apply for certification in Pennsylvania. These credits may be completed in an undergraduate program.

Pre-requisites for Certification in Special Education:

Special Education Accommodations
Students must have completed the following courses in order to apply for a certification in special education. All students entering the masters program from an approved PA certification program after 2011 should have had these core courses in their initial certification program. If a student has not completed the following three courses, they should be taken in place of a concentration:

EDUC 542 Fundamentals of Special Education
EDUC 544 The Inclusive Classroom
EDUC 546 Literacy and Content Skill Development

Core Certification Courses
EDUC 547Special Education Processes4.5
EDUC 548Emotional & Behavioral Support4.5
EDUC 549High Incident Disabilities4.5
EDUC 550Teaching Students with Low Incident Disabilities4.5
EDUC 551Pervasive Developmental Disorders4.5
EDUC 552Integrating Technology for Learning & Achievement4.5
EDUC 553Special Education: Methods & Practices4.5
Concentration Courses12.0
Select one of the following concentrations:
Autism Concentration
Characteristics & Methods: Autism
Characteristics & Methods: High Functioning Autism
Communication & Language Interventions: Autism Spectrum Disorders
Behavior & Sensory Support: Autism Spectrum Disorders
Technologies for Special Ed
Computer Skills for Teachers
Multi-Media Instructional Design
Researching & Evaluating Instructional Technology
Learning Disabilities II
Language and Cultural Issues
Language Learning & Teaching
Structure and Sound System of English
Design and Assessment
The Intercultural Learner
Capstone Activities
EDEX 610Action Research for Special Education Teachers I4.5
EDEX 611Action Research for Special Education Teachers II1.5
Total Credits49.5


Education Faculty

W. Edward Bureau, PhD (University of Pennsylvania) Director of the Sacramento EdD. Clinical Associate Professor. Leadership, supervision, and capacity development.
Holly Carpenter, PhD (Arizona State University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Higher education policy development and implementation, community college/university articulation, and online education.
José Luis Chávez, EdD (University of Southern California.) Program Coordinator for the MS in Higher Education Program at the Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento. Clinical Professor. Higher education leadership and administration.
Ellen Clay, PhD (University of Southwestern Louisiana). Auxiliary Assistant Professor. Professional development opportunities for teachers in the area of mathematics and mathematical thinking.
Rebecca Clothey, PhD (University of Pittsburgh) Director, Higher Education Program. Auxiliary Assistant Professor. Comparative and international education, education of ethnic and linguistic minorities, sociology of education.
Marion Dugan, EdD (University of Pennsylvania). Auxiliary Associate Professor. Language arts, student teaching.
Stephen C. Ehrmann Associate Clinical Professor. Learning technologies, learning science, assessment, evaluation, and professional development strategies, used to help educators make visible improvements in programmatic learning outcomes.
Salvatore V. Falletta, EdD (North Carolina State University) Associate Director for the Human Resource Development (HRD) program at Drexel University.. Associate Clinical Professor. Human Resource intelligence (i.e., HR research and analytics practices); HRD assessment, measurement, and evaluation models and taxonomies; organizational diagnostic models; web-based employee and organizational survey methods, and computational modeling.
Aroutis N. Foster, PhD (Michigan State University). Assistant Professor. Educational psychology and educational technology, especially the following: Motivation; Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK); Immersive Interactive Digital Environments (simulation, games, virtual realities.
Kathy Geller, PhD (Fielding Graduate University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Educational leadership and management.
Rajashi Ghosh, PhD (University of Louisville, Kentucky). Assistant Professor. Mentoring and leader development, workplace Incivility, workplace learning and development.
John M. Gould, PhD (University of Pittsburgh) Harrisburg EdD Educational Leadership & Change Program. Associate Clinical Professor. Change leadership, curriculum re-design, the impact of technology on learning.
Mary Jo Grdina, PhD (Case Western Reserve University). Auxiliary Assistant Professor. Undergraduate studies, science education, curriculum design.
Dominic F. Gullo, PhD (Indiana University). Professor. Studying the relative and long-range effects of early schooling experiences in prekindergarten and kindergarten on children's achievement and social adaptation to school routine.
Francis Harvey, EdD (Harvard University). Associate Professor. Enhanced learning, socio-cultural learning, distance education.
Elizabeth Haslam, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Auxiliary Associate Professor. Educational field coordinator, instructional design, qualitative evaluation, writing across the curriculum.
Jennifer Katz-Buonincontro, MFA, PhD (University of Oregon). Assistant Professor. Educational administration.
Kristine Lewis, PhD (Temple University). Assistant Professor. Experiences of students of African descent at predominantly white colleges and universities, college access and college student development, youth civic engagement in urban school reform, qualitative research and evaluation.
William Lynch, PhD (University of Maryland) Dean, Goodwin College of Professional Studies. Professor. Curriculum and educational leadership, educational technology, distance learning policy development, higher and adult education.
Sonya Martin, PhD (Curtin University, Science and Mathematics Education Centre, Perth, Australia). Assistant Professor.
Michel Miller, PhD (University of Miami, Florida). Auxiliary Assistant Professor. Special education.
Sarah P. Reynolds, EdD (Saint Joseph’s University) Program Director. Associate Clinical Professor. Emphasis in cross-cultural, language and academic development.
Ellen B. Scales, PhD (Pennsylvania State University). Auxiliary Assistant Professor. Literacy, mathematics education, special education.
Jason Silverman, PhD (Vanderbilt University.) Director of the Program in Mathematical Learning and Teaching. Assistant Professor. Teaching and learning of advanced mathematical ideas (algebra and calculus); improving teachers' ability to orchestrate and sustain inquiry-based and discussion-based instruction; technology in mathematics education.
David A. Urias, PhD (University of Virginia). Assistant Professor. International education, educational assessment, the influence of corporate philanthropy on higher education.
Sheila Vaidya, PhD (Temple University) Associate Director of Research and Outreach Programs. Associate Professor. Educational psychology, school psychology, research design.
Charles A. Williams, PhD (Temple University). Associate Teaching Professor. Prevention of school-aged violence.

Interdepartmental Faculty

Barbara Jean Hoekje, PhD (University of Pennsylvania) Director of English Language Center. Associate Professor. Sociolinguistic theory, discourse analysis, applied linguistics (language teaching, learning, and testing).
Fredricka K. Reisman, PhD (Syracuse University) Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Innovation. Professor. Mathematics education, learning mathematics, mathematics pedagogy, teacher education, heuristic diagnostic learning and teaching, theory and research in creativity and applied creativity.
Patricia Henry Russell, MS (Drexel University). Teaching Professor. Probability and statistics.
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