Inclusive Education Specialty
Master of Science in Education
Live online
For current educators at any level (birth鈥揼rade 12)
- Collaborate with teachers across developmental areas to develop an in-depth understanding of theory and teaching practices in critical consciousness and reflection, while building a plan for your sustained resilience and joy in teaching.
- Set yourself apart with the addition of a specialty area. Choose your specialty extension or annotation in either gifted and talented education, severe and multiple disabilities, or bilingual education. You can add other specialty areas such as Advanced Certificates in Autism or Early Intervention and Post-Masters in Literacy or ESOL.听
- Deepen your knowledge and skills in supporting diverse learners through innovative advanced courses in literacy, TESOL, Foundations of Education, and equity-focused differentiated curriculum and instruction.
Highlights
Complete in as fast as 10 months (fall, spring, summer A)
Evening classes,
live online
Flexible: 30 credits聽full-time or part-time
Choose your specialization
Program is Ideal For
- The Inclusive Education Specialty Program is for teachers seeking professional certification and a master's degree.
- The program is open to any teacher who holds initial certification in teaching students with disabilities (Birth鈥揼rade 2, Grades 1鈥�6, 7鈥�12, or all grades) and either Early Childhood Education (Birth鈥揼rade 2), Childhood Education (grades 1鈥�6), or a content area (grades 7鈥�12).
- This program will deepen teachers' knowledge and skills to meet the needs of diverse learners and includes the opportunity to add the Gifted and Talented Extension, Bilingual Extension, or Severe and Multiple Disabilities Annotation.
What to Expect
- Highly engaged faculty
- Multiple opportunities to apply and individualize research and assignments for your own learning environments
- Choice in concentration and electives
- Ability and ease to add on specialties
Why Nazareth?
"My Naz grad experience was made strong by the supportive professors and the opportunities I had. I completed a community assistantship with the Public Broadcasting Service WXXI Education Team, helping make events more friendly to individuals with sensory processing difficulties. I鈥檓 a clinical assistant in one of Nazareth鈥檚 partner elementary schools 鈥� gaining valuable experiences in ways most grad programs don鈥檛 offer. My goal is to become a better teacher and be well-equipped to help each of my students. This grad program focuses on special education, plus my program annotation addresses students with severe and multiple disabilities. My classes have already been helpful in my career, such as supporting students with challenging behaviors. Seeing students grow as people and celebrating their accomplishments together is so fulfilling!"
鈥� Ashley Blesy 鈥�24, 鈥�25G is a clinical assistant working on social-emotional learning with Pre-K and kindergarten students and substitute teaching in East Irondequoit school district while earning her grad degree
Value of Your Degree
100%
job placement rates
A master's degree is a required pathway to professional certification across multiple states, including New York State.
$65,910
Average salary for special education teachers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023)
Teacher Shortages
There are teacher shortages across the nation. New York state officials estimate that the state will need more than 180,000 new teachers over the next decade.
While there are shortages across many content subjects, critical areas include special education, bilingual education, English as a second language (ESL), and literacy. It is more important than ever for teachers to build their skills in solutions-oriented, collaborative, and reflective teaching practices to create meaningful and joyful teaching careers for themselves.
Making Grad School Affordable
Grants, veterans benefits, loans, and public service loan forgiveness are options for paying for this grad degree.
Curriculum Examples
- Foundations of Literacy
- Foundations of Bilingual/Multicultural Education
- Developing the Critically Conscious Teacher: Promising Practices
- Differentiated Curriculum/Instruction and Collaborative Practice
- Introduction to Gifted and Talented Education
- Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition
- Educational Justice
- Supporting Students with Challenging Behaviors in Inclusive Settings
Accreditation
Accredited by the Associate for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation